University of California San Francisco
UCSF School of Medicine UCSF Medical Center

Career Launch

Career Launch: The final, highly individualized phase of the Bridges Curriculum 

UCSF medical student in the clinic

Career Launch is the final, highly individualized phase of the Bridges Curriculum, lasting 61 weeks. It includes dedicated time for students to complete scholarly projects while they pursue advanced clinical training that prepares them for their chosen career paths.

 Career Launch Framework

  • Primarily structured in four-week blocks
  • Starts with four weeks of coursework: Designing & Conducting Research and Introduction to Career Launch (taken simultaneously).
  • Concludes with the three-week course: Coda

There are several components of Career Launch:

1. Advanced Block-Based Clinical Rotations

During these rotations, students:

  • Prepare for their chosen residency with a personalized approach to advanced clinical learning
  • Develop advanced core skills in Medicine and Acute/Urgent care
  • Take selectives and electives in specialties/sub-specialties of interest
  • Demonstrate uniquely UCSF clinical values

2. Specialty Practice Ambulatory Sub-iNternship (SPAN) 

Longitudinal ambulatory clerkship consisting of 12 half-day sessions over the course of Career Launch, designed to provide students opportunities to:

  • Explore specialties/sub-specialties of interest
  • Build on foundational ambulatory skills learned during core clerkships to develop advanced ambulatory skills

3. Inquiry Deep Explore 

  • 12-20 weeks of dedicated project time where students pair with a UCSF Inquiry Curriculum Advisor to conduct scholarship relevant to a topic in health care or the domains of science
  • Designing and Conducting Research (DCR) is a four-week course that prepares students to develop a plan and roadmap for their Deep Explore project

4. Introduction to Career Launch and Coda

  • Introduction to Career Launch is a four-week course designed to help students transition to advanced clinical rotations. Sessions are focused on roles and responsibilities, communication skills, interprofessional teams, and strategies and skill development for success in ambulatory, in-patient, and acute care settings.
  • Coda is a three-week course that concludes the Bridges curriculum and prepares students for their transition to residency. Coda’s main purpose is to summarize and review the most important clinical information necessary for internship. There is a specialty-specific component of the course, which offers a more tailored approach to internship preparation