Elective

There are three types of electives:

1. Standard elective - This includes 4 Farrell sessions per week, plus Thursday afternoon didactics, and four sessions of elective. Requests to have Farrell sessions at specific times should be submitted at least 90 days prior to the start of the elective and will depend on room/preceptor/MA availability. If the request for Farrell sessions is not submitted on time, sessions will be scheduled where they fit best for the practice. If an elective request is not submitted at least 60 days prior to the start of the elective, the elective will default to a Farrell elective. If the elective involves sessions outside of NYP (even Columbia Doctors), it will need the GME paperwork in #4. Procedural sessions at Farrell (such as Procedure Clinic, MSK, and Early Options) will count as elective sessions, not FHC sessions.

2. Away elective - Away electives are experiences that are beyond reasonable commuting time to Farrell. In special circumstances, a resident make do a partial away elective for a local experience, such as ABC News, when the elective experience requires a full-time commitment. These will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

3. Farrell elective- This elective includes 7 Farrell sessions per week. It is generally done in order for a resident to increase patient volume or work on patient care skills such as efficiency. Farrell procedures sessions such as Procedure Clinic, Integrative Medicine, or Early Options may be included if the request is made more than 90 days prior to the start of the elective. 

1. Discuss elective ideas with your advisor.

2. Determine the type of elective as above.

3. If standard or Farrell elective, notify Dr. Diaz and Ileana (and cc Dr. Paladine) at least 90 days prior with requests for Farrell sessions. If an away elective, discuss with Dr. Paladine.

4. A) Does the elective include sessions outside of NYP (Columbia Doctors is considered outside NYP)? 

• If so, you'll need the Request for a New Out-Rotation form and the Program Letter of Agreement. 

• Please make a draft and review with Dr. Paladine (send an electronic copy). She will finish, sign, and send to GME (120d in advance). 

• Ruth will follow up on GME approval. 

• The justification must include why this experience can't be obtained through NYP. 

• Both of these forms must be submitted together to GME for approval. 

  • • • HANDWRITTEN FORMS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED BY GME! 

      • Out Rotation Request (PLA)_PDF (can open as google doc and edit directly)

      • Program Letter of Agreement (PLA 2019) (can open as google doc and edit directly)

B) Does the elective include sessions at another residency program/fellowship in NYP?

• If so, you'll need to complete the NYPH Internal Rotation Agreement 

• Please make sure to include goals and objectives for each competency (patient care, medical knowledge, system based practice, practice based learning and improvement, professionalism, and interpersonal/communication skills)- example below.

5. Submit goals and objectives for each competency (patient care, medical knowledge, system based practice, practice based learning and improvement, professionalism, and interpersonal/communication skills). An example is below.

   • 1. • Educational Goals and Objectives: The aim of this project is to conduct a needs assessment of the residents at Project Renewal’s New Providence Women's Shelter. The needs assessment will be conducted using focus groups, surveys, and conducting individual qualitative narratives. The needs assessment will aid the Shelter in providing more tailored clinical and social services for its residents, while allowing an opportunity for residents to relay their experiences in a therapeutic fashion. The assessment will also inform necessary intervention and future improvement projects with New Providence Shelter and its partners.

        • Patient Care: to learn how policies derived from governmental institutions directly impact patient care, to assess what are the medical needs of the residents at New Providence Community Shelter and to better understand the unstably housed population in New York City and how different policies impact these service.

        • Medical Knowledge: To apply prior knowledge in quantitative and qualitative research methods to execute my analysis.

        • Practice-based learning and improvement: To better understand the needs of unstably housed women, and apply these lessons to other vulnerable populations.

        • Interpersonal and communication skills: To establish a successful service-learning partnership between NYP Family Medicine Residency and Project Renewal, specifically at New Providence Community Shelter; to enhance skills in conducting successful focus groups in specifically an unstably housed population; to work with various stakeholders, including Shelter staff, physicians, and residents, as well as vendors who may donate for incentives for the project.

        • Professionalism: To deepen the resident’s humanism and inspire the same in other physicians by learning about and serving vulnerable populations with compassion.

        • System-based practice: To establish a service-learning partnership between NYP Family Medicine and Project Renewal, in order to establish the foundation for a sustainable relationship by which other Resident Physicians can continue to understand and serve homeless populations.

6. Complete the Elective Request Form (This is our internal form.)

• Be as specific as possible. For example, don't just write "research" or "study", list "work on IRB application", "meet with research advisor", "take practice exam" for the different half-days of the elective.

• If doing study electives with modules, online activities, board review, etc, please indicate which activities you will be doing during the time and what you will complete during the rotation. 

• Study electives do need a supervisor (often your advisor) and you should plan to meet with them about your elective progress at least part way during the rotation.

7. Send Dr. Paladine the information about your elective supervisor so that we can send the evaluation form.

Elective Examples

INTERNATIONAL AWAY ELECTIVE –  (needs paperwork completed 3 months prior to departure as it requires approval and processing from GME; requires experiences one cannot obtain at NYPH) 

• High volume OB elective at BC Women's Hospital in Vancouver, BC, Canada: http://postgrad.med.ubc.ca/prospective-trainees/postgraduate-trainees/ 

• La Romana, Dominican Republic Peds HIV NGO - coordinate with Dr. Amesty

• Traditional Chinese Medicine c/o Fu Xing Hospital in Beijing - coordinate with Dr. Lin

• Shoulder to shoulder - join a group to provide care in rural Honduras

• Cachamsi Medical Spanish Institute in Ecuador - http://www.cachamsi.com/ 

• ICAP Global Initiatives through the Mailman School of Public Health: http://icap.columbia.edu/

• International abortion training through Medical Students for Choice, includes Mexico City: https://www.msfc.org/residents/rhe-abortion-training/ 

• Can directly schedule with Marie Stopes clinic in Mexico City: Dr. Alfonso Carrera, alfonso.carrera@mariestopes.mx Send email in Spanish

Out of State AWAY Elective (needs paperwork completed 3 months prior to departure as it requires approval and processing from GME; requires experiences one cannot obtain at NYPH)  

• Alaska Norton Health Sound Corporation: A one-month rotation in an indigenous health care system in remote Alaska. Opportunities within the rotation include Family Medicine run: primary care, urgent care, emergency medicine, rural primary care (remote indigenous villages) and medical evacuation flights. https://www.nortonsoundhealth.org/resident-and-student-rotation/

• Rural elective in Hawaii: https://www.hifmr.org/apply-for-rotation.html  

• Abortion training through Medical Students for Choice, may include funding: https://www.msfc.org/residents/rhe-abortion-training/ or abortiontraining.org

• Wilderness Medicine Elective: https://wms.org/conferences/elective/ 

• Dr. Stephanie Arnold, residency graduate with Direct Primary Care practice in VA. Can focus on first trimester abortion, gender affirming care, or practice management (two out of three): stephaniemaarnold@gmail.com