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Medical Students - Department of Medicine
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Acting Medical Internship

Acting Medical Internship (AI) is a four-week (28 day) program that offers intensive, inpatient experiences in internal medicine, featuring primary patient care responsibility and direct reporting relationships with faculty and upper-level residents in the Department of Medicine. During the AI, students assume ownership for the overall care of their assigned patients for the entire continuum of admission to discharge including transitions of care. In a closely supervised setting, the Acting Intern will experience the roles and responsibilities of an intern on the team.

Primary Patient Care Responsibility

Primary patient care responsibility includes:

  • Interacting with patients and their families
  • Writing patient notes
  • Calling consultants
  • Helping develop and direct management plans
  • Having the opportunity to perform procedures as appropriate under close supervision
  • Anticipating discharge and appropriate patient needs that accompany these types of transitions
  • Working as part of a patient care team
  • Learning to write patient orders
  • Incremental growth of patient care responsibilities as clinical skills develop throughout the month

Students who completed an Acting Medical Internship in past years have considered it an invaluable experience. These students contributed not only their hard work, but also a great deal of enthusiasm and new ideas. In return, they were able to confirm and increase their confidence in their abilities as a physician. We feel strongly that an Acting Medical Internship in internal medicine will be an important part of your last year in medical school, no matter what your future medical training plans may be.

Highlights of Acting Medical Internship

Highlights of an Acting Medical Internship include:

  • Admitting patients with your resident
  • Becoming an integral member of an inpatient ward service
  • Being the primary physician for up to six patients

Clinical Opportunities in Tertiary Care-Oriented Environment

Acting interns at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center have the opportunity to work one-on-one with a resident and treat patients in an academic and tertiary care-oriented environment.

At the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, acting interns will experience a great deal of autonomy in treating and caring for a complex population.

Call Schedule Responsibilities

Both UH and the VA have a night float system and a Q4 admission schedule (long, medium, short, no call)

  • Long call: admit two patients before 7 p.m.; can leave at 9 p.m.; must leave by 10:30 p.m.
  • Medium call: admit one patient before 4 p.m.; can leave by 7 p.m.; must leave by 9 p.m.
  • Short call: admit one patient before 1 p.m.; no short call on weekends

Robust Educational Activities

  • Daily noon conferences
  • Daily rounds led by residents and faculty
  • Weekly Acting Intern and Intern Morning Report

How to Apply

To apply for the Acting Medical Internship:

  • Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine students should contact the Case School of Medicine Registrar
  • Visiting medical students will apply through the AAMC-VSLO platform

Acting Medical Internship positions last for one month and are offered during every rotation block, both at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, except for Block 7 (the winter holiday block). Blocks 1 and 2 are reserved for Case students.

Please note that accepting an Acting Medical Internship rotation represents a commitment to the Department of Medicine for a one-month clerkship.

Registration Information

Case Western Reserve University Students

Registration for Case Western Reserve Medical Students begins on February 1st. Acting Medical Internship positions, especially for the July and August months, are chosen through a lottery system. Case students will receive a confirmation email after the individual rotation capacity and site of Acting Medical Internship placements are decided. Once a Case student has received an Acting Internship spot at UH, they should register with the CWRU School of Medicine Registrar.

Visiting Medical Students

Visitng Students complete their applications through the AAMC-VSLO system from January 15th through March 15th. Once all of the applications are received students will be selected for available acting internship positions. Visiting students will be notified by email through the VSLO system if they are given an acting Internship spot by May 1st.

Wait List Opportunities

The Department of Medicine accepts 10 acting medical interns at University Hospitals and eight acting medical interns at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center per month. Even with the relatively high number of students who can be accepted - we fill up fast and when we do, we use a Google Doc wait list for students who wish to try to avail themselves of potential positions.

Scheduling and Personal Calendar

When requesting your Acting Medical Internship, be sure to look at your personal schedule to make sure it doesn't conflict with your rotation. This is a 4 week rotation and the Acting Medical Internship responsibilities go through the last weekend. Please include this into your personal planning.