Visiting student clerkships

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Hello,
I am starting to apply for clerkships in pathology for the summer/in my final year (next year) and I have been hitting some walls...
My main problem is that I go to school in Ireland and many places don't take international students, and the ones that do charge ridiculous amounts of money ($3000-$5000 per month NOT including housing/travel expenses etc). Basically, I was just wondering if anyone could suggest places that accept international students and don't cost an arm and a leg? The only ones that I have been able to find so far are University of Wisconsin Madison, UT San Antonio, and Mount Sinai. Any opinions on those three? Also, Mayo clinic has one that isn't too expensive, but the only catch is that the non-refundable application fee is $350😱. I am also very interested in Emory and U Wash, but you need to get a faculty member to sponsor you before you can apply...Any takers? 🙂 I would really like to rotate somewhere that I will potentially do a residency at....which makes me a bit skeptical about rotating at places such as harvard and yale and paying the 3-5 grand without an actual chance of getting a residency there. I know that experience in America is key and I want to get as much as possible, so any advice/recommendations would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[KCShaw]

I feel your pain. I was really only looking for forensic pathology rotations from overseas (as well as a required clinical clerkship), and ran into similar problems. My general opinion is that any institution requiring one to pay "tuition" to do a brief clinical elective there (especially when they only charge international students) is about as worthless as the ol' browneye, which you might as well wink at them. Some places get away with it simply because they have a well marketed name, but I'm not convinced you get more for the money. It would be different if it was widely the norm for all students, and sooner or later it may be, but for the most part institutions assume a sort of reciprocality for short elective times when space is available.

Anyway -- I would be less concerned with "where" you go to get some time in the U.S., and more concerned with simply finding any decent place. Beyond those who charge tuition for everyone, or just charge foreign trainees, some will claim you must have already done certain clerkships, have passed USMLE Step I, etc. Sometimes if you contact a pathology department directly they will be able to work around some of the supposed institutional "requirements." If you have a few institutions in mind to do an elective at, I would strongly suggest contacting them directly, explaining your situation, and finding out what your options really are. That includes making contact to see if you can work out a "sponsor" -- nobody is likely to sponsor you without getting to know you somehow, but they'll never get to know you if you don't initiate contact somehow.

My impression, having been on the other side, is that a lot of the hoops students/applicants have to jump through is to limit the number of individuals from non-English speaking backgrounds with unknown quality of training in financially strapped &/or volatile countries with possibly significantly different cultural backgrounds (all of which can add up to substantially extra work &/or frustration for everyone who works with those people in the U.S., especially on their first visit), so you're probably ahead of that pack.