Phase 2 (Year 3) Curriculum
Introduction
The Phase 2 curriculum is intended to provide a broad range of experiences to help students develop a well-rounded understanding of clinical medicine and explore career interests. The primary goal is for students to become comfortable and confident participating in the care of patients in a clinical setting.
As students progress through their clerkships, they will sharpen their clinical skills and gain experience that will benefit them in residency and throughout their career. Completing the seven core clerkships allows students the opportunity to work with varied patient populations in varied care environments across multiple specialties. While students will not experience every medical specialty on clerkships, the broad range of experiences during Phase 2 will allow students to identify the aspects of medicine that are most appealing to them, which they can further pursue in Phase 3 as well as in residency.
Introduction
Requirements
Please refer to the overall MD requirements for planning for phase 2 and 3 needs.
The curriculum requirement for the third year is that students satisfactorily complete 48 weeks of Phase 2 courses including:
- Family Medicine Clerkship (6 weeks)
- Internal Medicine Clerkship (8 weeks)
- Neurology Clerkship (4 weeks)
- Obstetrics & Gynecology Clerkship (6 weeks)
- Pediatrics Clerkship (6 weeks)
- Psychiatry Clerkship (6 weeks)
- Surgery Clerkship (8 weeks)
- Open electives (4 weeks)
Transition to Clerkship
Transition to Clerkship is the first component of the longitudinal Clinical Connections and Competencies course that is a requirement of all UI COM students. This two-week course at the end of the M2 year provides an exciting segue from classroom learning to hands-on immersive learning in the clinical environment. Transition to Clerkship prepares students to successfully navigate through their clinical experiences in Phase 2 and is mandatory prior to beginning clerkships. It includes didactic sessions, clinical immersion, case studies, simulation activities, procedure workshops, and panel discussions.
The goals and objectives for Transition to Clerkship are as follows:.
- Discuss the policies and procedures that impact the learning environment in the clinical settings.
- Discuss the key principles of learner assessment and evaluation in clinical settings.
- Introduce and develop the technical skills to perform the common procedures required for graduation.
- Demonstrate clinical skills required for each clerkship.
- Discuss the professionalism attributes and professional identity formation during the clerkships.
- Complete the credentialing and compliance requirements needed to participate in clinical rotations at the respective hospitals.
- Demonstrate understanding of the electronic documentation requirements to meet regulations and professional expectations.
Clerkships
The Phase 2 clerkship rotations will take place primarily at OSF St. Francis Medical Center and Carle Health. Various other locations also serve as clinical sites.
Most clerkships are similar in structure. Students will be assigned patients to examine and to present to the faculty and attending physicians. Students work closely with residents and attendings in day-to-day patient management.
Lectures and conferences occur in each clerkship. Night and weekend call will vary among disciplines. In some clerkships, outpatient experiences will be a sizable component of the program; in others, inpatient experiences will predominate.
Clerkship may vary due to patient volumes, and this can result in students having differing experiences on a clerkship. Each student’s schedule and clerkship experience will not be identical.
Electives
Throughout the Phase 2 and Phase 3 portions of medical school a total of 16 weeks of electives are required. Though the vast majority of these will occur within Phase 3, your schedule allows for at least four weeks of electives during Phase 2.
Of the 16 weeks of electives, only 6 hours can be taken as Individualized Research Course.
Clinical Intersections
Clinical Intersections is the second component of the Clinical Connections and Competencies course. There are five sessions of Clinical Intersections scheduled throughout the Phase 2 year. Each day-long session includes two main components:
- Didactic and Small Group Sessions: Didactic sessions are meant to provide an opportunity for reflection on skills and challenges that face modern physicians. These sessions often require pre-work, such as reading and short written responses.
- Procedural Skills: Basic clinical skills will be taught, and students will have the opportunity to practice them throughout the year.
Schedule Changes
Students may need to request adjustments to their schedule during Phase 2. If a schedule needs to be modified, students must contact their academic advisor to discuss their needs. Academic advisors will work with the site registrar to find potential schedules to accommodate student requests. Do not contact the department coordinators or faculty directly to request schedule changes.
Any requests for schedule changes must be made a minimum of two weeks in advance of the start date for the course in question.
Note that once elective schedules have been finalized and released to the students by the registrar, students from other schools will be permitted to schedule electives at UICOMP. Those students will not be “bumped” later on to accommodate changes from UICOMP students.
Block Dates
Phase 2 students must satisfactorily complete 48 weeks of core clerkships and electives.
