Clinical Education | Years 3 and 4

Clinical Rotations

Clinical education experiences are an exciting component of a student's medical education. Clinical experiences are offered across the curriculum, beginning with Community and Clinical Experiences (CCEs) during years 1 and 2, followed by the Required Clinical Rotations in year 3, then Electives and Selectives in year 4.

Year 3

The third-year curriculum includes seven required clinical courses, each led by a discipline-specific expert known as a discipline director, and two longitudinal required courses. These faculty guide the student’s coursework and learning via a hybrid approach, including online learning and real-time faculty-led sessions that supplements what they experience with you, the preceptor, in your clinical learning environment. Students will participate in discipline director led education one half-day each week, plus dedicated time for education in osteopathic patient care. Students will not be on rotation during this dedicated time. Each of the required third year courses ends with a standardized Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Achievement Test (COMAT) that must be passed to successfully complete the course.

Required Clinical Rotations | Year 3

Family Medicine
Internal Medicine
General Surgery
Emergency Medicine
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Pediatric Medicine
Psychiatric Medicine
Osteopathic Medicine, Manipulation, and Principles - Longitudinal Course
Osteopathic Patient Care Clinical Skills - Longitudinal Course

Year 4

In the fourth year, students finalize the remainder of their required courses, including Palliative Medicine, Health Systems Science, electives in Internal Medicine subspecialties and Surgical subspecialties, a fourth year longitudinal Osteopathic Medicine, Manipulation, and Principles course, and a wide variety of clinical electives of their choosing. A final standardized GME Readiness Assessment occurs in the final semester of the fourth year to ensure our students are truly ready to enter their next phase of medical education.

Hear from students about their experiences and approach to clinical rotations.

Clinical Education Cohorts

Students are assigned to a clinical education cohort to complete their clinical education during years 3 and 4 of medical school. Students meet the clinical curricular requirements through a variety of experiences and locations including inpatient hospital-based, outpatient ambulatory settings, residency programs/clinics, private practices, and other community-based providers. Most of the cohorts are based at a partnering hospital/healthcare system, and others are based in a geographic region supported by several clinical partners. No matter which cohort a student is placed, all students have the opportunity to learn at a variety of settings with credentialed clinical faculty within the catchment area of the cohort.

The clinical education staff and leadership at Heritage College support medical students across all three campuses through an interconnected and coordinated statewide support system comprised of geographic divisions and units, each of which is anchored by a Heritage College campus (Athens, Cleveland and Dublin). Students also have on-site support at their assigned cohort sites.