Away Rotation Instructions

During the 4^th year of your medical education, you will be given the opportunity to take a short-term elective course/clerkship at institutions around the United States and internationally to enhance your medical education. Please follow the steps below to apply for an Away Rotation.

• AAMC VSLO Portal: A majority of medical schools including UCSF use the AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) portal. When eligible, you will receive an invitation to start your own account and can search then apply for elective courses and clerkships. More information for students can be found here. The general steps will be as follows:
  • Submit your application using the AAMC VSLO Portal.
  • Submit an Extramural Application found at the Academic Forms website to UCSF for each institution you are apply to.
  • Verification of your medical education information: Once your application has been submitted, it will be sent to the UCSF SOM first and not the institution. At this point we will verify your information, upload your transcript, and provide any other requested information. The application will then be released by us to the institution. Please note that the application cannot be released to the institution until we have received your fully signed and executed Extramural Application form. If you have any questions about the verification process, please contact Valerie Jones.
• Outside of the AAMC VSLO Portal: Some institutions such as Stanford, Harvard, and UCLA do not use the AAMC VSLO portal to process applications and you will have to apply to their school using their specific forms and procedures.
  • Submit your application using the school's own application process
  • Submit an Extramural Application found at the Academic Forms website to UCSF ffor each institution you are apply to.
  • Most institutions require a school seal on their forms, send these forms in PDF to Wenia Lee for signature and seal OR drop off the hard copy at the MSC (S-245).
• If you are applying to an international elective please refer below to Part 4: Contact Global Health Advisor Michael Lipnick, MD for Approval BEFORE applying.

• Submit an Extramural Course or Clerkship Application Form: As soon as you submit an application for an away rotation, you are required to submit a Extramural Course or Clerkship Application form to the UCSF SOM. This must be submitted least 4 weeks prior to the start of the start of the rotation or your Away Rotation may be declined. Please note the following:
  • An Extramural application will need to be submitted for each institution you apply for even if they are for the same institution.
  • We will not release your application in the VSLO portal until you have submitted your Extramural Application Form and without it you will not be approved for an Away Rotation.

Mandatory Extramural Course or Clerkship Application Form

• As soon as you submit an application for an away rotation, check to see if the institution is listed in the Training Affiliation Agreement Report. If there is not a current affiliation agreement, please contact Valerie Jones to set up one with the institute. Your away rotation may be declined if there is not a current affiliation agreement in place.
• Please note that for international rotations, Global Health Advisor Michael Lipnick, MD must approve the experience before the TAA can be addressed.

• If you are interested in doing an international clerkship, please contact Global Health Advisor Michael Lipnick, MD in order to review the international programs with whom we have pending TAAs, and to discuss previous student experiences at various programs.
• Dr. LIpnick will need to sign off on the Application for Extramural Course or Clerkship form if you are doing an international rotation.

• When you have been accepted by an institution for a course or clerkship, please contact your Career Launch Advisor Wenia Lee to confirm the rotation in your schedule.

• To receive an evaluation for your away rotation, you must provide your off-site faculty supervisor's name and email address. You will receive an email from Will Stevens requesting this information.
• An evaluation link will be sent via MedHub to your off-site evaluator to complete. If you have questions, please contact Will Stevens.

• All away rotations count toward Tier 2 credit only and are NOT eligible for honors
• Students may get either 2 or 4 weeks of credit per institution. Please note: UCLA’s block calendar doesn’t line up with ours (their blocks are 3 weeks). Students may either request an extra week at UCLA, or just receive 2 weeks of credit for 3 weeks of work.
• The away institution must have a Training Affiliation Agreement (TAA) either in place or in progress. 
• Away rotations require advance approval via an Extramural Course or Clerkship Application that is routed to the department at UCSF, as well as Dean John Davis. Instructions for obtaining approval are provided below, and on the form itself.
• In addition to the UCSF approval form, many institutions have their own application for students. Sometimes institutions request a letter of good standing, an embossed school seal on a form, or a certificate of malpractice/liability insurance.

How do I upload my transcript?
After you have completed all other parts of the application, you will have the ability to “submit” your application to us (your school) for review. At that point we will review all the information, verify it, and upload a copy of your transcript. If you need a transcript for an application outside of the VSLO portal, you can receive them from Registrar office – Ordering transcripts.

When will my application be released to the institute?
Your application must be submitted to us for review before they are released to the institute. At that point we will verify information, upload any documents required by the school, and confirm that you have submitted your Extramural Application. You application will not be released until we have received your approved Extramural Application so be sure to submit that as soon as possible so you won’t miss any deadlines.

How can I upload a confidential Letter of Recommendation?
If the school is requesting a confidential LOR, please notify Valerie Jones or Wenia Lee that we will be receiving a LOR from faculty on your behalf. You will also need to notify the LOR writer to send the letter to us directly. All other documents, forms and non-confidential LORs must be uploaded by you.

What if background check is required for an application?
UCSF Admission completed background check on each student during admission. If the away rotation application requires a current (within 2 years) background check, you will need to pay out of pocket for one. We generally refer students to www.VerifyStudents.com.

How to obtain a liability/malpractice proof of coverage?
Most institutions will accept a Letter of Good Standing from UCSF for liability/malpractice coverage verification. Request a Letter of Good Standing from the Academic Forms website. If a Certificate of Insurance (COI) is required, contact Wenia Lee.

What if ACLS/BLS is required for an away rotation?
The UCSF Kanbar Center offers ACLS and BLS courses to all UCSF students, house staff, and faculty. If UCSF Kanbar Center courses do not align with your schedule, consider courses offered at www.bayareacpr.org.

Can I use credits from away rotations to meet graduation requirements?
Away rotation credits can be used to satisfy Elective Skills requirement.

Is there a limit on scheduling away rotations?
Maximum two away rotations can be scheduled per quarter. Most students will not be able to fit more than three away rotations on their schedules due to other curriculum requirements and timing of residency application. Contact Wenia Lee to review your schedule if needed.

Who do I contact for more information?
If you need support with your schedule, please contact Wenia Lee with any questions. You can contact also contact Visiting Student Operations Manager Valerie Jones with any questions regarding the AAMC VSLO portal.