School of Medicine

The transition from the pre‐clinical curriculum to the hospital wards is arguably the most exciting, yet anxiety‐provoking time in a medical student’s career. In spite of a vigorous and informative Clinical Transitions Week orientation, students often feel ill‐prepared and uninformed for the pending transition. Students are often left to discover proper ward etiquette, specific clerkship cultures and personalities, and Electronic Medical Records in a trial‐by‐fire manner that can often leave a highly capable student discouraged if they are not able to understand and adapt to their role appropriately. The psyche and confidence of a budding student doctor is fragile and vulnerable and these pressures can hinder a student’s desire to learn and engage on a clerkship. Prior to this project, there was no single document or reference available to medical students to describe the various aspects of the third year of medical school at UCSD School of Medicine. Various resources were scattered, difficult to access, and did not incorporate the input of all levels of medical education (i.e. students, residents, attendings, administration etc.). The UCSD School of Medicine 3rd Year Survival Guide was designed to be used in conjunction with Clinical Transitions Week to increase student preparedness and smoothen the transition to the clinical wards.