Rotations for Visiting Students
Thank you for your interest in a fourth-year pediatric elective experience at UT Southwestern Medical Center/Children’s Health Dallas. Below is an overview of the types of electives we currently offer and the processes to be followed by individual domestic and international medical students to aid you in the decision process.
Elective enrollment status: Enrollment for all electives will start April 1, 2024.
Before applying, please review our FAQ's to help answer some commonly asked questions.
Course Listings
(Note: the 1900-level courses are our Inpatient rotations and are highly competitive. Not all applicants are accepted to these courses. Also, UTSW students are required to take 1900 level courses and so enrollment tends to fill quickly. Therefore, choosing alternative courses is highly encouraged.):
- PED 1901 – Emergency Medicine
This is a 4-week course intended for students to be an integral daily member of the emergency department teams and will serve as the primary provider (under the direct supervision of attending physicians) for patients seeking care in the Children’s Dallas Emergency Department. The department is staffed by board-certified pediatric emergency medicine specialists. The Children’s Dallas Emergency Department is the primary pediatric trauma center for Dallas County.
- Course Number – PED 1901 Pediatric Acute Emergency Medicine
- PED 1902 – Neonatal ICU
This is a 4-week course intended for students to be an integral member of their assigned resident/student teams in Parkland Memorial Hospital-NICU department under the direct supervision of the Attending Neonatologist and Neonatal Fellow assigned to each team. Students daily will see their patients prior to teaching rounds and discuss briefly with the Senior Resident. On teaching rounds, students will present their patients to the Attending and Fellow Neonatologist. Students will be assigned intermediate-care infants and progressively be expected to follow 1-2 intensive-care neonates in conjunction with a second-year resident on their team. Each student will be expected to prepare 2 – 3 short presentations on topics chosen by the student and Attending Physician.
- PED 1903 – Pediatric Acute ICU
This is a 4-week course intended for students to be integral members of a team providing comprehensive pediatric care to critically ill neonates, infants, and children. Teams are typically composed of 2-3 pediatric residents, an outside rotating resident, an ICU fellow, and an ICU attending. Students will participate in the care of patients with heart disease, respiratory failure, neurological disease, infectious disease, and a variety of other illnesses. Each student will be assigned 1-2 patients and will have the primary responsibility for these patients under the direct supervision of a PICU faculty member. Each student will be expected to prepare a short presentation(s) on topic(s) chosen by the student and Attending Physician.
- Course Number – PED 1903 Pediatric Acute Intensive Care Unit
- PED 1904 – Sub-Internship
This is 4-week course where the student will be integrated as a functional member of a pediatric ward team. Students will be assigned to one of the inpatient pediatric teaching teams, general pediatrics or subspecialty. Students will take on primary responsibility for the patients they follow, similar to the level of an intern on the service. The student will assess patients, develop and implement patient care plans. The student will be responsible for direct patient care of at least 4-5 patients, including writing daily progress notes, orders, discharge planning, and discharge summaries under direct supervision of attending physician or senior resident. Procedures may be performed under supervision where appropriate. The sub-Intern will be expected to participate in cross-cover during their short call days under the supervision of their senior resident or the intern on the patient’s team.
- PED 1905 – Cardiac Critical Care ICU
This is a 4-week course intended for students to be integral members of an ICU team providing comprehensive pediatric cardiac critical care to neonates, infants, and children with congenital and acquired heart disease. Each student will be assigned 1-3 patients and will have the primary responsibility for these patients under the supervision of a CICU faculty member. Students will participate in post-operative care, read material relevant to their patient’s condition and attend scheduled clinical conferences.
- Course Number – PED 1905 Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care
- PED 2102 – Hematology & Oncology
Students in this 4-week course will receive extensive exposure to the diagnosis and management of malignant diseases and benign hematologic disorders. Students will be integrated into the multidisciplinary Hematology and Oncology teams and will provide comprehensive subspecialty consultations and ongoing care in the outpatient setting for children with cancer and blood disorders. Students will have the opportunity to observe and practice procedures such as lumbar punctures, bone marrow biopsies and aspirates and will participate in multidisciplinary conferences, educational didactic sessions, and read prepared curriculum material.
