Medical Electives for International Students

The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston is one of the nation's major biomedical research and treatment centers providing the highly specialized setting for education in medicine and related health science disciplines.  Clinical training takes place in the UTMB Hospitals, a six-hospital complex, plus the adjacent Shriners Burns Hospital, serving some 35,099 inpatients and 850,849 outpatients annually.  

Due to the expansion of the UTMB School of Medicine, openings for electives are extremely limited. To see if you qualify to apply for electives at UTMB, please email Elida Macouzet at elmacouz@utmb.edu and provide the name and location of your medical school. She will respond to you to let you know if you may apply. If you are approved to apply, please submit the application materials as directed below.

These short-term courses are offered to qualified students and cover a wide range of topics. You may choose from any of our electives with the exception of Acting Internships. After you have completed one elective rotation at UTMB, you may inquire about participating in Acting Internships in the same department in which you completed the elective. YOU MAY NOT APPLY TO PARTICIPATE IN ACTING INTERNSHIPS UNTIL YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED AN ELECTIVE IN THAT SAME DEPARTMENT. Please contact our office in person to obtain the form that will need to be signed by the department in which you wish to do the Acting Internship once you are nearing the end of your first elective. If you are approved, we will adjust your initial registration to drop an elective you were originally registered for and replace it with the Acting Internship. Please note that approvals for Acting Internships are not guaranteed.

Requirements

The following requirements must be met to qualify for approval to attend UTMB:

1. The student must be attending an approved medical school.
2. The student must have completed appropriate work in each of the following areas (on a basis equivalent to the UTMB curriculum for major clerkships in Year 3): internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, and surgery.
3. Student must be in good standing and in the final year of medical school (on a basis equivalent to the UTMB curriculum).  If you attended a school that requires that you complete an "internship year" or "training period" after the completion of your curriculum, but prior to your degree being awarded, you cannot attend UTMB as a visiting student during that "internship year" or "training period".  In that case, your final year would be considered the year prior to that training period.
4. The student must have adequate proficiency in the English language.
5. The student must pay a fee of $100 per course.  Once we receive your application and have determined that you qualify to participate in electives at UTMB, we will email you to request payment.  Please do not send any money with your application.  Once receive your payment, we will schedule you for the elective(s) and send your official acceptance letter to you.  In addition, if the student decides to drop a course and add another one in its place, another fee of $100 will be charged for each course addition.  The only exception to this is if the student is dropping an elective and replacing it with an Acting Internship due to our requirements regarding Acting Internships.

Application and Approval Process

International students interested in completing medical electives at UTMB should submit the following documents to Enrollment Services. All materials listed below should be sent together and partial packets will not be processed:

• A completed application for each month you want to attend.
• A completed Record of Tertiary Work.
• An official transcript from your medical school translated in English
• Students may also want to include letters of recommendation and should have the appropriate authority at their medical school include them along with the required materials.
• A letter from the appropriate authority at your medical school certifying of the following:

• Your having successfully completed the required clerkships (internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, and surgery) This certification should include coursework in progress and courses which will be completed by the expected date of enrollment at UTMB.
• Your being in good standing and in your final year of medical school.  If your school requires you to complete an "internship year" or "training period" after the completion of your curriculum prior to awarding your degree, please indicate the month and year your "training period" or "internship year" will begin.  PLEASE NOTE:  You cannot attend UTMB as a visiting student during that "internship year" or "training period".
• Your having adequate proficiency in the English language
• Your having permission to attend UTMB

• If you are not a US citizen and will be attending on an F-1 visa please also submit the following documents with your application (Please be aware that if you are approved for electives at the University of Texas Medical Branch, you must attend on a visa for which school is permitted. If you are not a US citizen or permanent resident, you cannot enroll at UTMB on a visitor or business B1/B2 visa.):
  
  
• Request for an I-20 (including financial documents)
• Payment Authorization Form (if required)

There must be 3 months between the date we mail your I-20 to you and the begin date of your first elective.  There will be no exceptions made to this policy.  Please submit all of your application materials well in advance of your anticipated begin date.

PLEASE NOTE:  We will not issue a duplicate I-20 for those never received until 6 weeks has passed from the date it was mailed.  There will be no exceptions to this policy.

All requests and materials must be in English.  If you are paying your application fee with a check, you must mail your materials directly to our office.  If you are paying your application fee by credit card, you may fax your materials to us at (409) 772-5056 or you may scan them and email them to us at elmacouz@utmb.edu. 

It is important that the student’s mailing address and e-mail address are included with the materials so that our office can correspond with the student regarding their eligibility to attend UTMB.

Once the student’s request has been approved they will be notified.  

