Required Third Year Core Rotations

Core rotations are required rotations that include assessment by a preceptor evaluation and a post rotation examination and, in some cases, small group participation, assignments, and online case modules.  Core rotations include: Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Cardiology, Psychiatry, and Obstetrics/Gynecology. There is a required elective rotation and a required rural rotation in third year. All required rotations, including the third-year elective and rural rotation, must be done at established Midwestern University AZCOM rotation sites.

Required Fourth Year Rotations

Fourth year students complete core rotations in Emergency Medicine and Critical Care and required rotations in sub-specialty medicine and subspecialty surgery. They may complete 16 weeks of rotations in any one discipline.

Students must successfully complete a minimum of 24 weeks of elective rotations during their fourth year in recognized disciplines of medicine. Students may schedule one four-week elective at an approved site in international medicine and/or research.

Elective clinical rotations may be done at preapproved institutions, including military, in states where Midwestern University has a license or agreement to send its students. To be eligible for academic credit, elective rotation schedules must be planned with the assistance of, and approval by, the appropriate clinical Department Chair.

Supervision of Medical Students by Licensed Healthcare Providers 

While on clinical rotations, medical students must have direct, on-premises supervision by licensed healthcare providers within their scope of practice and with appropriate training and credentialing in their disciplinary fields who are licensed to practice in the state in which care is being provided. In the case of physicians, the physician must be AOA or ABMS board certified/eligible to serve as a preceptor or clinical faculty member. 

Any licensed healthcare provider, as defined above, who is designated as a teacher for AZCOM students, is recognized to be a member of the extended faculty.  Health professionals providing health services to students, through therapeutic relationship, must recuse themselves from the academic assessment or promotion of the student receiving those health services. 

Breaks/Vacation

There is a holiday break at the end of the calendar year during the third and fourth years. For more information, reference the Clinical Rotations Manual.

Additionally, fourth year students are allowed a total of eight weeks of vacation. Students may not take more than four weeks of vacation per quarter.