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Curricular Affairs

M4 Acting Internships

What is the Acting Internship (AI)?

  • Acting Internships or AIs (formally titled Subinternships) are the WSU SOM's new term for certain courses at the SOM. The Class of 2025 is the first to experience this name change, but every student in the Class of 2025 and onward will be expected to take an Acting Internship. 
  • An AI is a clerkship dedicated to promoting higher skills in patent care that includes greater autonomy and preparation for the first year of post-graduate training.
  • Previously, the SOM referred to these as required Sub-Is.  
    • Now, what we previously called a clinical elective at WSU will now be called a subinternship (sub-I)

Why Change the Name?

  • The name Acting Internship showcases the expectation for students to act more closely to interns in this required course.
  • Changing all other M4 clinical electives to be called subinternships better reflects the workload expected in each course and matches the popular nomenclature of other medical schools across the nation. (i.e., a Sub-I in neurosurgery is now the correct term for an inpatient clinical rotation.)
    • Every inpatient clinical elective will now be called a subinternship.
    • All rotations are now labelled overtly as clinical or non-clinical rotations. 

Who Needs to Do an Acting Internship?

  • Every medical student will need to do an AI at some point in their M4 year.

Which Courses Will Count as Acting Internships? 

What's New with Acting Internship Evaluations?  

  • The new task of the AI is to evaluate the competency of students to enter residency by evaluating performance of the EPAs (Entrustable Professional Activities). We continue to develop this course as an in-vitro replacement for STEP 2 CS (gone forever) that will evaluate our students in a different manner. 
  • In an effort to encourage students to think about these AIs as opportunities for growth and development rather than just a grade on their transcript, we're asking students to use these evaluations to get feedback they can use throughout their internship.
  • Students will request more evaluations throughout the month to get feedback in a point of care assessment style.
  • Want to know more about Acting Internship evaluations? Watch Acting Internship Director Dr. Joel Appel explain more in this helpful video.

Acting Internship Evaluation Requirements:

  • 6 EPA evaluations from a resident or attending (EPA 1, EPA 2, EPA 3, EPA 4, EPA 6, EPA 7, EPA 8, EPA 9, EPA 10, EPA 12)
    • Please note, EPA 5 and EPA 11 are not included for assessment.
    • These evaluations are separated into individual EPAs where students will be evaluated using a modified Ottawa Scale to assess the independence they demonstrate in performing each EPA.
    • The SOM is encouraging preceptors to complete these on their phones in real time, but to couple these evaluations with verbal feedback for student growth.
    • A single resident or attending can complete more than one EPA, though we encourage more evaluators, when possible, for additional insights, growth, and overall feedback.
  • 1 Narrative Assessment from a resident or attending (AI Internal Med Narrative Assessment, AI Pediatrics Narrative Assessment, AI Family Med Narrative Assessment)
    • This evaluation will ask the preceptor to identify professional and unprofessional behaviors and ethical and unethical behaviors. It will also ask the preceptor to provide overall comments on performance and comments for student growth not to be included on the MSPE (Dean’s Letter).
    • We encourage preceptors to be thorough in their comments, as this is where students really gain the information to grow, and it's often the first thing students check when they get an evaluation back.
  • 1 AI Director Final Grade
    • The Course Director will use the information provided by the 6 EPA assessments and the 1 Narrative Assessment to determine a grade for the elective.