- Course Number – PED 2102 Pediatric Hematology Oncology
- PED 2103 – Cardiology
Students in this 4-week course will receive extensive exposure to the diagnosis and management of malignant diseases and benign cardiologic disorders. Students will be integrated into the multidisciplinary Cardiology teams and will provide comprehensive subspecialty consultations and ongoing care in the outpatient setting for children with cardiologic disorders. Students will be taught procedures including patient physical examination, chest radiograph and ECG interpretation, interpretation of cardiac catheterization data and will participate in multidisciplinary conferences, educational didactic sessions, and read prepared curriculum material.
- PED 2104 – Nephrology
Students in this 4-week course will be integral members of the nephrology team participating in the provision of comprehensive consultations and for follow-up of patients admitted to the renal floor. Students will also participate in the outpatient renal clinic evaluating patients referred for the full scope of concerns related to pediatric nephrology.
- PED 2105 – Endocrinology
Students in this 4-week course will be integrated into the endocrinology clinic at Children’s Dallas and have the opportunity to evaluate children referred for the full spectrum of childhood endocrine concerns, including disorders of growth, puberty, thyroid and adrenal function, in addition to diabetes. Students will also have the opportunity to participate as learners in our diabetes education classes (ranging from basic to more advanced classes including insulin pump therapies). Teaching will be primarily through outpatient clinical experience. The student will attend approximately 8-9 half-day clinics each week. Students will work with the Attendings, Endocrinology Fellows and Pediatric House Staff who also take the Pediatric Endocrine Elective. The student will be given an electronic syllabus for their use on the rotation to read relevant articles on patients seen in clinic.
- PED 2106 – Gastroenterology
Students in this 4-week course will primarily focus on the outpatient diagnosis and management of infants and children with gastrointestinal, nutritional and liver disorders. Students will perform outpatient evaluations on infants and children referred to the pediatric gastroenterology clinic at Children’s Medical Center Dallas under the direct supervision of the faculty attending pediatric gastroenterologist. In addition, they will read the prepared curriculum material and standard textbooks, will view the computerized self-learning material, attend endoscopic procedures and attend scheduled clinical conferences.
- PED 2107 – Rheumatology
The student in this 4-week course will be taught how to examine and evaluate pediatric patients with collagen vascular disease at the primary clinic located in the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. The focus will be on the importance of detailed history and musculoskeletal examination in the diagnosis of connective tissue diseases. The elective will demonstrate the importance of continuity of care and a multidisciplinary approach in the case of chronic patients and enhance students’ ability to logically perform differential diagnosis. The student will be exposed to the physical findings in all major collagen vascular diseases including juvenile arthritis, lupus, dermatomyositis and scleroderma.
- PED 2112 – Allergy and Immunology
The student in this 4-week course will be provided an in-depth exposure to pediatric Allergy and Immunology via clinical experiences, participation in one-on-one discussions between student and faculty, attending structured didactic sessions/conferences, and self-study with prepared curriculum material. Students will be responsible for presenting one patient per week. Preparation for this presentation should include reviewing the relevant literature, establishing a differential diagnosis, and formulating a plan. The student will attend pediatric Allergy Clinic as outlined in schedule. The student will be asked to focus on new-patient evaluations. During clinics the student will see patients, take their history, and perform physical examinations.
- Course Number – PED 2112 Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
- PED 2114 – Genetics & Metabolism
This student in this 4-week course will be an integral member of an allergy and immunology team participating in the provision of comprehensive consultations and for follow-up of patients admitted to the Genetics/Metabolism floor. Students will also participate in the outpatient Genetics/Metabolic clinic evaluating patients referred for the full scope of concerns related to pediatric genetics and metabolism.
- Course Number – PED 2114 Pediatric Genetics and Metabolism
- PED 2120 – Infectious Diseases
This student in this 4-week course will have the opportunity to fully participate on the Infectious Diseases (ID) consult service at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. The ID team provides consultations to all lines of service throughout Children’s Dallas and the neonatal services at Parkland Memorial Hospital, in addition to seeing patients in an outpatient referral clinic. The ID Clinical Elective now offers an individualized experience, continued exposure to general infectious diseases patients through the General ID consulting service; Introductory educational activities including Children’s Clinical Microbiology lab overview, Infection Prevention and Control overview, Pharmacology ‘boot camp’ lecture by ID clinical pharmacist; New optional ID clinical opportunities offering perspectives on diagnoses and management of specialized ID cases in unique settings: Immunocompromised Host service, Ambulatory ID clinics, Orthopedics/ Musculoskeletal Infection team; Encouraged individualized investigation of infectious disease career-related options during the core rotation.
