How to initiate away rotation applications at UB

How to initiate away rotation applications at UB

wakka_x_3 04 Mar 2008 16:20

Its a good thing you are starting early, it does take some time to set up. ( If you start late, you will just have less options because the away schools will be filled)

1- Look through websites of places you would like to rotate and what they want you to do.Call their medical education people to clarify. Each place has a different protocol. Some places will charge you an application fee up front while other only when you show up. Some places have a formal application process while others its just a phone call.
2- Look through the book at the OME to see if they already have a contract with UB. Most large places will. If they dont and you still want to go there, you can jump through some hoops and make it happen. If it a good program/hospital Dr. Nielsen will help you out. You need this contract because it UB pays for your liability insurance while you are away.
3- Apply for the away programs as soon as you can and wait till you are accepted.
4- For registration, register at UB for regular classes until your away elective is confirmed.
5- When you are accepted, many away schools will require you to get a doctors clearance with your immunizations on it. They request titers of the MMR or that you were given the MMR. ( I had a problem with this b/c my titers were slightly low and had to get another MMR vaccine. My advice is to get the vaccine from the get go b/c its a lot cheaper and neither are covered by the school insurance. Titer -$190 whole vaccine is around $30)
6- To register you need to get the away elective form ( I forgot the official name) from the OME website and give it to the department head of the elective you will be doing. They will sign it and fax it to the OME.
7- Each department has a course listed as " course at other university" thats what you want to register for.

Again, only register for away elective once its confirmed and register for UB classes otherwise. You will be doing a lot of drop add/forms after registration is closed but at least that way you are taking something you like at Buffalo instead of having to find an elective last minute.

As far as scheduling, some places will be flexible and will just give you the dates you want. Ask about it, I had one place where the website seemed really strict about not changing dates but when I asked the specific department they were fine with it.

If they away school is not flexible than UB will be. The only two classes that I took on schedule my fourth year were Neuro and Advanced Med. Basically, once you have the dates for your away rotations start contacting individual department or attendings that you will be working with if you know and see if they are OK with your change of dates or splitting up a module.

Most departments have something called Preceptorship Course. Basically, you find an attending at UB you want to work with and just work with them for a month. These people will usually be very flexible b/c it doesnt really make a difference to them which four weeks you show up for. ( For example, I did 3 weeks with a Ambulatory Primary Care MD - he went on vacation for a week and I made up a week at another dept and then when he returned I finished my last week.) Another flexible option is research.

The main thing to remember is that many departments will be surprisingly accommodating if you give them enough warning and have a legitimate reason ( like the away school wont let you chance the date). But do not expect to show up at the last minute and for them to change your schedule around. Like I said, lots of drop/ add forms.

Also, you can plan your vacation month before or after an away elective. That way your vacation is split up.

I know this seems overwhelming but its really not that bad especially if you want to live somewhere else. I only have about 4 months in buffalo during my fourth year and subleased my apartment the rest of the time.

Good luck and 4th year is going to be great =)

Away-rotation Application Process for Dummies

wakka_x_3 04 Mar 2008 16:23

Here's my step-by-step Away electives for dummies advice on doing an away
rotation. Please feel free to forward this:

1) Go to OME and there should be an updated list of all the universities where UB
has an affiliation agreement. This is important for insurance coverage and
actually having the away elective count as a class here.

2) If there is no affiliation agreement between UB and the university you want to
do the elective at, you have to fill out a form that's also available at OME to
establish one. (Note: I had to do this and it took about 4 months for the
agreement to go through… but it was at an ophtho hospital, most universities
already have an agreement with UB.)

3) Here's a website that's on aamc that shows all the universities that offer
away electives. They usually have a direct link to their websites, but not always:
http://services.aamc.org/eec/students/

4) If you can't find it on the aamc website, go directly to the med school
website and search under "Visiting Students" or "Courses offered to visiting
students", you get the picture.

5) Obviously, check the academic calendar for that school and see if it coincides
with UB's. Fortunately for our class, most schools were consistent with us. If
they weren't, it was usually off by 1 week and I suggest that you take two
modules to take the away elective and use the other 3 weeks to take Step 2. (You
can get both CS and CK out of the way during this time.)

6) Be prepared to pay a non-refundable application fee for these away electives.
I think I paid $100 or more for the Harvard one.

7) Be prepared to know very last minute whether you're in the elective or not.
The way away electives work is that you have to wait until the students at their
school register before you can be registered. I remember that I didn't get into
any the away electives that I applied for at Harvard, BUT a week before the
module began, I got an email from the registrar of all the electives that were
still open in each department. I ended up getting a great rotation and scrambling
to find housing in Boston within a few days.

8) It pays off to start looking early, but most places do not even accept
applications until a certain point in the year. I remember looking early and I
still couldn't apply until a little later. However, it's always good to send that
application out the FIRST DAY they will accept it.

9) Get the away elective course approved by the appropriate department (ex:
medicine elective via dept of medicine). The Approval slip is posted on the
website that Philippa sent. I believe it's on the OME website under FORMS. You
just need to write a brief description of the course and where it is.

10) You also must fill out an ADD slip for your away elective through the
appropriate UB department. You can't just register for the away elective course
when comes time to register. Regardless of how early you do it, you have to fill
out an ADD slip. It gets signed by the head of the appropriate department at UB
(ex: Dr. Gallagher for medicine) and then its sent to Philippa.

11) When you go to your away elective, you should receive a course evaluation
from UB which you should give to your attending at your away elective. They will
mail it back to UB so you can get a grade for the course!

Hope that helps! Email me if you have any questions. Good luck!

Last edited on 04 Mar 2008 23:33 by somysomysomy21 Show more

What you need from UB

somysomysomy21 04 Mar 2008 23:32

Hey guys,

I just realized another huge part in the process… this may be better explained
in the website that Philippa sent to you:
http://www.smbs.buffalo.edu/ome/coursebook/ (look under "fourth year")

There are three things that most universities want from you which UB provides:

1) Letter of Good Standing (this states the insurance coverage, confirms that
you're a student at UB and completed the core clerkships that most universities
require you to complete before apply for the elective.)

2) Vaccinations/Latest H&P/PPD within 3 months of starting the elective. (Its
annoying, but just go to Michael Hall and get it done, make a lot of copies for
all the electives that you want to apply to. Some places have different
requirements which are also annoying… I remember I had to get a Mumps titer
done for Harvard. Cornell wanted a PPD within 3 months of the elective, so i had
to get another one right before I left for NYC.)

3) School Seal & Dean's signature. (Some programs want you to fill out their
application and put the UB seal to make it official… you have to get this done
at OME too. There's even a stamp for Dr. Nielsen's signature, so you don't even
need to email her, OME can do it.)

Re: How to initiate away rotation applications at UB

ILovePink 23 Nov 2008 16:16

hey guys
when do you do away rotations? I have heard they are good if you want to match at a certain place, so would they need to be third year?
thanks a lot:)

Re: timing of away rotations

(account deleted) 03 Jan 2009 04:16

Our school permits visiting electives during fourth year only. Residency apps can be submitted as early as Labor Day, and as late as November/December 1st (of course, the earlier the better b/c interviews are granted on a rolling basis), so some people try to do away electives during July, August, September, or October to get letters of recommendations. Some people do aways during the winter months or even after interview season if they have a particular city they'd like to be in.