Clerkship Descriptions & Pre-approvals

Visiting MD/DO Student Elective Clerkship Descriptions & Required Pre-approvals

All clerkships open to visiting MD/DO students require pre-approval from the associated Stanford clerkship contact before submitting an application form. Only one clerkship is available for participation per visiting student. Click the sections below to determine which elective clerkships are available to visiting students and how to obtain a pre-approval.

Each clerkship department handles their own pre-approval process. Therefore, please contact them for any questions related to their process found on this page. Contact information can be found below under the various departments or on the Course Bulletin by searching for the specific clerkship of interest. If the clerkship department is not listed on this page, please contact them directly regarding their pre-approval process.

Clerkships Open to Visitors

The list of available clerkships open to visiting students can be found in the current Course Bulletin.

Find the clerkships you are interested in and write down the clerkship ID number(s). A clerkship ID number looks like this: "ANES 300C" or "MED 306A". The letter suffix following each clerkship number is used to denote the hospital designation:

A = Stanford University Medical Center
B = Palo Alto Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center*
C = Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
D = Kaiser Permanente Medical Center

A call code is listed in the clerkship description to indicate how often call and weekend work is required. Call codes translate as follows:

0 = No call, no weekends
1 = No call, but rounds on weekends
2 = Other, see comment for explanation
3 = Call every third night
4 = Call every fourth night
5 = Call every fifth night

* Please note that visiting students participating in a clerkship that takes place at a VA hospital site are required to comply with the following requirements set by the VA:

Evidence or self-certification that they are physically and mentally fit to perform the essential functions of the training program;
Evidence or self-certification of up-to-date vaccinations for healthcare workers as recommended by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and VA
Evidence of tuberculosis screening and testing per CDC health care personnel guidelines
Identification documents to meet VA security requirements
Results of screening against the Health and Human Services’ List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE)

Trainees who were born male and who are US citizens, immigrants to the US, or are otherwise required by law to register, have registered with the Selective Service System
Trainees who are non-US citizens:
- Have current immigrant, non-immigrant, exchange visitor or other documentation stating that they are eligible to live and work in the US
- Appropriate documents can be provided and could include permanent resident card, employment authorization document Form I-766, visas: J-1, J‑2, H-1B, H-4, E-3, or DS-2019
- Have been issued a US social security number

The School of Medicine Registrar's Office will be in contact 3 to 4 weeks prior to the start of a clerkship that takes place at a VA hospital site to collect required documents. Male students will be asked to provide their selective service registration card. U.S. permanent resident and non-U.S. citizens will be asked to provide copies of their citizenship and visa documents.

Required Pre-approvals

Click the desired department to view instructions and use links to pre-approval forms, if applicable. If the department of interest is not listed here, scroll down to the More Required Pre-approvals section to see which elective clerkships are available per department.

Anesthesiology (ANES)

Visiting students who wish to apply to any clerkship in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, (clerkships that start with ANES) should fill out the pre-approval form. This form must be reviewed and approved for pre-clearance before submitting your visiting elective clerkship application form. Please contact the clerkship coordinator Yun Tao (yuntao@stanford.edu) for any questions.

Emergency Medicine (EMED)

You can access the prerequisite application for periods 1-3 on the Stanford Department of Emergency Medicine Clerkship website starting March 25, 2024. The prerequisite application portal closes on April 5, 2024.

Upon submission, our EMED clerkship team will review your prerequisite application to ensure you meet the criteria. Note that pre-approval does NOT guarantee formal enrollment.
If you qualify, you'll receive an email inviting you to apply formally through the School of Medicine. The formal application deadline is April 12, 2024.
After submitting your formal application, the School of Medicine will assess your eligibility and notify you of the decision by May 15, 2024.

Should you have any questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to Kristen Kayser, kkayser@stanford.edu.

Visiting students wishing to apply to the EMED Ultrasound Clerkship in the Department of Emergency Medicine should email Dr. Nick Ashenburg, ashenburg@stanford.edu, & Lauren Berriatua, laurenbe@stanford.edu, for pre-clearance before submitting your visiting elective clerkship application form and other supporting documents.

Family Medicine (FAMMED)

Visiting students who wish to apply to any clerkship in the Division of Primary Care and Population Health, with a focus in Family Medicine (clerkships that start with FAMMED) must fill out the Family Medicine supplemental application. Please submit the supplemental application to Michelle Engle, M.D. at mengle@stanford.edu. The form must be reviewed for pre-clearance before submitting your visiting elective clerkship application form and other supporting documents.

