FAQ

A formative and summative (final) MCQ exam are part of the internal medicine rotation evaluation.

The formative online exam is open throughout the clerkship for student learning and review, but has to be formally completed to provide students with a mark. The formative exam must be completed prior to the end of the first four-week IM block (either the MTU or subspecialty block).  Students who have not completed the formative exam by the cut-off time will not be allowed to write the final summative exam as scheduled and will have to defer the exam to the deferral period. Students are expected to make a genuine effort at this exam.

The summative exam will occur during the last week of the second four-week IM block. A student must pass this examination to be considered overall satisfactory on the Internal Medicine rotation.  There are currently two versions of the summative exam that may be used (A and B versions) and the blueprint is the same for both versions.

There are many excellent study resources that may be found under the “Clerk Resources” tab

No more than 2 days absence is allowed during the eight-week IM rotation without the need for make-up time. One personal/flex day is allowed but cannot be scheduled the week of the summative MCQ exam/any scheduled exam day, and not on first or last day of MTU rotation. Personal/flex day requests must request 12 weeks in advance of the MTU block to accommodate this request in the call schedule. Days off in lieu of prior worked holiday days will be scheduled for you.

If you are presenting at a conference, we will provide the minimal time required for transportation to and from the conference and for presentation. We need to be made aware well in advance, and please provide confirmation of your acceptance.

If you are ill with any potential infectious symptoms, please do not come to work as this would be considered in violation of Alberta Health Services current Fit For Work standards. Please speak to your preceptor (voice-to-voice conversation – a text page or email does not suffice) to inform them of your absence and complete an OSLER absence request.

Yes, both bedside teaching and virtual classroom sessions are mandatory for clerks on the subspecialty portion of the IM rotation. If you are unable to attend because of an illness or being post-call, please let us know. Missing academic half day sessions without a valid reason is considered a professionalism issue. In the instance where a clerk misses these sessions without a valid reason, the internal medicine clerkship committee may issue make-up assignments.

Call is an important learning activity on the internal medicine rotation.  We try our best to give everyone an equal learning opportunity; however, depending on higher-level scheduling issues, this may not always be possible.  However, our schedulers will never schedule a clerk for more than 7 call shifts per block (as per PARA guidelines), never on consecutive days and no more than two weekends per block.

We follow the spirit of the PARA rules. Therefore, an overnight call shift is 26 hours (24 hours of call, plus two hours for safe handover).

A call-room will always be provided for rotations with over-night (26hr) call shifts. If a rotation does not provide a call-room, on-call shifts will be scheduled until midnight at the latest and you will be expected to be at work the next morning. 

Both a mid-rotation and final ITER will be provided as part of your rotation evaluation on both the MTU as well as your subspecialty rotations.  It is important to remind your preceptors where you are in your rotation so they are aware that these ITERs require completion on their part. It is good practice to ask your preceptors for feedback at the end of each week as well.

Your preceptors will be more than happy to complete EPAs for you at your request as well. However, it is your responsibility to keep track of your EPA completion rate and ask preceptors to complete EPAs as you work through your rotation. As a general rule of thumb, we recommend you ask for an EPA at a minimum of twice per week.