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Visiting PA students must follow the procedures outlined in the Visiting PA Student Policy provided below.  Students should not contact preceptors independently or arrange rotations outside of the procedures outlined in the Visiting PA Student Policy provided below.

Visiting PA Student Student Application Policy and Procedures

  • All Visiting PA student clinical requests, placements, contracts, compliance and on boarding MUST be coordinated through the APP Center.
  • Limited opportunities for clinical year rotations are available to students from Visiting PA programs for ELECTIVE rotations. Visiting PA students CANNOT complete CORE rotations at UNC Hospitals.  Approved Visiting PA students from an accredited Physician Assistant Program will be eligible to enroll in ELECTIVE clinical rotations for a maximum of eight weeks total in the academic year (UNC PA School calendar). Enrollment in didactic courses is not available to Visiting PA students.
  • Participation in a Visiting PA student elective rotation requires completion of the Visiting PA student elective rotation request application via the APP Center website (see link below).  Please note that all requests for Visiting PA Student Rotations MUST originate from the Visiting PA program clinical faculty/staff in order to ensure that they have been approved by the Visiting PA program.
  • If the APP Center determines that a Visiting PA student elective rotation is available, participation in the elective rotation requires execution of an Affiliation Agreement between the student’s home institution and UNC Hospitals unless an active agreement is already in place.
  • Visiting PA Students with a confirmed rotation must complete all compliance and on boarding outlined on the APP Center Visiting PA Student webpages.
  • UNC Hospital reserves the right to collect a $500 Visiting PA Student Rotation administration charge.  Payment of the $500 administration charge is due at least 30 days prior to the beginning of clinical rotation period.

Apply for a Rotation

The FIRST STEP in the process is for the Visiting PA program clinical faculty/staff to apply for a rotation on behalf of the Visiting PA student by submitting the online Visiting PA Student Rotation Request Application.

To complete the online Visiting PA Student application click on this link:  Visiting PA Student Rotation Request Application

Note:  Submitting a request does not guarantee placement.

  1. APP Center Student Placement Manager will review elective rotation request to determine feasibility.
    1. Feasibility is determined by many factors, including the priority schedule (see below), site and preceptor availability, as well as the multitude of other learners present at UNC clinical sites which may dilute the potential experience of a visiting student
    2. Prioritization of Requests:  Rotations are NOT based on first-come first-served basis.  APP student rotation requests MUST adhere to application deadlines and are prioritized as follows:
      1. UNC-Chapel Hill students
      2. UNC Health employees
      3. Other UNC system schools
      4. Other in state schools
      5. NC residents attending out of state programs
      6. Out of state students in out of state programs
    3. The visiting student’s PA Program representative will be notified of feasibility determination
  2. Prerequisites – students must:
    1. Have successfully completed the didactic requirements from an accredited Physician Assistant Program
    2. Be currently enrolled and in good standing for the clinical year at an accredited Physician Assistant Program
    3. Have received approval from home clinical coordinator to proceed with the Visiting PA student application

REMINDER:  UNC Hospitals Sites ONLY include UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill, UNC Hospitals Hillsborough Campus, as well as all UNC SOM clinics.

UNC Rex, Chatham Hospital and UNCPN are NOT part of UNC-Hospitals/SOM clinic locations where the APP Center places students.  Schools need to contact those UNC Health entities separately as they have their own student placement processes.

Notification of Placement

Clinical rotations are approved and confirmed through the APP Center.  If a preceptor is located and the rotation is approved, the APP Center will send the student, their school and the preceptor a Placement Confirmation Notification email.

  • Preceptor information will be provided to the faculty or staff representative from the visiting student’s PA program via the rotation notification email.  The school or visiting PA student should contact the preceptor to work out final scheduling details.
  • The visiting PA student’s program will be responsible for obtaining all evaluations and other paperwork required by their program.

What to Expect After Rotation Notification

Once a rotation is approved and the notification email is sent, the student should begin the compliance and on boarding process by following the instructions located on the following webpages:

APP Center sends Clinical Affiliation Agreement to School IF an agreement is not already in place – Clinical Affiliation Agreement Info LINK

APP Student Compliance and On Boarding Checklist Link:  Onboard and Compliance CHECKLIST

APP Student Hospital LMS and EPIC Instructions Link:  Hospital EPIC and LMS Instructions with module codes

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

UNC Health and UNC School of Medicine believe a diverse and inclusive work environment for staff­ and culturally sensitive care for our patients are essential to fulfilling our mission of improving the health and wellbeing of North Carolinians and others we serve. We commit to value within UNC Health the diversity of all those we serve including diversity in race, ethnicity, gender identity, age, gender expression, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and life experiences.

More information regarding the UNC Health DEI efforts and initiatives can be found at https://www.unchealthcare.org/about-us/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/