MD How does VSAS work?

[pillowsnice]

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I am applying to EM and am starting to look at VSAS for away rotations and am a little confused as to what I am supposed to be doing right now lol. Some institutions have dates that say applications opened April of 2019, so I'm guessing these places have not updated for the current cycle. I don't really have much guidance from my school about this, so what should I be focusing on right now to apply for aways on time? It doesn't help that they have us on dedicated now for step 1 and I really would rather focus on that.

 

[longhaul3]

Yes, those are the ones from last year. Look them up and see what documents they require. You will have to fill out the immunization form and get it signed by a doctor, which is a pain, and you may need to get some labs done to satisfy all the requirements. There may also be some background checks that you can get started on. You'll also need some documents from your school, but they will upload them for you once you submit the application.

Also, check the dates that are offered currently—some rotations offered under the 2019 application may extend into early spring this year, so if you are looking for an early rotation there is a small chance it will already be up there under "last year's" listing.

 

[pillowsnice]

So excuse my ignorance, but should I be looking for schools under the "institutions" tab or the "elective" tab? There are electives available but I'm assuming these are the old electives from the previous cycle since none of them have dates that go past June 2020.
Also, I should be looking at the "date applicants can begin submitting electives" for each school, right? Because many of them are in late March or mid april from what I'm seeing.

 

[medschoolmentors]

If I remember correctly, look under the "elective" tab, as this will show you the specialties and available electives within those specialties (2-wk vs. 4-wk, etc). "Institutions" isn't that helpful except to see when they start accepting applications and other technical details.