Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) is an application hosted by the AAMC which allows students to apply for 4th year away rotations. Most, but not all, medical schools use VSLO.
View the list of VSLO schools at the AAMC website. Download a tutorial on how to apply for rotations.
Applying for an away rotation requires that the student and the Office of Records and Registration work together to upload the required documentation to VSLO or send host institution application materials to non-VSLO host institutions. Please note: We require a minimum of 3-5 business days to process all of your requested documents. If you know of a particular deadline for an application, please request documents as soon as you know these dates by email to ams-records@brown.edu, in addition to submitting the Away Rotation Request Form.
Please do not submit duplicate away rotation requests, unless it is program-specific (e.g. transcript, criminal background check, proof of liability insurance, home school evaluation form, etc. can be used for ALL of your applications).
| Requirements | Responsibility | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Away Rotation Request Form | Student | Use this form to submit requests related to applying for away rotations (upload transcripts, letter of recommendation, proof of liability insurance coverage, home school evaluation form, etc.). |
| Official Transcripts | Student (Order) Home Institution (Upload/Send) | All transcripts must be ordered online, please submit a request from Brown University Registrar's website. Student should have document sent to ams-records@brown.edu directly from the Registrar's Office. |
| Letter(s) of Recommendation | Student (Request to be sent to ams-records@brown.edu) Home Institution (Upload/Send) | Some schools require letters of recommendation from a faculty member. These should be sent directly to AMS-Records@brown.edu from the faculty or staff member for upload to VSLO or distribution to non-VSLO host institution. |
| Criminal Background Check (CBC) | Student | Verify your last criminal background check date within your EMSR record before ordering a new CBC. Some schools require visiting students to have had a CBC within the past 12 months. There is a $36 charge for this service. |
| Proof of Liability Insurance Coverage | Home Institution | We will upload your proof of liability insurance coverage to VSLO or send to a non-VSLO institution. |
| Home School Evaluation Form | Home Institution | We will upload our home school evaluation form. |
| Step Scores | Student | You are responsible for uploading/sending this document. |
| Fit Test Documentation | Student | You may obtain your fit test documentation within your EMSR record. |
| ACLS/BLS Documentation | Student | You can claim your cards via heart.org/cpr/mycards and enter your first name, last name, and email address. |
| Drug Screening | Student | Not all host institutions require a drug screening; please verify with the host institution. Verify with your health insurance company that you are covered before moving forward with a drug screening. |
| HIPAA/OSHA training | Student | Expiration date can be verified in your EMSR record |
| Immunization Records | Student | Log into the Patient Portal. First select Immunization, then select View History to view or print. If a host institution requires you to complete their immunization form, please schedule an appointment at Brown Health Services by calling (401) 863-3953. A nurse will complete the form(s) with you. Please complete as much of the form as possible prior to your appointment. Maximum of 3 forms per 20 minute appointment. |
| VSLO Verification | Home Institution | We will review and complete your verification page in your VSLO profile prior to releasing your VSLO applications. |
| VSLO Application Release | Home Institution | After you submit your application(s) in VSLO, we will be releasing them as soon as they show up in our queue. |
Accepting an Away Rotation: To add an away rotation to your schedule, you must add yourself to the waitlist for the away elective or subinternship in Oasis to begin the approval process. All requests must be approved by Dean Vrees. Records and Registration will drop any conflicting courses on a student’s schedule once the away rotation has been approved by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs since away rotations cannot be taken concurrently with any other course. Once it has been approved, you will see it as a registration on your schedule. Retroactive adding of away rotations is not permitted.
Subinternships: If you believe that the away rotation is a subinternship, the External Subinternship Checklist (provided by the the student to the host institution) is required to ensure that the away rotation meets the Warren Alpert Medical School’s subinternship requirements. If you do not upload the completed External Subinternship Checklist 30 days prior to the start date of the away rotation, it will be processed as an away elective and you will receive elective credit for the away rotation.
30 Day Add/Drop Restricted Period: Students are permitted to add or drop electives and subinternships with a minimum 30 day lead time prior to the start date of the rotation. If it is within the 30 day add/drop period, please submit the late add/drop request form. Courses cannot be retroactively added or dropped.
*IMPORTANT: Although a documented late notice of an away rotation is one of the eligible reasons to potentially be approved for a late add request, the offer must have been sent from the host institution to you within the 30 day add restriction period. If you have accepted the offer of the away rotation outside of the 30 day add restriction period and did not notify our team of your offer until it is within the 30 day add restriction period, you will NOT be approved for this away rotation and will NOT receive credit.
Example #1: Student receives and conditionally accepts an offer via VSLO from Harvard Medical School on 5/1/2025 for an away rotation that starts on 5/30/2025. Student adds themselves to the wait list/completes non-standard course form in Oasis on 5/1/2025. Student has potential to be registered/receive credit for the away rotation with guidance on next steps from R&R.
Example #2: Student receives and conditionally accepts an offer via VSLO from Harvard Medical School on 3/31/2025 for an away rotation that starts on 5/30/2025. Student adds themselves to the wait list/completes non-standard course form in Oasis on 5/1/2025. Student will NOT be approved/receive credit for the away rotation and their waitlist entry will be dropped from their schedule.
Away Rotation Maximum: Students are permitted to participate in a maximum of three (3) away rotations in their specialty of interest which is the equivalent of 12 weeks of rotations that can be completed outside of the Warren Alpert Medical School. In order to be approved for additional away rotations, special permission is required from the Senior Associate Dean of Medical Education.