Students must take into consideration policies related to scheduled electives when scheduling residency interviews in the months leading up to the match. SGUSOM has a policy for senior students taking time off during clinical rotations, including electives. Electives, once approved by the hospital, may not be cancelled by the student without consent of the hospital. Failure to do so in the past has led to problems that have jeopardized students’ graduation dates. Our policy above states that "Unexcused absences are not permitted while doing a clinical rotation." An appointment for a residency interview does not qualify as an "excused absence”. An "excused absence" means the student has permission from an attending physician (DME, Clerkship Director or Preceptor) to take time off for the interview. This needs to be discussed ahead of time, preferably even before the rotation starts. Absences from a rotation without such permission, even for interviews, can be grounds for an incomplete or failure in that rotation. The reason for this is that DMEs, clerkship directors and/or preceptors must certify that the student has attended the rotation for the designated number of weeks. From a legal and regulatory point of view, a week is defined as five full days. If students travel to interviews and miss several days of the rotation, asking that the evaluation form attest to a full rotation without making up that time would be fraudulent. Any days off or lost clinical time from rotations must be made up by utilizing additional on call or weekend time at the discretion of the clerkship director. Educational projects, such as a research assignment and/or presentation of a topic, could also be used by the clerkship director to make up time away from the rotation. No time off is permitted during sub-internships.
Students are advised to arrange for a four-week LOA or bridge time to attend many or all residency interviews. However, not every student can afford the time off. Students are encouraged to look at their clinical calendar (see the OCG website under 3rd year) to see if they can take the time off without jeopardizing their graduation timeline. Students who cannot take any time off should try to plan their interview season so that interviews are dispersed among the four months of "interview season," if possible. Any questions about this policy should be referred to the student’s primary advisor.