Can MSTP fund a *third* clinical year (electives)?

[Brachio Brad]

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Howdy friends,

I'm an MSTP MD/PhD who defended my thesis over a year ago, who's finished my 3rd-year (and early 4th-year) clinical core clerkships-- yet I still have only a modest idea of what I want to choose as my medical specialty. I'd like to do some Sub-I's and clinical electives in a range of fields (especially in Path, which I find interesting but don't know much about yet), but there just hasn't been room in the schedule, and now I'm not sure what I really want to do.

Ideally, I'd like to take an extra year to do some electives, thus spreading my clinical years out to 3 rather than 2 (as some of my MD-only colleagues have done). The added bonus here is that my PI is just getting out the last of my papers from grad school (another grad student was doing some overlapping work and he wanted to hold the paper for those results to come in), and taking an extra year would give me some breathing room to maybe do some wrap-up experiments in case reviewers want them.

I'm not terribly thrilled about taking yet another year but this is such an important decision, I don't want to rush into it. What I am worried about though, is that if I take an extra year, it may not be funded by MSTP. I don't think the med school will charge tuition for the extra year-- but the stipend is awfully nice, and I'm worried that I won't get the MSTP funding for the extra year and have to take out a loan for the living expenses. (Not too bad a hit but not ideal either.) Also, is there some minimal requirement of courses during that extra year to stay enrolled full-time? (I.e., do most schools require you to be enrolled in courses e.g. 10 out of 12 months-- thus limiting opportunities for e.g. flex-time research?)

I'd thought I'd heard of second-cycle MSTPs at some program managing to get MSTP-funded for three clinical years as they explored electives, but I'm not so sure. Does anyone know the run-down on this?

 

[Gfunk6]

This is strictly institution dependent as there is no MSTP-wide policy. Ask the director nicely. 🙂 🙂

 

[beary]

My MSTP program would definitely not fund people for another year. Actually, we only get funded for one elective (or two if you really push it like me 🙂 ) during our clinical years.

 

[mdphd2b]

Howdy friends,


Ideally, I'd like to take an extra year to do some electives, thus spreading my clinical years out to 3 rather than 2 (as some of my MD-only colleagues have done). The added bonus here is that my PI is just getting out the last of my papers from grad school (another grad student was doing some overlapping work and he wanted to hold the paper for those results to come in), and taking an extra year would give me some breathing room to maybe do some wrap-up experiments in case reviewers want them.

I'd thought I'd heard of second-cycle MSTPs at some program managing to get MSTP-funded for three clinical years as they explored electives, but I'm not so sure. Does anyone know the run-down on this?

I've never heard of anyone in my program doing this. But my question for you is what about doing the "Transitional year"? Isn't that what some undecided people go into first? At least that way you could rotate and get paid a little more as an MD and probably still take Step 3 (unless I'm mistaken)? If you stay at your own institution, maybe you can work research into the Transitional year?

I may be clueless about the whole thing, but perhaps it's an option to look into. Good luck 🙂

 

[Hurricane]

My MSTP program would definitely not fund people for another year. Actually, we only get funded for one elective (or two if you really push it like me 🙂 ) during our clinical years.

Seriously? What's the rationale behind that? What do you do with the rest of the time?

In my MSTP program, we have to do a research project during the 4th year, but it can range from anywhere from 4-20 weeks, and we can divide up the time however we want.

 

[beary]

Seriously? What's the rationale behind that? What do you do with the rest of the time?

We have a different clinical schedule than most other MSTPs. Everybody here does medicine the summer before starting graduate school. Then after 4-5 years in the lab, the program aims for us to return to clinic in about March or April, and then we graduate in May one year later. So we end up with a little more than 1 year of clinical rotations instead of 2. It is compressed by eliminating most elective and vacation time (which is a lot of the M4 year).

I think this is more efficient and basically saves us a year in the program. However, there can be some disadvantages - if you don't know what specialty you want to go into when you're coming out of grad school, you don't have a lot of time to explore possibilities since applications have to go out in only a few months.

 

[Hurricane]

We have a different clinical schedule than most other MSTPs. Everybody here does medicine the summer before starting graduate school. Then after 4-5 years in the lab, the program aims for us to return to clinic in about March or April, and then we graduate in May one year later. So we end up with a little more than 1 year of clinical rotations instead of 2. It is compressed by eliminating most elective and vacation time (which is a lot of the M4 year).

I think this is more efficient and basically saves us a year in the program. However, there can be some disadvantages - if you don't know what specialty you want to go into when you're coming out of grad school, you don't have a lot of time to explore possibilities since applications have to go out in only a few months.

So only the MSTP students lose the 4th year, and the regular medical students have the traditional 4th year? When do you interview? I can't imagine trying to schedule interviews during third-year clerkships.

What program are you in?

 

[beary]

So only the MSTP students lose the 4th year, and the regular medical students have the traditional 4th year? When do you interview? I can't imagine trying to schedule interviews during third-year clerkships.

What program are you in?

I'm at Iowa. The regular medical students do have the traditional 4th year. We don't lose all the 4th year as we have to do a sub-I and a few other things. We do schedule interviews during third-year clerkships which I am finding very painful. I have the month of December off so I am trying to put most of them then.

 

[mdphd2b]

I'm at Iowa. The regular medical students do have the traditional 4th year. We don't lose all the 4th year as we have to do a sub-I and a few other things. We do schedule interviews during third-year clerkships which I am finding very painful. I have the month of December off so I am trying to put most of them then.

At our school (and I imagine most others), passing steps 1&2 are graduation requirements. So do all the MSTP's at Iowa end up taking step2 post-Match Day?

 

[beary]

At our school (and I imagine most others), passing steps 1&2 are graduation requirements. So do all the MSTP's at Iowa end up taking step2 post-Match Day?

I think we usually take step 2 before Match Day, but after the other students. I will probably take it in January or February. Unfortunately this will be before my ob-gyn clerkship so I will need to study that on my own.