Alliance for clinical education perspective paper: recommendations for redesigning the "final year" of medical school.

BACKGROUND Although medical school typically lasts 4 years, little attention has been devoted to the structure of the educational experience that takes place during the final year of medical school. SUMMARY In this perspectives paper, we outline goals for the 4th year of medical school to facilitate a transition from undergraduate to graduate medical education. We provide recommendations for capstone courses, subinternship rotations, and specialty-specific schedules, and we conclude with recommendations to medical students and medical schools for how to use the recommendations contained in this document. CONCLUSIONS We provide an overview of general competencies and specialty specific recommendations to serve as a foundation for medical schools to develop robust 4th-year curricula and for medical students to plan their 4th-year schedules.