Washington University School of Medicine offers students in their final year of medical school the opportunity to participate in elective rotations at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and other affiliated clinical sites. 

Washington University only accepts applications from prospective visiting medical students through AAMC’s Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) platform. 

Find out if your school is a member of the VSLO network » 

The Electives Office, a division of the Office of Medical Student Education, handles scheduling of clinical elective rotations and support for visiting medical students.  

Prospective students should NOT contact WUSM departments or faculty directly, as all visiting medical student enrollment is coordinated by the Electives Office. 

Electives Office

wusmelectives@wustl.edu
Bernard Becker Medical Library, Third Floor
660 S. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110

Review all the resource pages before contacting the Electives Office. The answers to most questions can be found on this website.

Participation in an away rotation at Washington University School of Medicine does not guarantee that a student will be offered an interview with the respective residency program at WUSM.

WUSM faculty are not obligated to provide letters of recommendation for visiting medical students, and they may determine that a single four-week rotation does not provide sufficient evaluative information to write a strong letter of recommendation.

Observerships & Shadowing

Medical students are NOT allowed to participate in hands-off observerships or shadowing.

Refer to the WashU Medicine Visitor Guidelines for more information.

The WUSM Visiting Student Program undergoes continuous review and improvement, and requirements and processes are subject to change. This page was last updated on October 11, 2024.