General Information

For domestic students, the UNC School of Medicine will require an approved affiliation agreement with all accepted students’ home institutions. UNC will be using the AAMC Uniform Clinical Training Affiliation Agreement starting in 2019-2020. Once an applicant has accepted a rotation offer and paid the processing fee, the Visiting Student Coordinator will contact the host school regarding affiliation agreements.

Once a student has accepted an offered rotation and paid the $100 (domestic) non-refundable processing fee, an Acceptance Packet and/or other onboarding information will be provided to the student.  The packet will include general elective, departmental and site-specific information depending upon where the student is rotating.

Excused or unexcused absences should not exceed 15% of a course’s required clinical days.  Students need to obtain 160 contact hours over the duration of the elective in order to receive credit.  For a typical 4-week rotation, students missing more than 15% (3 days) are at risk for receiving a grade of Incomplete.

Students may obtain an excused absence at the discretion of the visiting student coordinator, elective coordinators/directors, and campus liaisons.  Excused absences are not guaranteed except for medical reasons. Course directors can exercise discretion to allow absences above the recommended percentage. Students must make up all excused and unexcused absences at the direction of the course or site director. Reasons for excused absences include:

• Medical/illness: Includes illness and medical appointments. There is no limit on absences for medical reasons.
• Family/close friend event or emergency: Students must provide a brief explanation when requesting an excused absence. Examples include but are not limited to funerals and medical emergencies of family members.
• Professional meeting: An excused absence is only granted when the student is a presenter. The student must submit conference documentation when requesting an excused absence.
• Jury Duty: Student must provide a copy of the summons when requesting an excused absence.
• Religious holidays: Per University policy, students are authorized up to two excused absences each academic year for religious observances required by their faith. See University Policy
• Weddings: Students must request an administrative excuse for a wedding as soon as possible, no later than two weeks prior to the event. Students must also submit a copy of the wedding invitation. Students must use their professional judgment to minimize absences to weddings and prioritize attendance to only the most significant weddings.
• Required Training: Students must provide details of the required training.
• Residency Interviews: Due to the nature of the visiting student rotation, the visiting student program will grant excused absences for residency interviews as long as the student makes up the time missed and the number of requested days off does not exceed a reasonable amount.
• Inclement Weather: Any rotation days missed due to hazardous weather situations will not count towards the 15% as long as the University has issued an adverse weather operating condition. See Inclement Weather Policy.

Please submit your request for time off here.

All students will be given a School of Medicine Resource card upon arrival that will provide helpful contact and procedure information.  It is recommended that students keep this resource card with them at all times. Mass emails will also be sent our regarding exposure information. Campus students are encouraged to follow campus guidelines for Emergency and Exposure procedures that will be provided upon arrival.

For domestic students, fees are assessed by VSLO for each elective to which the student applies. If you would like to be considered for more than one rotation block for an elective, you can submit a request for that block without incurring an extra charge. For example: submitting an elective request for ANES 401 for Block 6 and 7 would fall under one charge. Submitting an elective request for Block 6 and 7 for ANES 401 and ANES 403 would be two charges, one for each separate elective. Once an elective offer has been accepted, there is a $100 non-refundable processing fee due for registration purposes and to hold the seat for the approved elective.

Evaluations will be sent to the departments the Monday before the end of the student’s rotation.  Evaluations are due 30 days after the conclusion of the rotation. At the 30 day mark, UNC forms will be sent directly to the student’s school. UNC Internal forms will adhere to the UNC’s grading scale for 4th-year electives as follows:

H – Honors
HP – High Pass
P – Pass
F – Fail

A student’s home institution evaluation form may be submitted to the Visiting Student Coordinator to be completed in addition to UNC’s form. Please keep the Office of Student Affairs informed if an evaluation form is provided directly to the preceptor so multiple forms will not be sent. If no home school evaluation form has been provided before the end of the rotation and a UNC form has already been completed, the home school form will not be completed after the fact.

You are responsible for finding your own housing if you are confirmed for an elective. Some resources to aid in this process will be provided by the campus locations once the student has accepted and paid the processing fee.

The School of Medicine will follow University guidelines regarding the cancellation of classes and clinical duties for students.  While fourth-year students are involved in patient care, they are not considered critical personnel by the UNC Health Care System, or by the various AHECs, and should not report for any medical school activities if conditions are hazardous.

The University uses three main adverse weather operating conditions:  Condition 1:  Reduced Operations, Classes operate on a regular schedule; Condition 2:  Suspended Operations, Classes Cancelled; or Condition 3:  Closure, Classes Canceled (https://hr.unc.edu/benefits/leave-holidays/weather-emergency/). Reports of state government closings do not apply to the University.

UNC announces adverse weather news on https://alertcarolina.unc.edu. The visiting student coordinator will also communicate any changes in operating conditions via email to all students rotating with UNC Health Care locations.

Campus visiting students should check with their Branch Campus administration as conditions may vary across the state. (https://www.med.unc.edu/md/curriculum/tec-curriculum-information/application-phase/application-phase-overview/).

The University of North Carolina School of Medicine takes allegations of medical student mistreatment very seriously. Examples of mistreatment include sexual harassment; discrimination based on race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression; purposeful humiliation, verbal abuse, threats, or other forms of psychological mistreatment; and physical harassment, physical endangerment and/or physical harm.

Read full student mistreatment policy

To Report any mistreatment, please contact the Associate Dean for Student Affairs (alice_chuang@med.unc.edu) or the ombudsman (gary_gala@med.unc.edu).

All students, regardless of their rotation location, will have access to The University of North Carolina School of Medicine resources.  Each student will be provided with a UNC ID number (PID) and the ability to create an Onyen (electronic service keys available to all members of the campus community — faculty, staff, and students alike).  For instance, an Onyen can provide access to the Health Sciences Library and other electronic materials.

Lucas Ramsey | visitingstudent@med.unc.edu
Office of Student Affairs
1001 Bondurant Hall CB# 9535 | Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Phone: 919.843.7095 I Fax: 919.966.9930

All medical students are required to wear a short, white coat. Please bring one with you. If you do not own a short white coat, please consult your medical team about their expectations regarding your attire during your rotation. You may be required to purchase one from the UNC Student Stores or through an online retailer like Amazon.