LAUSR

Recent discussions have sparked a debate about the purpose and function of the fourth year of medical school and the transition from undergraduate to graduate medical education. Our institution recently reformed our medical school curriculum into a three-part, competency-based curriculum that spans for 4 years, called Lead, Serve, Inspire (LSI). We present a novel way to structure the fourth year of medical school to better prepare our students for the next phase of their education in two ways, the development of Clinical Tracks and Advanced Competencies. The Clinical Tracks form individualized specialty-specific educational plans for students, preparing them to obtain the skills needed to be proficient interns in the specialty in which they hope to match. The Advanced Competencies are experiences that offer enhanced content that map to one of the Core Educational Objectives of the College of Medicine. They are often interdisciplinary and generalizable to multiple practice areas in both clinical and non-clinical activities. Ultimately, the goal of this revision is to create a competency-based, specialty-specific curriculum during the fourth year that will allow students to obtain the skills needed to function as interns on the first day of their postgraduate year 1 (PGY-1) of residency.