Visiting Dermatology Electives at UTMB

Only three visiting medical students were able to obtain away rotations at UTMB during the first half of the 2014-2015 academic year. Why is it so difficult to do electives at UTMB from another US medical school? UTMB utilizes VSAS (Visiting Student Application Service) for applicants interested in a UTMB rotation. UTMB offers 13 elective periods each year, rather than the more popular monthly schedule. This creates "period mismatch" when period starting dates are not exactly the same as the visitor's medical school. According to the AAMC VSAS website, UTMB is not flexible when it comes to off block rotation requests. It is unfortunate that visiting medical students find it so difficult to rotate in the UTMB dermatology department, because our institution offers a wide array of interesting clinical and didactic electives. UTMB medical students, residents and faculty enjoy educational interactions with students from other medical schools as well. Away rotations are known to help applicants match into specific residency programs and help programs identify competitive applicants, but currently these opportunities are very limited at UTMB. For additional information about the application process for UTMB electives, please review the AAMC VSAS website at https://services.aamc.org/20/vsas/public/school/instID/174