Year 4: Advanced Clinical Skills and Career Planning

The fourth year at Duke‐NUS enhances students’ preparation for their internships and residencies through clinical rotations.

All final year Duke‐NUS students are required to complete a rigorous year composed of 5 core rotations and electives of their choice. These include a Medicine Sub‐Internship, a Surgery Sub‐Internship, a Musculoskeletal Core Rotation, a Critical Care Core Rotation and an Emergency Medicine Core Rotation. In addition, students are required to complete Practice Course 4 and Capstone Course. Students are also required to complete their Family Medicine Clerkship, if it has not been completed in the third year.

Core Rotations

Medicine Sub-Internship

Surgery Sub-Internship

Musculoskeletal Core Rotation

Emergency Medicine Core Rotation

Critical Care Medicine Core Rotation

Electives

Students are required to take a minimum of 4 electives in Year 4 that are available in most sub-specialty areas. 

Capstone 

The Capstone Course aims to prepare the final year students for their residency training. Topics covered during the course address issues such as:

• Health care systems and policies
• Quality improvement
• Self care and career enhancement
• Ethical issues and professionalism
• Patient care & patient safety
• Evidence-based practice
• On call topics
• Doctor/ Patient communication
• Medical/ legal issues

The methods of delivery of the course include didactic lectures, interactive learning sessions, case study discussions, workshops and program and site visits to maximize the student learning opportunities.

Practice Course Year 4 

Practice Course 4 aims to equip fourth year students with the skills and knowledge necessary to be well-functioning sub-interns, with the added benefit of further preparing them to be doctors in a team-based, academic environment. Using a workshop format which includes activities such as role-play and interactive, problem solving sessions, the students will learn to further enhance their clinical reasoning skills. Additionally, students will acquire database-searching and literature-appraisal skills, to assist them in ordering appropriate tests and formulating evidence-based management plans.

During the course, the students will learn other integrative concepts, including effective teaching techniques and leaderships skills. Finally, the course will introduce the principles of patient safety and quality improvement.

There are two required standardized examinations in Year 4. The first is the USMLE Step 2 CK and the Y4 Clinical Performance Exam (Y4 CPX).

Contact email for Year 4: teamlead@duke-nus.edu.sg