Elective Blocks
| Blocks | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1a | 4/27/26 | 5/9/26 |
| 1b | 5/11/26 | 5/23/26 |
| 2a | *5/26/26 | 6/6/26 |
| 2b | 6/8/26 | 6/20/26 |
| 3a | 6/22/26 | 7/4/26 |
| 3b | 7/6/26 | 7/18/26 |
| 4a | 7/20/26 | 8/1/26 |
| 4b | 8/3/26 | 8/15/26 |
| 5a | 8/17/26 | 8/29/26 |
| 5b | 8/31/26 | 9/12/26 |
| 6a | 9/14/26 | 9/26/26 |
| 6b | 9/28/26 | 10/10/26 |
| * FALL BREAK | 10/12/26 | 10/24/26 |
| 7a | 10/26/26 | 11/7/26 |
| 7b | 11/9/26 | 11/21/26 |
| 8a | 11/23/26 | 12/5/26 |
| 8b | 12/7/26 | 12/19/26 |
| ** WINTER BREAK (No classes) | 12/21/26 | 1/2/27 |
| 9a | 1/4/27 | 1/16/27 |
| 9b | 1/18/27 | 1/30/27 |
| 10a | 2/1/27 | 2/13/27 |
| 10b | 2/15/27 | 2/27/27 |
| 11a | 3/1/27 | 3/13/27 |
| 11b | 3/15/27 | 3/27/27 |
| 12a | 3/29/27 | 4/10/27 |
| 12b | 4/12/27 | 4/24/27 |
Four-Week Clerkship Dates (Neurology)
| Rotation | Start Date | End Date | Blocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4/27/26 | 5/23/26 | 1A,1B |
| 2 | 5/25/26 | 6/20/26 | 2A,2B |
| 3 | 6/22/26 | 7/18/26 | 3A,3B |
| 4 | 7/20/26 | 8/15/26 | 4A,4B |
| 5 | 8/17/26 | 9/12/26 | 5A,5B |
| 6 | 9/14/26 | 10/10/26 | 6A,6B |
| * FALL BREAK | 10/12/26 | 10/24/26 | - |
| 7 | 10/26/26 | 11/21/26 | 7A,7B |
| 8 | 11/23/26 | 12/19/26 | 8A,8B |
| ** WINTER BREAK (No classes) | 12/21/26 | 1/2/27 | - |
| 9 | 1/4/27 | 1/30/27 | 9A,9B |
| 10 | 2/1/27 | 2/27/27 | 10A,10B |
| 11 | 3/1/27 | 3/27/27 | 11A,11B |
| 12 | 3/29/27 | 4/24/27 | 12A,12B |
Six-Week Clerkship Dates (Family Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry)
| Rotation | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4/27/26 | 6/6/26 |
| 2 | 6/8/26 | 7/18/26 |
| 3 | 7/20/26 | 8/29/26 |
| 4 | 8/31/26 | 10/10/26 |
| * FALL BREAK | 10/12/26 | 10/24/26 |
| 5 | 10/26/26 | 12/5/26 |
| 6 | 12/7/26 | - |
| ** WINTER BREAK (No classes) | 12/21/26 | 1/2/27 |
| 6 (cont.) | - | 1/30/27 |
| 7 | 2/1/27 | 3/13/27 |
| 8 | 3/15/27 | 4/24/27 |
Eight-Week Clerkship Dates (Internal Medicine, Surgery)
| Rotation | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04/27/26 | 6/20/26 |
| 2 | 6/22/26 | 8/15/26 |
| 3 | 8/17/26 | 10/10/26 |
| * FALL BREAK | 10/12/26 | 10/24/26 |
| 4 | 10/26/26 | 12/19/26 |
| ** WINTER BREAK (No classes) | 12/21/26 | 1/2/27 |
| 5 | 1/4/27 | 2/27/27 |
| 6 | 3/1/27 | 4/24/27 |
Important Information
Breaks
* Fall Break: 10/12/26-10/24/26
Break time encouraged. Electives may be available upon student request to registrar and advisor. Must request minimum of 2 weeks prior to 10/7.
** Winter Break: 12/21/26-1/2/27
No classes during Winter Break.
Terms
Summer: 4/27/26-8/8/26
Must have minimum 6 weeks instruction to qualify for financial aid. Full time in summer is 6 weeks.
Fall: 8/10/26-12/19/26
Must have minimum 6 weeks instruction to qualify for financial aid. Full time in fall is 12 weeks.
Spring: 1/4/27-4/24/27
Must have minimum 6 weeks instruction to qualify for financial aid. Full time in spring is 12 weeks.
Rotations beginning on a Monday where there is a national holiday will begin on Tuesday instead. For rotations already in progress, students will report based on clinical needs.