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Heersink School of Medicine

Away Electives

Eligiblity

Away electives — also called visiting electives — are short-term courses typically offered at teaching hospitals that are either an AAMC-member institution or have at least one Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA)-accredited program. Each away elective may count for up to four weeks of elective credit.

Actively enrolled students are eligible to take away electives during their MS4 year. The decision to take an away elective is based on a variety of factors, including your desired specialty, your level of certainty about that specialty, personal factors, etc. Your career advisor or student services leadership at your campus can help you determine the best answer for your situation. Away electives are not required to graduate.

Do I Need to Take an Away Elective?

The decision to take an away elective is based on a variety of factors, including your desired specialty, your level of certainty about that specialty, personal factors, etc. Your career advisor or student services leadership at your campus can help you determine the best answer for your situation.  Away electives are not required to graduate. 

When Can I Take a Visiting Elective?

Other medical schools and teaching hospitals operate on their own unique calendar systems, and those rarely align with ours. In most cases, the start and end dates of a visiting elective cannot coincide with any part of another course on your schedule. You should consult with your advisor regarding the best time to take a visiting elective based on your specialty and residency application timeline.

  • You can overlap* dates with a co-enrolled elective, teaching associate course, scholarly activity or learning community course. 
  • *Note: Overlapping refers to scheduling, not to missing course activities. Check with the UAB course director if you are enrolled in any of these course types to ensure that the dates of your visiting elective do not conflict with activities in the UAB course.
  • You cannot overlap dates with any part of Special Topics, clerkships, acting internships, or electives.

 

How Do I Apply for Away Electives?

Use the AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) Program

Many US medical schools, teaching hospitals, and health systems use a centralized application service called the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities Program (VSLO).

  • Participating institutions - also called host institutions - can be found here.
  • General information on the VSLO process can be found here. 
  • A VSLO applicant checklist can be found here.     
  • Other helpful resources can be found here.
  • For VSLO assistance: call (202) 478-9878 or contact them online.

Apply Directly to Non-VSLO Programs

  • If a medical school, teaching hospital, or health system does not use VSLO, go to the institution’s website to research visiting elective opportunities and to find application instructions.
  • All students attending a Non-VSLO rotation must ensure that UAB has signed an affiliation agreement with the host program. Please reach out to Krista Long in UME and copy visiting@uab.edu to inquire whether there is an existing agreement. UAB has many affiliation agreements, so a new agreement may not be necessary. However, if a new, nonstandard affiliation agreement is needed, it may take months of review by UAB Legal before approval.

 

When Can I Take A Visiting Elective?

Other medical schools and teaching hospitals operate on their own unique calendar systems, and those rarely align with ours. In most cases, the start and end dates of a visiting elective cannot coincide with any part of another course on your schedule.

  • You can overlap* dates with a co-enrolled elective, teaching associate course, scholarly activity or learning community course. 
  • *Note: Overlapping refers to scheduling, not to missing course activities. Check with the UAB course director if you are enrolled in any of these course types to ensure that the dates of your visiting elective do not conflict with activities in the UAB course.
  • You cannot overlap dates with any part of Special Topics, Scholarly Activity, clerkships, acting internships, or electives.

 

How Do I Get Credit for a Visiting Elective?

Step 1: Get It on Your School of Medicine Schedule BEFORE the course begins

For a visiting elective accepted through VSLO: 

  1. Make sure you have met all post-decision requirements and your status in VSLO for the course is "offer confirmed." We cannot register you until you have a confirmed offer status.
  2. Use the Online Schedule Change Request (OSCR). 
  3. After receiving your form, the scheduler will check VSLO, add the course to your schedule provided there are no conflicts, and send you a confirmation email.

For a visiting elective accepted from a non-VSLO institution:

  1. Submit an Online Schedule Change Request (OSCR)
  2. After submitting your request, view your request by navigating to the Home screen in the OSCR system. You must submit the request first.
  3. Add the following document(s) to your request in the OSCR system.
    • Host’s offer email or letter
    • Your acceptance email or letter back to them
  4. If there are no scheduling conflicts, the scheduler will add it to your schedule. You will then receive a confirmation email.

