We provide students with optional, credit earning courses that cover topics beyond that of the regular core curriculum.  

This includes all TRACK and all ELECTIVE Courses.

TRACKS and ELECTIVES can vary in length and the number of hours in class. Credit hours will vary anywhere from .5 to 3 credits per course. All grades and credit hours are posted on the student transcript. All courses provide a detailed syllabus that has been approved by the RVU Institutional Curriculum Committee.

TRACKS involve an application process, are longitudinal and progressive in nature, more career-oriented, last 3.5 years in length, and include some sort of clinical component. Grades are Honors/Pass/Fail at the discretion of the Course Director(s).

ELECTIVES are short Pass/Fail stand-alone, one-semester courses. Most of these have 3-4 sections to avoid an overlap in materials. The course directors also provide a complete and approved syllabus for each of these courses.  There may be a nominal fee associated with some electives. The Medical Spanish elective does require a pretest to establish fluency level to place you into the correct class. i.e. January elective may be “Basic Medical Spanish” and the fall semester may be “Intermediate/Advanced." 

The department also offers the following:

     Approves all international externship sites for clinical students

    Provides medical outreach opportunities for all interested M1-M4 students.

Note that students do not need to be in a track to participate in GLOBAL MEDICAL OUTREACH.

Department Coordinators: globalmedicine@rvu.edu - as a group

       Colorado: Isabel Fabela ifabela@rvu.edu

       Utah: Judy Simmons, jsimmons@rvu.edu     

Tracks and Special Programs Department Chair: Dr. Mark Wardle, DO, MIH, FAAFP, Associate Professor PCM, 
Director of Global Medicine mwardle@rvu.edu

CO Director of the Global Medicine Track and Global Medical Outreach Electives:  Dr. Camille Bentley, DO, MPH, FACOFP, cbentley@rvu.edu