What are selectives?
This is a week during which you can choose to take a vacation, do something medically relevant, or engage in an activity that promotes life-long learning. We have a total of 19 scheduled selective weeks interspersed during pre-clerkship and clerkship years. We also have an additional 50-52 flexible weeks for enrichment/USMLE prep/interviews/vacation that can be used to accomplish the required 16 weeks. We are required to take 15 selective weeks for credit of our choice, plus 1 selective week which is assigned to us as *surgical skills. The other weeks you can take as a vacation or you can continue participating in selectives/enrichment if you choose to do so. The basic requirement for getting selective credit is that you spend 20 hours minimum contributing to the selective (shadowing, reading, in class, etc.). Dual degrees also count towards the required enrichment weeks.
Note: These numbers can and may change.
*check out the Success in the OR guide to prep for surgical skills week.
What type of selectives are there?
Clinical Selectives: This selective involves a “shadowing” experience in a variety of different settings. You can do it at Mayo/PCH through a lottery (Kelly will send out the info), or you can arrange one on your own at any other location (ex. back home while visiting family). This is a great way to explore the different specialties, get early exposure to the operating room or clinic setting, and connect with Mayo physicians who may help you find a research project. You can do a clinical selective during most any selective week and they will typically require you to be in the hospital or clinic during the entire week. Schedules vary depending on the specialty, physician, and holiday weeks. Generally, they expect you to serve as part of the team, so you start and end your day a the same time as the physicians.
Group Selectives: This involves 3 or more students and can be experiential (ex. Wilderness, Hazelden Betty Ford Addictions Selective) or classroom (ex. Scientific Writing, ASU Law, LGBTQI+). These are typically pre-organized and only occur during certain times of the year. Most group selectives have been offered in-person or virtual. You can typically sign up for these when you receive an email from the group selective organizer or Kelly Yardley.
Longitudinal Selectives: These are selectives that span several weeks/months rather than a single 5-day week (ex. Primary Care Scholars, Native Health, Dermatology, Medical Student as Teacher). An example may be a book club that meets once a month but lasts for the entire year. Longitudinal selectives are nice because they allow you to earn a normal “week” selective back that you can use later as a vacation. You can sign up for these when you receive an email from the selective organizer and they will each have their own criteria.
Online Selectives: These are selectives that can typically be done fully online and on your own time. They are great to do during a holiday week when you want to go visit your family or friends. These include the Personal Finance selective, a reading selective, or the Undifferentiated Medical Student podcast. Save these for times when you know you will want a light selective week. Note that you can also take selectives to conduct research, as long as your research mentor documents you spent at least 20 hours on the project.
Create Your Own Selective: If you have a specific passion or feel inspired, you can create your own selective; this can be a one-week individual one, a group selective, or a longitudinal selective. This is a great way to provide more opportunities for students that will enter medical school in later years. Generally, you will need to fill out a proposal form and find a mentor. There is a formal approval process for new selectives, but contact Kelly Yardley to learn more.
What do I need to fill out to get full credit for the selective?
All selectives must be entered into SharePoint before the start of the selective.
Students must upload their reflection form after completing the selective.
Student must request a mentor evaluation form to be completed by the organizer of the selective or the physician of the clinical selective you spent the most time with.
Both the student reflection and mentor evaluation form must be attached to SharePoint.
How to have a successful clinical selective?
If Kelly doesn't connect you, make sure you reach out to your assigned physician about 1 week prior to the start date and ask them what time you should show up, where you should show up, and what you should be wearing (scrubs/professional attire). You can also ask if you need your stethoscope, pager, and if they have any suggested readings/prep for you ahead of time.
If you know you will be going into the OR please review the Success in the OR guide.
Review the basics: if you know you will be observing in Gyn/Uro, for example, make sure you review your pelvic anatomy to get the most out of the experience.
If you ever want to learn more about a medical subject, you can use UptoDate.com (log in from library.mayo.edu) or Orthobullets.com -- these are more professional alternatives to WebMD.
Introduce yourself, ask questions, be engaged, and be kind to everyone.
Even if you realize after the first day that this isn’t the specialty for you, still show up the entire week with enthusiasm because you will be seeing the same physicians during your third-year clerkships.
Sometimes it can be helpful to do a clinical selective right after you finish the pertinent block because the prior knowledge will enhance your experience. For example, after you finish the Pathology block, doing the Pathology Selective will help you solidify the concept and get to know the faculty a little better.
You will be interacting with attendings, residents, nurses, and a whole variety of people who are working hard. There may be moments where someone is not as kind as they could be, but don’t take anything personally. Their attitude is most of the time a reflection of external things and not anything you are doing wrong, so approach these situations with kindness and forgiveness. If you do observe any form of mistreatment towards yourself, others, or patients, do not hesitate to bring it up to school administration. There is also a “report mistreatment” button on the main Intranet page.
What are some tips for traveling selectives?
In the past, students would often do clinical selectives at the Rochester campus, or set up clinical selectives back home. While COVID-19 traveling restrictions are still in place, you cannot receive funding for traveling selectives. However, you are still free to fund your own trip if you choose to travel back to your hometown or elsewhere and set up a clinical selective. You will want to run it by Admin prior to travel. These restrictions will hopefully be lifted soon. If you have questions about traveling, we suggest asking Kelly Yardley (yardley.kelly@mayo.edu) or asking upperclassmen who have previously traveled.
What are some of the best selectives according to upperclassmen?
ASU Journalism
ASU Law and Medicine
Wilderness Medicine
Students as Teachers
Happiness Selective
Transplant Selective (check out the guide)
Which selectives are flexible and allow you to take a pseudo-vacation week?
Undifferentiated Medical Student Podcast (also great for listening outside of the selective)
Self-directed research time
Computer Programming
Any reading selective (ex. Emperor of All Maladies, Mayo Brothers)
For all questions related to selectives, please contact Kelly Yardley - yardley.kelly@mayo.edu
To find more information on available selectives, visit the Selectives Page (intranet only)