Important Note

Your acceptance of a visiting elective does not automatically add it to your schedule.  Programs will not contact us on your behalf to schedule your visiting elective.

You are responsible for making sure any visiting elective (VSLO, non-VSLO, military, international) gets added to your schedule.

We do not permit retroactive scheduling. If you forget to contact the scheduler prior to the start of the visiting course, you will not receive credit for it.

Step 2: Get a Grade for It

It is your responsibility to ensure that a grade has been submitted for any visiting elective (VSLO, non-VSLO, military, international). Grades will be recorded on your transcript as Pass or Fail.

We will accept the visiting school/hospital's grade form sent directly from them to visiting@uab.edu.

If the visiting school/hospital prefers using a UAB grade form, email visiting@uab.edu. The host institution must return the grade directly to the Registrar’s office (instructions on our form).

 

Visiting Institution Requirements

Institutions vary in their requirements for visiting students. You may be asked for some, all, or one of the following items.

If VSLO has a requirement marked as Home Institution, you are responsible for getting the documentation listed and emailing it to visiting@uab.edu, so our office can upload and attach it to the application in VSLO.

  • Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS)

    Visit the American Heart Association ACLS webpage for options to complete this training.

  • Affiliation Agreement

    UAB has affiliation agreements with many schools and institutions. If an institution requests this, forward that information to Krista Long in UME (klong33@uab.edu) and copy visiting@uab.edu. Note: New, nonstandard affiliation agreements may take months of review by UAB Legal before they are approved.

  • Basic Life Support (BLS)

    If you have a current BLS certificate in the Credentialing Portal, you should be able to download a copy. If you have not uploaded a valid certificate in Credentialing, you should be able to get a copy of your card via American Heart Association (AHA) eCard online. Contact your training entity if you did not go through AHA.

  • Certificate of Professional Liability Insurance Coverage, Malpractice Insurance, Medical Liability

    Email UAB Insurance/Risk Management at insurance@uabmc.edu with your name, the name of the institution, and the dates of your visiting elective (if known). They will send a certificate for malpractice insurance coverage upon request. Contact the office by phone at 205-934-5382.

    Note: Standard coverage is $3M aggregate/$1M per instance. If an institution requires more coverage, ask Risk Management to state the specific amount required.

  • Clerkship Completion

    You can find exact start and end dates of your clerkships on the Calendar Overview webpage. Note: All courses have start dates on Monday and end dates on Sunday.

  • Criminal Background Check

    Complete a background check. You can access your original background check completed during the admissions process via Certiphi Screening where reports are retained for up to 4 years. From the Certiphi ApplicationStation home page, click “Returning user login” and follow the prompts to retrieve your original username/password if needed. Once you’re able to login, you can view previously submitted background check applications by clicking “Visit Report Delivery Manager.” Click “Add New Delivery” to authorize third party access, enter the person/entity’s contact information, and select the applicable report to be sent. You will be provided a secure PIN number on the webpage to share with the third party who will receive an email with link to enter the code. It is recommended that you use a secure non-email method to share the code. The recipient has 72 hours from the date of the email to access the report. If the link/code expires, you must repeat all steps to get a different PIN.

    As an alternative, you may also explore other options to obtain a background check via the AAMC resources page. This page also provides additional resources for visiting students.

  • Drug test/Drug Screen

    Locations near UAB are below; please note that fees may apply. Check with your regional campus Student Affairs office for other options.

    The Workplace
    UAB Hospital-Highlands
    1201 11th Ave. S, Suite 100
    205-933-5300
    Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30
    Walk-ins welcome
    Panel costs vary
    Contact your program to confirm your required panel before arrival


    Analytical Testing Group (ATG)
    920 18th St. S, Suite B
    205-933-0609
    Monday- Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM
    Panel costs vary

  • Health Compliance and Immunizations

    For proof of health compliance, login to the UAB Student Health Services Patient Portal, and select the “Immunization” tab. For questions regarding your compliance, use the Patient Portal “Messages” tab.

     

    Most programs require the AAMC Immunization Form. Follow the steps below if you need health forms completed by Student Health Services.

