Medical School Year 3 & 4: Clinical Sciences Overview

IAU students are required to pass the USMLE Step 1 exam before the end of the bridge semester. Once this is completed they may begin clinical rotations in the U.S. The 3rd and 4th years of medical school consist of the Clinical Sciences and are mainly comprised of clinical rotations (clerkships) under the supervision of a physician (preceptor). Our Clinical Campus is located in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona and all affiliated hospitals have ACGME accredited residency programs. Students must complete a total of forty-eight (48) weeks of core clerkships plus an additional twenty-eight (28) weeks of elective clerkships. Elective rotation details will be made available at the time of scheduling. In addition to completing clerkships during these final two years of the M.D. program, students also prepare for Step 2 CK (Clinical Knowledge) and Step 2 CS (Clinical Skills) of the USMLE, both of which must be passed before the M.D. degree is conferred.


IAUCOM Clinical Sciences Pathway


Core Clerkships (48 total credits)

The respective department chairs will oversee the rotation within their disciplines. The core rotations are Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Family Medicine. Upon completion of 24 weeks of core rotations, students are eligible to sit for USMLE Step 2 CS. Students must complete all 48 weeks of core rotations and pass the NBME CCSE (Comprehensive Clinical Sciences Examination) with a score of at least 74 to become eligible to sit for USMLE Step 2 CK.

Internal Medicine is a 12-week course for third year medical students during which they are provided with the clinical skills, knowledge, problem solving skills, and professional attitudes necessary to develop a comprehensive approach to the evaluation and care of the adult medical patient under the supervision
of the internal medicine faculty especially in the inpatient setting. During the clerkship, students will continue to improve their ability to obtain, record, analyze, and communicate clinical information.

Surgery is a 12-week course for third year medical students during which they are provided with the clinical skills, knowledge, problem solving skills, and professional attitudes necessary in the care of surgical patients with operating room and ambulatory experience under the supervision of the surgical faculty. The student will be given an opportunity to see a diverse population of patients presenting a wide variety of surgical problems, diagnose, and treat common surgical conditions and experience continuity of care by seeing patients at follow-up visits. All students attend a series of core lectures that instruct in the area of the surgical patient and the diagnosis and treatment of surgical emergencies. During the clerkship, students get exposure to care of surgical patients and are provided with instruction in pre-operative and post-operative care, basic surgical principles, asepsis, and handling of tissue.

Pediatrics is a 6-week course for third year medical students during with they are provided with the clinical skills, knowledge, problem solving skills, and professional attitudes necessary to develop a comprehensive approach to the evaluation and care of the primary and preventive care for neonates and children. Students will be provided with a solid foundation of knowledge and skills to address the health care needs of the neonates and children under the supervision of the Pediatric faculty both in the inpatient and outpatient settings. During the clerkship, students will continue to improve their ability to obtain, record, analyze and communicate clinical information.

The Psychiatry clerkship is a 6-week course for third year medical students. The clerkship will expose students to assessing and treating acute and chronic psychiatric disorders. The course focuses on diagnosis, pathogenesis, and treatment of common psychiatric disorders as well as psychiatric emergencies.

Obstetrics and Gynecology is a 6-week course for third year medical students during which they are provided with the clinical skills, knowledge, problem solving skills, and professional attitudes necessary to develop a comprehensive approach to the evaluation and care of the female patient to include primary and preventive care for women’s health care needs, with an emphasis on reproductive lifecycle needs. Students will be provided with a solid foundation of knowledge and skills to address gender specific health care needs under the supervision of the obstetrics and gynecology faculty both in the inpatient and outpatient settings. During the clerkship, students will continue to improve their ability
to obtain, record, analyze, and communicate clinical information.

Family Medicine is a 6-week course for third year medical students during which they are provided with the clinical skills, knowledge, problem solving skills, and professional attitudes necessary to access and care for patients in the family practice setting under the supervision of family medicine faculty mainly in outpatient settings. The student will be given an opportunity to see a diverse population of patients presenting with a wide variety of problems, diagnose and treat common and undifferentiated medical problems and experience continuity of care by seeing patients at follow-up visits. The students will see
patients with chronic medical problems and patients presenting for preventive health visits and attend to patients presenting with a variety of psychosocial issues.

Elective Clerkships (28 total credits)

Elective clerkships are generally 4-6 weeks in length. The goal of the elective clerkships is to expose students to specialty variation in the clinical practice in the specified specialty/ subspecialty and to provide diagnostic skills to prepare future physicians for general practice. Students will be exposed to specialty practices and investigations pertinent to the particular specialty. They will also get a chance to experience the specific field helping him/her to choose a specialty if desired.


Students who are citizens of a country other than the United States and Canada may seek approval to complete the MD program without sitting for USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK and Step 2 CS.

If approved, students will be able to move forward to AICM/clerkships after passing the NBME Comprehensive Basic Science Exam. As an alternative to Step 2 CK and Step 2 CS, students will be required to pass the NBME CCSE and an IAUCOM administered OSCE.

Please note, students will not be able to pursue clerkships in the United States without achieving a passing USMLE Step 1 score. This option is only available for students who do not intend to apply for residency in the United States and/or Canada and plan to return to their home countries, where USMLE is not required, to practice.

To request a waiver of the USMLE, students must contact the Registrar (registrar@iau.edu.lc) with a detailed written request including reasons for the request. An ad-hoc committee will convene to review the request and issue a decision. The committee will carefully review the reasons for the student’s request and the student’s career goals to determine the best course of action. This waiver is not an option for students who are seeking a way to graduate while struggling to pass the USMLE.