SCHEDULING “AWAY” ELECTIVES (PUBLISHED ROTATIONS)

AT OTHER LCME-ACCREDITED

MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES

Drexel University College of Medicine medical students may complete up to 12 weeks of elective rotations at sites other than the Drexel University College of Medicine established educational clinical sites. No required rotations may be completed at other medical schools. (Required rotations include the Medicine Subinternship, Neurology, and a Pathway-defined required course.) As long as the required course is scheduled and completed at “home,” students may complete, for example, a Neurology course as an elective at another institution.

Sources of Information about Electives Available at Other Medical Schools

• Most medical schools have their elective catalogs on-line.
• The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) publishes a comprehensive list of extramural electives available at US medical schools. This information is available on-line at: http://www.aamc.org/students/medstudents/electives/start.htm

Information in the compendium includes:

1. All rotations reported to the AAMC.
2. Contact persons at the schools.
3. Application fees, tuition and other fees charged.
4. The earliest date application materials will be accepted and the earliest date that accepted visiting students can be assigned to available electives.

Applying for an Away Elective

• Contact the person or office specified by the information source for an application. Students may be able to download an application from a web site, if the school has one.
• Prepare the student portion of the application. This may involve…

1. Getting an immunization record from Immunization and Surveillance Office (215-991-8560) and/or your private physician.

2. Requesting a transcript from the Registrar:
Complete a transcript request form http://www.drexel.edu/provost/src/med_transcript_form.pdf.  Signed forms may be dropped off at the Office of the University Registrar at Queen Lane, Suite G-27 or faxed to (215) 843-5243.  Request that the transcript be issued to the specific site but please specify on Address Line 3 that it gets delivered to the Division of Clinical Education by writing “C/O Division of Clinical Education” so that it may be mailed out with your packet.

3. Writing a check for the application fee, if it is due with the application. Some fees are due on arrival.

4. Photocopy of health insurance card (both sides) must be provided to the Division of Clinical Education even if it is not requested

• Return the student portion, appended documents and check for the application fee (if needed) to the Division of Clinical Education. The Division of Clinical Education will forward the completed application packet to the host school.

• Give the school’s portion of the application to the Division of Clinical Education. The Division of Clinical Education includes a cover letter with all application materials. The letter, which meets the needs of most applications states that the student…

1. Will have completed all third year courses and be in the 4^th year class.

2. Is in good academic standing.

3. Is covered by malpractice insurance.

4. Is covered by health insurance.

• Allow ten (10) working days for the Division of Clinical Education to process application materials ONCE THE COMPLETED PACKET OF MATERIALS has been received.
• You will receive an e-mail from the Division of Clinical Education when your application has been mailed.
  

Procedure for Final Scheduling, after a Host School Approves an Elective

• Provide the Pathway Director with a completed Away Elective Form for review and approval (signature).
• Return the signed form to the Division of Clinical Education. If the Away Elective Form is not submitted, DUCoM will not recognize that the elective is being/has been done and it will not count towards graduation (and you will not be insured). YOU MUST HAVE ANY ROTATION ON YOUR SCHEDULE if you represent yourself as a DUCoM medical student.

Please note: If a student receives notice that an elective has been approved, but the notice comes within the 30 day-limit of a previously scheduled rotation, students will NOT be permitted to drop the already scheduled rotation to do the away rotation. Students are responsible to notify the host school that they will not be coming.

It is imperative to take special care in scheduling away rotations. Consider time lines for dropping rotations. The DUCoM policy is 5 weeks. The drop-notification time may be longer or shorter at other schools. We strongly DISCOURAGE applying to several schools for the same time block. If they all are approved and notifications arrive all at once, and dropping any of them must occur after that host school’s deadline, affected students will have not only a personal dilemma, but those schools whose rotations they drop may no longer offer our students elective opportunities.

Please allow plenty of time at all phases of this process. Do not wait until the last minute. No matter how important an opportunity may seem to you, time lines and deadlines will not be waived.

Your transcript will not be complete (and your diploma will not be released) until your evaluations have been received from away rotations.

Students are not permitted to do an away rotation Block 11 (Commencement Block).

NOTE: New for 2008 -- If a school requires that you use VSAS (Visiting Student Application System), please contact Marcine Townes (mtownes@drexelmed.edu) to issue you "authorizations" to apply. VSAS is a new web-based system being piloted in 2008. You will still need to release information such as your immunizations which required separate authorization and your transcript if it is requested. The Drexel Registrar requires a written release, the VSAS release is not sufficient. These are protected documents that are not released to anyone without your authorization.

Revised 4/18/08