    • Gather all away rotation applications.

    • Complete all personal/demographic information.

    • Check the away rotation forms to see if any new blood tests or immunizations are required.

    • Check the away rotation forms to see if additional tuberculosis testing (aka TB or PPD or TST) is required. Usually, 1-2 tests are required within the past 6 months to a year, depending on the program. All TB testing must be done in the U.S.

    • Check the away rotation forms to see if a physical exam is required. Depending on the program, some applications require a physical exam within the past 6 months to a year.

    • Check the away rotation forms to see if a "letter of good health," "certification of good health," or a "provider's signature certifying good health" is required. If yes, this is a suitable way of saying that a physical exam is required.

    • Check the away rotation forms to see which type of provider needs to sign the form. Some forms specifically require MD, NP, or RN.

    • Check your Student Health Patient Portal to verify that all immunizations are up to date.

    • Submit documents to the UAB Student Health’s Medical Clearance Team via the Student Health Portal.

    • Ensure your form is complete before sending it to Medical Clearance. This helps speed up processing time, with typical turnaround in 1–2 business days for fully completed forms.

    IMPORTANT NOTE:

    • There is a $15 fee for UAB Student Health Services to complete the AAMC Immunization Form.

    • Student Health Services requires appointments for physical exams, immunizations, and Titer tests. You may schedule these appointments through the Student Health Portal, or by calling their office at 205-934-3580.

    • Immunization, Titer Test, and TB Skin Test appointments are scheduled from 8:20 am - 11:30 am and 1:00 pm - 4:20 pm.

    • TB skin tests are not placed after 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and are not placed at all on Thursdays.

    • TB blood tests are not drawn after 4pm Monday through Friday.

    • Test results are typically available within 2-5 business days, depending on the test administered.

    • Costs vary depending on service rendered.
  • Health Insurance

    If you use UAB’s Student Health Insurance (United Healthcare), visit UAB Student Health Services to see how to get a copy of your insurance card. If you use a different plan, contact your insurance company for a card.

  • HIPAA Training

    To print your certificate from HIPAA training done at the start of medical school, log in to the UAB Learning System and select “Medicine Learning System (HealthStream). Log in, click on “Completions” in the list under “Sitemap.” In “Date Range” select “Complete History” from the drop-down menu and find the completed HIPAA training course. Select the “Certificate” box and print.

  • Letter of Good Standing

    Print a self-service letter from the records request system on the  Registrar & Records webpage. In the rare instance that an institution will not accept this letter, email visiting@uab.edu with specific instructions from the host institution, and the Records office will prepare a letter for you. Do not contact the Dean's Office or Medical Student Services for this letter.

  • Letter of Recommendation

    Ask your letter writer to send their letter via email attachment to visiting@uab.edu. We will upload it in the documents section of your VSLO account for you to assign to specific application(s).

  • Mask Fit Test

    Mask fit certificates are available for download via the Student Credentialing portal. If there is no certificate in the portal, then we do not have a copy. Fit test locations near UAB are listed below. Check with your regional campus Student Affairs office for other options.

    The Workplace
    UAB Hospital-Highlands
    1201 11th Ave S, Suite 100
    205-933-5300
    Monday- Friday, 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
    Walk-ins welcome
    Cost varies
    Before paying, confirm whether your program requires an on site mask fit.
    (Example: UAB requires visiting students to complete their mask fit at UAB.)

  • OSHA Measures Training, Infectious Disease Control Precautions and Training

    Universal Precaution on Handling of Bodily Fluids (bloodborne pathogens) training was done as part of your clerkship orientation.

    If you are required to send documentation for this training, you can go to uab.edu/learninglocker to check if the training is listed. If not, you should be able to complete it and print the certificate to submit.

  • Transcript - Official

    We upload these directly into VSLO. If your program needs an official paper copy besides the one that was uploaded, make an online Records request.

  • USMLE Step Scores

    Some programs will accept the score report that you received from the NBME. If they require an official score report transcript from the NBME, visit the USMLE website for instructions.

    Note: We are prohibited by the NBME from reporting/releasing scores.

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