Medicine (MED)

Visiting students who wish to apply to any clerkship in the Department of Medicine (clerkships that start with MED) must fill out the Department of Medicine Application Form. Please email your completed form to Nancy D'Amico at ndamico@stanford.edu. The form must be reviewed for pre-clearance before submitting your visiting elective clerkship application form and other supporting documents.

Neurology (NENS)

Visiting students who wish to apply to any clerkship in the Department of Neurology (clerkships that start with NENS) should send the items below to the Clerkship Coordinator, Brittany Rodriguez (bayleen@stanford.edu).

Curriculum vitae
Personal Statement - Including your background, interests, experiences and goals in Neurology.
Clerkship grades - Please send a transcript and grading system your institution uses.
Step 1 & 2 scores (if available)

These documents must be reviewed for pre-clearance before submitting your visiting elective clerkship application form and other supporting documents. We encourage you to submit these before April 1 (for periods 1-3) and June 25 (for periods 4-6) to allow timely review of the pre-approval, notification of approval/no approval, and submission of the formal application by the deadlines on April 12 (period 1-3) or July 5 (period 4-6).

Obstetrics and Gynecology (OBGYN)

Visiting students who wish to apply to any clerkship in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (clerkships that start with OBGYN) should fill out the pre-approval form. The form must be reviewed for pre-clearance before submitting your visiting elective clerkship application form and other supporting documents.

For questions, please contact obgyn-visiting-clerkship@stanford.edu.

Pediatrics (PEDS)

Visiting students who wish to apply to any clerkship in the Department of Pediatrics (clerkships that start with PEDS) should complete the PEDS visiting clerkship application form send a CV to Elizabeth Stuart, MD, MSEd, Director of Medical Student Education at aestuart@stanford.edu. The form must be reviewed for pre-clearance before submitting your visiting elective clerkship application form and other supporting documents.

Radiology (RAD)

Visiting students who wish to apply to any clerkship in the Department of Radiology (clerkships that start with RAD) should complete the Radiology Visiting Clerkship Pre-approval Form or RAD 305A IR Visiting Clerkship Pre-Approval Form. The pre-approval form must be reviewed for pre-clearance before submitting your visiting elective clerkship application form and other supporting documents.

SURG 301A: Dental Medicine & Surgery Clerkship

SURG 338A: Advanced Surgery Clerkship

Visiting medical students will be able to apply for the Advanced Surgery Clerkship for Summer Quarter (Periods 1, 2, & 3) and Autumn Quarter (4 & 5). Please complete the department application to obtain preapproval. You must obtain preapproval prior to submitting the Visiting Student Program application.

Urology (UROL)

Visiting students will be able to apply for UROL clerkships for Spring Quarter (Periods 11 & 12) and Summer Quarter (Periods 1, 2, 3). Please complete this form to obtain pre-approval from the Urology Department. You must obtain pre-approval prior to submitting the Visiting Student Program application.

More Required Pre-approvals:

The following clerkships require pre-approval from the associated clerkship director. Please contact the department to obtain approval before submitting your visiting student elective clerkship application. Contact information can be found in the clerkship description listed in the Course Bulletin. Search for the specific clerkship under the Search Courses field.

CTS 300A, CTS 301B
DERM 310B, DERM 311A
EMED 308A
FAMMED 344E, FAMMED 364E
MED 302C, MED 304A, MED 308A, MED 312C, MED 314A, MED 318A, MED 325C, MED 328A, MED 340B, MED 342A, MED 343B
NENS 307A, NENS 308A, NENS 398A
NSUR 318A
OBGYN 304A, OBGYN 305A, OBGYN 306A, OBGYN 307A, OBGYN 308A
OPHT 300A, OPHT 398A
ORTHO 303C, ORTHO 304A, ORTHO 310A, ORTHO 318A
OTOHNS 307A, OTOHNS 336A
PATH 302A, PATH 398A
PEDS 301A
PSYC 326A, PSYC 328B, PSYC 353A, PSYC 355A, PSYC 358A
RAD 301A, RAD 302A, RAD 303A, RAD 304A, RAD 305A, RAD 306A
RADO 300A
SURG 310E, 311C, SURG 334A, SURG 339A, SURG 340A, SURG 340B
UROL 310B, UROL 338A, UROL 338C

Please contact visiting-MD-students@stanford.edu if there are other questions regarding clerkships open to visiting students.

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Visiting MD/DO Student Elective Clerkship Descriptions & Required Pre-approvals

More Required Pre-approvals: