College of MedicineMD ProgramStudent AffairsStudent HandbookGlossary of Terms and Acronyms

Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

Terms

Academic Probation

A decision by the Student Evaluation, Promotions, and Awards Committee based on either academic or behavioral concerns resulting in restrictions and correction needed in order to avert dismissal.

Academic Warning

A decision by the Student Evaluation, Performance, and Awards Committee designed to bring a student considered at risk from ongoing academic lapses to the attention of those who might help the student overcome their difficulties.

Administrative Leave

A process implemented to remove a student from any or all academic and clinical activities for a period of time.

Basic Medical Education (Foundational Medical Sciences)

The first phase of medical education, which introduces first- and second-year students to the foundational knowledge and skills necessary for the practice of medicine and prepares students for clinical training. Foundational medical sciences include anatomy, embryology, ethics, health equity, histology, immunology, interprofessional education, microbiology/infectious disease, nutrition, pathology, pharmacology, physiology, radiology, and more. Faculty teaching courses may be clinicians with MDs or researchers with PhDs, depending upon the subject matter.

Board-Certified Physician

A physician who has passed a national examination administered by the board for their medical discipline, such as the American Board of Family Medicine for physicians who practice family medicine and its subspecialties. Most disciplines require board-certified physicians to undergo a recertification every 10 years to validate their expertise and commitment to continuing medical education.

Clerkship

The second phase of medical education, an experiential learning process in which third- and fourth-year students participate in patient care and gain exposure to the core disciplines of medicine. These disciplines may be organized into successive rotations through the traditional block clerkship or integrated throughout the year in a Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC). Medical students at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine complete an LIC during their third year.

During the clerkship, students work in outpatient and inpatient care settings as junior members of the medical team, closely supervised by practicing physicians and sometimes residents. Students begin to diagnose and treat patients, expanding the foundational science knowledge and clinical skills learned during the first two years.

Continuing Medical Education

Education physicians must complete after their residency or fellowship training to maintain their licenses. These education requirements ensure that physicians remain current in the latest developments in their fields.

Dismissal

Dismissed as a student from the MD program at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. 

Fellowship Training

Additional subspecialty training completed after residency training. Fellowship training is required or highly encouraged for some medical disciplines, such as neurosurgery or otolaryngology. Fellowship programs are typically one to three years long, although they can be as long as seven years depending on the discipline. Fellowships often include an emphasis on conducting research.

Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS)

National medical honor society.

Graduate Medical Education (UME)

Training completed after obtaining a medical degree, referring to residency training or fellowship training.

Internship

A term used to describe the first year of residency training. A first-year resident may be referred to as an intern, R-1 (Resident-1), or PGY-1 (postgraduate year one).

National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME)

Offers assessment tools for medical schools.

National Residency Matching Program (NRMP)

A centralized system for placing medical students into most residency and fellowship programs in the U.S., overseen by the nonprofit organization NRMP. Medical students apply to residency programs during their fourth year via several possible application systems: the AAMC Electronic Residency Match Service (ERAS) for most programs, Military Match for the military, and San Francisco Match for ophthalmology. For the application, students submit an application form, personal statements, letters of recommendation, and USMLE test scores to their preferred residencies and are invited to participate in interviews. After interviews, students submit a list ranking their preferred residencies and residency programs submit a list ranking their preferred applicants to the NRMP. On Match Day, on the third Friday of March, students are matched with the highest-ranked residency program on their list that also ranked them.  

Professionalism

A set of attitudes, behaviors, and expectations as defined in the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine Medical Student Handbook Professionalism and Self-awareness section, which a student must demonstrate in academic settings (courses/clerkships), co-curricular activities and public forums. 

Readmission

The process whereby a former student who withdrew or was dismissed seeks to re-enter the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine.

Remediation

An activity to address a deficiency as determined by the SEPAC after consideration of a clerkship or course director recommendation, an assessment of a student’s overall academic performance, a student’s written request, or other factors deemed relevant. 

Repetition

Retaking part or all of an academic year due to substandard performance, usually following unsuccessful remediation of deficiencies, with the SEPAC determining whether the process requires concurrent or sequential repetition of other courses or clerkships. 

Residency Training

Training completed after obtaining a medical degree that provides medical school graduates with the additional hands-on experience they need to become independently practicing physicians. Residency programs are three to seven years long, depending on the discipline. Residents gain more independence and responsibility as they proceed through training, eventually supervising junior residents and medical students. Residency training is required to obtain a license to practice medicine in the U.S. as an MD. Most states require at least two years of residency training for licensure, although a few require only one year of residency training for some disciplines.

SEPAC

The Student Evaluation, Promotions and Awards Committee (SEPAC), which functions to make recommendations regarding the standards and procedures for all WSU College of Medicine medical student evaluation, advancement, graduation, and disciplinary action. SEPAC verifies individuals in each class for promotion and graduation by review of each student’s academic performance.

Sub-Internship

A clinical rotation similar to a traditional block clerkship rotation, where fourth-year students gain further experience in a discipline of their choice. Students participate in patient care as in a clerkship, but with additional decision-making and medical record-keeping responsibilities. The sub-internship helps prepare students for their internship, which is the first year of residency. All medical students at the College of Medicine are required to complete a sub-internship during their fourth year.

Undergraduate Medical Education (UME)

The four years of study and training required to complete a medical degree. Despite medical students who hold bachelor’s degrees being college graduates, they are considered “undergraduate” because they have yet to complete the course work and training required for the MD degree.

United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE)

A three-part national exam that tests fundamental knowledge of the medical sciences and clinical practice. Students take the first part of the exam at the end of the second year of medical school and the second part of the exam in the first half of their fourth year of medical school. The third part of the exam is taken at the end of the first year of residency training. Passing all parts of the exam is one of the requirements for obtaining a state license to practice medicine in the U.S. as an MD.

For medical students, the exams are:

  • Step 1: Assesses knowledge from the Foundational years
  • Step 2: Clinical Knowledge (CK) assesses fundamental clinical knowledge

Voluntary Leave of Absence

A leave of absence initiated voluntarily by a student and limited to being academic, financial, medical, military, personal, or scholarly in need.

Withdrawing in Good Standing

Voluntarily leaving the college with no academic or professionalism standard issues and not intending to return thus no longer being considered an enrolled student.

Acronyms