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Visiting Students (Not from UT)

NOTE: Visiting Student Applicants -- Visiting Student Rotations were not permitted at any UT Campus for June or July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

VSAS/VSLO Students: All UT College of Medicine Campuses (Memphis, Jackson, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga decided not to consider applications for Visiting Students for rotations in June and July 2020.  Our own UT students were scheduled to return to the clinical sites for rotations on Monday, June 1.  A decision was made by the leadership of the statewide UTHSC College of Medicine that all campuses could permit visiting students to apply via VSAS/VSLO for August rotations.  Due to the ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic challenges, decisions for subsequent visiting student rotations through VSAS/VSLO will be made on a month by month basis.  We are following UTHSC Visiting Policy Guidelines specially for the pandemic regarding limitations and additional requirements.  Visiting students must also determine if their medical schools will permit them to apply for rotations outside their own system.  If you school participates in VSAS and will permit you to apply for visiting rotations, please contact Courtney Orloski, our Medical Student Specialist in Chattanooga (MSE@erlanger.org), or the administrative contact in the department to which you are applying in Chattanooga.  Thank you for your patience.  

We ask that visiting students please first apply through the departmental online applications through this site, and allow 7-10 business days for the department(s) to reply directly to your application via email.

Visiting medical students from schools other than the University of Tennessee can elect up to three four-week electives during their senior year at the UT College of Medicine Chattanooga.  Most departments have agreed that non-UT visiting students must fit their requests into the block times established by the University of Tennessee for our own students.  Click on the link to the left to view 2020-2021 UT Student Block Dates (May 2020-April 2021).  

Observerships for medical students, physician assistants, or physicians are not available.

The Chattanooga programs offer 40+ elective rotations.  All medical student rotations at the UT College of Medicine Chattanooga are comparable to those at the main campus in Memphis.   Click on the link to the left to view the Elective Catalog and descriptions for each course.

Non-UT visiting senior (students in their last year of medical school) students from other U.S. allopathic and osteopathic medical schools must use the Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS) of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to apply for electives at the UT College of Medicine Chattanooga.  Click on the link to the right to get details about the VSAS system.   

Per guidance from the main UTHSC College of Medicine Memphis, we can no longer accept Internal Medical Students without a prior Affiliation Agreement in place between your home school and the University of Tennessee. 

Several of our departments ask that you submit a brief online form prior to applying through VSAS or using the pdf application.   Those can be found on the left-hand links if the rotation you desire is one of the following departments:

  • Emergency Medicine -- Due to the high volume of requests from our own UT students and students from other US LCME and AOA accredited schools, the Department of Emergency Medicine is unable to consider applications from international medical students at this time.  Also, the Department of Emergency Medicine does not accept students outside the official UT Block Dates.
  • Family Medicine
  • Internal Medicine and related subspecialties -- Does not accept students outside the UT Block Dates.  
  • Neurology -- Due to the high volume of UT students, Neurology rotations are not available to any non-UT student.
  • OB/GYN -- Due to an increasing volume of UT students rotating in Chattanooga, the Department of OB/GYN is unable to consider visiting students from institutions outside the US.  Also, the Department of OB/GYN does not accept students outside the UT Block Dates.
  • Orthopaedic Surgery - Due to the increase in requests from our own UT students and students from other US LCME and AOA accredited schools, we are unable to consider applications from international students at this time. 
  • Pediatrics and related subspecialties
  • Psychiatry -- Due to the high volume of UT students, Psychiatry rotations are not available to any non-UT student.
  • Plastic Surgery
  • Radiology -- Due to the high volume of UT students, Radiology rotations are not available to any non-UT student. 
  • Surgery and related subspecialties -- Due to the high volume of requests from our own UT students and students from other US LCME and AOA accredited schools, the Department of Surgery is unable to consider applications from international medical students at this time.  
  • Urology

Once you have submitted your VSAS application for a senior elective rotation in Chattanooga, the department will answer the student directly as soon as they have the opportunity to review the application.  The length of this process depends on the department responsibilities.  

*We ask that you allow at least 14 business days for a response via email. 

Whether applying via VSAS or the pdf UT Visiting Student Application form, students must meet the criteria below and this information must be verified by the home medical school: 

The student

  • must be able to provide a waiver statement from the home medical school that the visiting rotation being requested is not available at the home medical school (NEW)
  • must be able to provide a negative COVID-19 test 72-96 hours prior to the beginning of the rotation
  • is (or will be) a senior student at the time of the rotation(s) (NEW)
  • has passed the USMLE Step 1 exam or comparable COMLEX 1 exam (on first attempt)*
  • has been immunized against measles and rubella, has completed the hepatitis b vaccine series, chickenpox vaccine and has taken a TB skin test within the past year
  • has both malpractice and personal heath insurance coverage that is in effect while the student is away from that institution  (Note:  The student must provide a copy of his/her health insurance card before beginning the rotation.)
  • is currently certified in CPR
  • has undergone a recent background check (at their matriculation or more recently) and
  • has completed HIPAA compliance and security training.

Visiting students completing the PDF UT Visiting Student Application Form should mail the completed form to:

The Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Medical Education
UT College of Medicine Chattanooga
960 East Third Street, Suite 104
Chattanooga, TN  37403
423.778.7442 
email:  MSE@erlanger.org 

After the form has been processed, the student and his/her medical school will receive a copy of the approved form, and the student will receive instructions about the rotation.  

Non-UT visiting students must be in good standing in the final year at their home institutions and must be authorized to take external electives. Currently, students who are regularly enrolled in another medical school and paying tuition at that school are not charged tuition at The University of Tennessee for brief elective periods. This policy may change in the future, and the school reserves the right to charge tuition at any time.

Note:  If your school already requires a criminal background check, whether applying via VSAS or our paper application, the UTHSC College of Medicine requires that you submit a copy to Kimberlee Norwood at the main medical school campus in Memphis.  You can email knorwood@uthsc.edu with any questions about the criminal background check.  Her phone number is 901.448.3843.  Her mailing address is:

Kimberlee Norwood
UT Health Science Center
College of Medicine
910 Madison Avenue, Ste. 1002
Memphis, TN 38163

If your school does not require criminal background checks and your Dean's Office is not familiar with how to request one, you can go to the following website to obtain a criminal background check for medical students: https://client.verifiedcredentials.com/tnacd/default.cfm.  The visiting student will be responsible for the cost of the background check.  If your medical school is not listed in the drop down list as you follow the directions, select UT Health Sciences Center - Memphis/College of Medicine.

If you have additional questions about rotations in Chattanooga, please contact the Office of Graduate and Medical Student Education at 423.778.7442 or via email:  MSE@erlanger.org.  You may also contact the Director, Pamela Scott at the same number or via email at pscott1@erlanger.org.

 

Sep 16, 2022