- Course Number – PED 2120 Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Block Schedule: All block schedule dates are inflexible and should be considered when scheduling an elective block.
When to Apply
- Applications for domestic students opens 4/1/2024. All domestic medical students will apply through VSAS/VSLO.
- International students will need to apply 90 days (about 3 months) prior to rotation start date. Courses will remain open for enrollment for blocks 1-6. Blocks 7-12 will open for enrollment in November 2024.
- International students will need to peds.clerkship@utsouthwestern.edu to get instructions on how to complete the application online and submit additional requirements.
Application Requirements
- Domestic & International Medical Student Application Requirements
- Application: Domestic Medical Students will complete application on VSLO website.
- Please select only ONE rotation, applying for more than one elective rotation in VSLO does not guarantee a rotation spot.
- Survey Questionnaire: Please click link to complete a brief survey to allow us to better evaluate your application.
- Curriculum Vitae: Must be updated and uploaded (PDF format) on VSAS website.
- Official Medical School Transcript: Must include pre-clinical and clinical courses. Grades for the Pediatrics Core rotation must be included on the transcript. (If any requirements are missing from your transcript, your application is considered incomplete for review)
- Letter of Intent: Designed to express your interest in working with this organization, why you are interested, what skills and experiences you have that the program might find valuable.
- Letter(s) of Recommendation: Must be submitted from a clinical preceptor through VSLO (preferred) or directly to UTSW to the listed email below:
- peds.clerkship@utsouthwestern.edu (Attn: VMS Student Coordinator)
- All LORs must be submitted before your application is considered complete for review – Be proactive in making sure your LORs are completed and submitted along with application.
- International applicants will need 3 LORs.
- USMLE Step 1: COMLEX Level 1 will be accepted in place of the USMLE Step 1 for DO students (Step 1 is highly preferred).
- International applicants must have a step 1 exam completion.
- Letter of Good Standing: Attestation of good standing is not required if “YES” is indicated in VSLO by your school.
- Application: Domestic Medical Students will complete application on VSLO website.
- International Medical Student Requirements – Additional
- Visiting international student applications will be submitted via VSLO and email.
- Submissions will only be reviewed with confirmation of payment via VSLO.
- Complete Survey questionnaire – https://forms.office.com/r/bKT2VSLHzv
- All required documents included in the email should be in a PDF format.
- Email Margie Molina to request instructions on how to complete the application online:
- peds.clerkship@utsouthwestern.edu – Attention: International Applicant Application – Medical Student Name.
- Application Timeline of Events
- April 1, 2024 - Elective Registration for UTSW Medical School students opens and VSAS/VSLO opens for domestic visiting students along with international student registration for blocks 1-6 and opens in November 2024 for blocks 7-12.
- April 29, 2024 - Administrative Review begins for submitted VSAS/VSLO and International medical student applicants. This review will be continuous for the entire academic year.
- May 13-16, 2024 - Program director begins reviewing of VSAS/VSLO Domestic medical student and International applicants. This review will be continuous for the entire academic year.
- Application review and approval will continue throughout the academic year until enrollment is closed by the director. Attention to rotation start dates and required submission dates are highly encouraged.
- Below is a chart for you to understand cut-off dates for specific rotation dates. Applicants must have all documents in the VSAS/VSLO portal 2 weeks prior to the deadline date provided in the VSAS Offer Deadline column below.
*This includes any off cycle rotation datesVMS Calendar 2024-2025 Block VSAS Offer Deadline Begin Date End Date Block 1 05/17/2024 07/01/2024 07/26/2024 Block 2 06/14/2024 07/29/2024 08/23/2024 Block 3 07/12/2024 08/26/2024 09/20/2024 Block 4 08/09/2024 09/23/2024 10/18/2024 Block 5 09/06/2024 10/21/2024 11/15/2024 Block 6 10/04/2024 11/18/2024 12/13/2024 Block 7 11/22/2024 01/06/2025 01/31/2025 Block 8 12/20/2024 02/03/2025 02/28/2025 Block 9 01/17/2025 03/03/2025 03/28/2025 Block 10 02/28/2025 04/14/2025 05/09/2025 Block 11 03/28/2025 05/12/2025 06/06/2025 Block 12 04/25/2025 06/09/2025 07/04/2025