Fourth Year (M4) Electives

Acting Internship in Family Medicine

This four-week rotation for fourth-year students focuses on comprehensive inpatient care. The student will function as a full team member with residents and faculty, assuming primary inpatient responsibility for their panel of patients. The student will attend daily tutorials and conferences with Family and Community Medicine faculty as scheduled with the inpatient team.

Preceptorship in Family Medicine

This course is available to M4 students planning a career in Family Medicine. Students are paired with a Family Medicine preceptor for 4-week outpatient rotations. Preceptorship may include family medicine physicians in their private offices, both rural and urban-based.

Palliative Care Elective

Palliative and hospice care focuses on quality of life for patients with life-threatening illnesses and their families. There are two spots available most months – one with an adult palliative care team, one with a pediatric palliative care team. Relevant medical, legal, ethical, cultural, spiritual, and psychological topics will be addressed through interdisciplinary experiences.

Geriatrics Elective

The Geriatrics Elective at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine is a comprehensive course designed to provide medical students with an in-depth understanding of the unique healthcare needs of older adults. The course is taught by experienced geriatrics-fellowship trained family medicine physicians and covers a wide range of topics such as age-related changes in physiology, pharmacology, and the management of chronic diseases. Students will have the opportunity to participate in clinical rotations at various geriatric care settings such as nursing homes and senior living centers. Additionally, the course includes seminars, workshops, and case studies that offer students hands-on experience in assessing and managing complex geriatric cases.

Global Health Elective

The Global Health course gives fourth year medical students intensive training in practical primary care delivery in low resource settings. It is a four-week elective (or ICE) with didactic time in Cincinnati, and then field work in an underserved international setting.

Students are prepared for field work with one week of didactics in tropical medicine, cross cultural medicine, global health ethics, community, and population health, as well as the determinants of health. The course is led by a team of multi-disciplinary faculty from across the medical center and community.

The off-site component involves providing patient care in underserved areas, interpreting clinical data, and participating in a variety of public health projects.

More information on the electives can be found on the Global Health Electives Page

Homeless Health

Fourth year students may arrange this two-week elective to work with the programs that provide healthcare to the homeless population in Greater Cincinnati. Over the two weeks, students will work with medical, behavioral health, dental, respite and advocacy programs. A reading module will be provided, and students will identify learning objectives for the rotation. Both will be discussed with faculty at a weekly journal club.

Patients with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

This course introduces medical students to primary care, including psychiatric care, for patients with a variety of developmental and intellectual disabilities in the outpatient setting. Because we cannot control the schedule, the student will be seeing a mix of patients with and without disabilities. We will try our best to maximize their exposure to patients with disabilities, but they will likely also be doing some general family medicine during their time with us. During the course, students will have the opportunity to provide direct medical care as well as participate in off-site experiences including visiting group homes and workshops, attending specialty medical and psychiatric clinics, etc. Directed self-study about specific disabilities of the student's choosing is also an integral part of the course.

Research Elective

This fourth-year elective is available to all medical students with an interest in clinical, practice based or health services research.

Students must contact the research division director a minimum of three months prior to their planned elective month to complete online human subjects and research ethics training prior to the start of the elective.

Service-Learning Elective

The Service-Learning Longitudinal Elective at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine is a unique opportunity for fourth-year medical students to engage with and serve their local communities. In this elective, students are paired with a community partner of their choosing, such as a local non-profit organization or community health center. Over the course of the year, students work collaboratively with their partners to develop and implement projects that address the health needs of the community. Students engage in a range of activities including health screenings, health education sessions, and community outreach initiatives. Through this elective, students gain a deeper understanding of the social determinants of health and the impact of these factors on community health outcomes.

Transgender Health Elective

The Transgender Health Elective at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine is a specialized 2-week course designed to provide medical students with an understanding of the unique healthcare needs of transgender and gender expansive individuals. The course covers a wide range of topics including gender identity development, hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgeries, gender spectrum vocal care, mental health concerns, and legal and social issues affecting the transgender population. Students will rotate in multiple settings and have an opportunity to work with interdisciplinary teams caring for transgender patients across the lifespan.