For Visiting Observers
Stanford does not provide a visa for visiting observers. Typically, they come on a visitor or business visa.
Currently there is no fee to be a visiting observer in our department.
Stanford does not provide housing for visiting observers.
The usual maximum number of days allowed by Compliance for observing is 30 days (counting only actual days of observation).
Many individual faculty members in the Department of Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery are willing to host doctors and medical students to observe their work with patients in clinics and in the operating rooms.
The prospective visiting observer needs to contact a department faculty member directly to request the opportunity to observe, providing an explanation of their interest. If the faculty member agrees to host a visiting observer, the faculty member’s administrative associate will coordinate all the steps of the approval process; let the visiting observer know what forms and medical records are required; and manage scheduling.
After being accepted by a faculty member, all visiting observers must be approved by Stanford Hospital and Clinics (SHC) Compliance Department, receive a medical clearance from SHC Occupational Health and be approved by the clinic and/or operating room in which they will observe.
It typically takes at least three weeks from when a visiting observer provides all the required documents and medical records until a final approval is received.