The best way to communicate with our office concerning your application is via e-mail. You may e-mail Elida Macouzet at elmacouz@utmb.edu and she will respond to you promptly.

Choosing Electives
After the student has received notification from our office that their request has been approved, their application(s) will then be processed.

NOTE: Applications for the 2009-2010 academic year (6/29/09-6/25/10) are currently being accepted.  Applications will not be processed until we have completed registration for UTMB SOM students (approximately - May 1, 2010).  

The electives which are offered for the current academic year can be viewed at http://meded.utmb.edu/electives.asp.  

Electives are arranged in segments of four weeks duration.  The following are dates for elective experiences in the 2010-2011 Academic Year.

2010/2011 Period Dates

1	2	3	4	5	6	Period 13	7	8	9	10	11	12
6/28/10 7/23/10	07/26/10 08/20/10	08/23/10 09/17/10	09/20/10 10/15/10	10/18/10 11/12/10	11/15/10 12/10/10	12/13/10 01/07/11	01/10/11 02/04/11	02/07/11 03/04/11	03/07/11 04/01/11	04/04/11 04/29/11	05/02/11 05/27/11	05/30/11 06/24/11

It is possible to have your elective(s) overlap parts of two consecutive blocks if both are available.  Electives can be specially arranged during the Christmas break if approved by the responsible department.  

Students are limited to 4 months of electives.  

Immunizations  
All international medical students will be required to furnish verification of immunity to certain infectious diseases.  Immunization and Screening Requirements must be met.  The Immunization History form, which must be completed and signed by your primary care provider or a nurse at the clinic where you receive your immunizations, must be mailed to our office along with your application(s).  The Immunization History form will need to be evaluated prior to being approved for elective coursework.  

Registration

When you report to UTMB, you are required to come to Enrollment Services, 2nd Floor , LeeHage Jamail Student Center , to complete the registration process and obtain clearance to attend the elective(s).  Please be sure to bring positive identification (i.e., stamped I-20, I-94, visa, and passport) as it is required as part of the registration process for international students.  

Fees and Insurance
International students will not have to officially enroll at UTMB and pay tuition.  However, international students must purchase malpractice liability, health, medical evacuation and repatriation insurance through UTMB.  The malpractice insurance is currently $2.08 per month of participation. The health, medical evacuation, and repatriation insurance is $93.00 per month. Badge fee of $5.00 and a Pager fee of $5.00 per month.  

Approximate Costs
Students should plan on having approximately $750 -$1000 (U.S. dollars) available to cover expenses while studying at UTMB.  This is only an estimated cost and will vary depending on individual situations. This estimation is for each four (4) week period.

Appropriate Dress

Students are normally required to purchase the medical student jacket to be worn when on clinical duty (estimated cost of $22.80 at the UTMB bookstore).  Male students normally wear dress slacks and white shirts and ties; female students normally wear dresses or skirts and blouses appropriate for a professional appearance.  

Housing
University housing may be available in a dormitory or University-owned fraternity house where room and board plans may be obtained.  Assistance in meeting your housing needs (both University-owned and non-University) is coordinated by the Director of Auxiliary Enterprises, who may be contacted by telephone at (409) 772-1898; by email address (dorms@utmb.edu) or by writing:

Director of Auxiliary Enterprises
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
301 University Boulevard
Galveston,  Texas77555-0667

About the Galveston Area

Galveston is located about 50 miles south of Houston. Houston is served by 2 major airports: Bush Intercontinental and Houston Hobby.  Hobby Airport is closest to Galveston so students may choose to fly there for the sake of convenience.  Twenty-four hour shuttle service is available from both Houston airports making the commute to the Island convenient at a reasonable cost. The shuttle service is located near the baggage claim area at each airport.  

Galveston enjoys a semi-tropical climate with average temperatures ranging from 57 to 81 degrees.  January tends to be the coldest month while August generally is the hottest.  With its many beaches, Galveston attracts over 6,500,000 visitors per year.  Mardi Gras in February and Dickens on The Strand in December are popular attractions. 

Shopping is plentiful both on the Island and surrounding areas.  One can choose from the many beach front shops, traditional shopping malls and an historical antique area.  Whatever your shopping pleasure, the Galveston area can meet your needs. 

All materials, including student’s request to complete medical electives at UTMB, a completed Educational Background form, certificate(s) from student’s medical school, letters of recommendation, request for an I-20 form, application(s) and Immunization History form should be mailed to: 

Enrollment Services
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
301 University Boulevard
2nd Floor, Lee Hage Jamail Student Center
Galveston, Texas 77555-1305

If you have any questions about any of the requirements or if we can be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact our office by telephone at 409/772-1215; by fax at 409/772-4466 or by email at enrollment.services@utmb.edu.