Rules and Regulations

II. REQUIREMENTS FOR PROMOTION AND GRADUATION

A. Candidates for the degree of Doctor of Medicine must exhibit the requisite attitudes, skills, knowledge and professional behavior to complete the prescribed course of study, and must meet "The Essential Functions for Admission and Matriculation" cited in the catalog of UMDNJ Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. In addition, a candidate must also possess personal qualifications and attributes deemed necessary to perform the duties of a medical professional. Specifically, all candidates are expected to exhibit unimpaired judgment and behavior consistent with the responsibilities of a medical professional. Thus, in addition to the usual academic evaluations for each course, the student evaluation will also take into consideration the following:

B. Entrance into the second year requires successful completion of the first year curriculum, passage of the First Year Comprehensive Examination and compliance with the reporting requirements for the Independent Project.   Entrance into the third year requires successful completion of the second year curriculum and compliance with the reporting requirements for the Independent Project. Entrance into the third clerkship of the third year curriculum requires passage of the United States Medical Licensing Exam Step 1, unless an exception is specifically authorized by the Academic Standing Committee. Prior to beginning required rotations of the fourth year curriculum, students must satisfactorily complete all core clerkships of the third year and satisfy the reporting requirements for the Independent Project.  Students who fail to satisfy these requirements will not be permitted to register for the next academic year.

C. Students for whom greater than 2.5 years have elapsed since the completion of the Physical Diagnosis course or the second year Patient Centered Medicine course must satisfy the following requirements prior to entry into the third year:

1.Students must take a six week "practice clerkship" in Medicine or Family Medicine, at least 50% of which shall be in an inpatient setting, immediately prior to entry into the third year curriculum. The activities of the "practice clerkship" will conform to a standard clerkship except that no written exam will be given, no credit will be given, and no grade will be entered on the transcript. The student will, however, be given evaluative feedback. This requirement will be waived for students in an M.D./Ph.D. program that includes regular clinical experiences during the Ph.D. phase.

2.Students must take Introduction to the Clerkship Experience (during the last week of June) prior to taking the first clerkship for credit.

3.For M.D./Ph.D. students, all work for the Ph.D. (including thesis defense and revisions) must be completed prior to starting the "practice clerkship" if a “practice clerkship” is required or the first clerkship for credit if a “practice clerkship” is not required.

D. All students must pass the Summative Clinical Skills Assessment, complete the Clinical Procedures Requirement, and complete the Independent Scholarly Project.

E. Successful completion of twenty-three weeks of electives (three of which must be in an ambulatory outpatient specialty) will be required to graduate. Under special circumstances and at the discretion of the Academic Standing Committee, up to four weeks of electives may be waived. In certain cases the M.D. degree may be awarded after the University commencement, once the student successfully completes all requirements.

1.Students who are in the M.D./Ph.D. program and have completed all course and research requirements for the Ph.D. (as certified by the thesis advisor) will be allowed to substitute the Ph.D. training for up to 16 weeks of electives.

2.Students who are in the M.D./M.P.H. program or the M.D./M.B.A. program and have completed all requirements for the M.P.H. or M.B.A. (as certified by the program director) will be allowed to substitute Public Health courses previously taken for up to 16 weeks of electives. Two weeks of fourth year elective credit is allowed for each three credit Public Health course. Public Health courses used for credit in the pre-clerkship curriculum may not be used for fourth year credit.

3.Students who are in the MD/MSCTS program and have completed all requirements for the MSCTS (as certified by the program director) will be allowed to substitute core required courses in the MSCTS program for up to 12 weeks of elective credit. Two weeks of fourth year elective credit are allowed for each 3 credit MSCTS course.

4.Students engaged in Student Scholar activity (approved by the Dean of Student Affairs) after completion of the pre-clerkship may receive up to 8 weeks of elective credit. In order to receive credit, students must submit an approved Individually Designed Elective form to the Office of the Registrar prior to beginning this activity.

5.Students who complete masters or doctoral programs at other universities while enrolled at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School may receive up to 16 weeks of elective credit for work done toward these degrees with approval of the Dean of Student Affairs.

F. All students must successfully complete the full third and fourth year curricula and pass the United States Medical Licensing Exam Step 2 (Clinical Knowledge) and Step 2 (Clinical Skills) prior to being awarded the M.D. degree.