Year 3 and 4 Intersessions

Overview of Intersessions

The Intersessions Course is designed to provide the opportunity for all third- and fourth-year students to engage in structured didactic content that is best addressed while students are actively involved in patient care. Intersessions also allows students to come together as a class for collaborative and reflective time as they are progressing in their journey of becoming physicians.

The courses are conducted as a one-week course in year 3, a three-week course that begins year 4 and a final two-week course that occurs near graduation in year 4. Individual sessions vary in presentation methodology and may be formatted as didactics, workshops, panels, small group discussions, standardized patient simulations or self-study modules.

Course Content

The Intersessions content will include:

• Topics that revisit Basic Science content that are enhanced when placed in clinical context and will help prepare students for the Step 2 exam such as acid-base, infectious disease, cardiovascular clinical problems (physiology), completing death certificates (forensic pathology) and clinical pharmacology/toxicology.
• Curricular Themes and Topics: Ethics, P3 (Public Health/Prevention/Health Promotion), Biomedical Informatics, Behavioral Health, Health Care Transformation, Health Equity, Gerontology/Geriatrics, Individualized Prevention and Care, Interprofessional Education.
• Clinical radiology.
• Narrative medicine/reflective writing.
• Advanced Skills Development: Domestic violence OSCE, EKG interpretation, acute care management skills.
• Student Affairs Activities: Career advising and preparation for certification exams.
• Time to focus on establishing and balancing personal and professional goals.

The specific content for the Intersessions varies somewhat based on the specific needs and curricular content each class has previously received.

Course Expectations and Evaluation

Intersessions is an opportunity to reinvigorate the student during these challenging clinical years by actively engaging in reinforcing and learning new skills while reconnecting classmates. Attendance is required and knowledge, skills and attitudes are assessed based on engagement in the sessions, performance on the advanced skills activities and successfully passing the course examination(s).