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Fellow Travelers
UMMS Visiting Students Program

Fellow Travelers

In the fourth year of medical school, when all the basics have come together and students are focused on the kind of medicine they’ll practice—pediatrics, surgery, internal medicine—they can choose to take an elective clerkship at a medical school other than their own.

Fellow Travelers“Michigan was very accommodating with getting me into clinics and I was exposed to a different system and a different patient population.” —Visiting student Lisa Clement

Over the years, an increasing number of students from other U.S. medical schools have expressed interest in coming to our Health System. In fact, this year applications to take those elective courses at U-M increased to 234—up from 125 last year.

“What they are applying for is a 30-day experience at our hospitals,” says Susan Hayward, Medical School registrar in the Office of Student Programs. “They come here to confirm their interest in a specialty or to experience that specialty in a different environment.”

Lisa Clement, an M4 at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, wanted a different perspective on psychiatry.

“I specifically wanted to work in an outpatient setting, and I’d only had inpatient experience,” said Clement, who’s considering Michigan for her residency. “Michigan was very accommodating with getting me into clinics and I was exposed to a different system and a different patient population.”

To make the application process easier, U-M Medical School is participating in a nationwide Visiting Student Application Service pilot program coordinated by the American Association of Medical Colleges.

“It’s a huge benefit to students and staff,” says Hayward. “The program standardizes application materials, streamlines the application process and has led to the creation of a searchable database of all electives.”

The Visiting Student Application Service pilot program is being tested at 10 medical schools, with a plan to expand it to other schools in the future.

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