Medical Student Electives

We welcome medical students from Baylor College of Medicine and U.S. medical schools to rotate with our department and gain experience in Urology.
BCM students can see the M.D. curriculum for foundational and clinical course options. We offer clinical experiences for BCM students through:

• NICER: shadowing experience in Operating Room and clinic
  • Visit the Blackboard Student Affairs page for instructions and forms
• Selective (Core) Surgical sub-specialty rotation: Two-week experience with clinical and didactic learning.
• Clinical Electives in Urology: Four-week experiences, three courses offered.
  • Visit the Course Catalog for details
• Research Elective in Urology: Four-week experience mentored by adult or pediatric urology faculty

BCM contact: Aqsa Khan, course coordinator.

Baylor College of Medicine welcomes U.S. fourth-year medical students enrolled and in good standing to apply for a four-week visiting student elective. The Department of Urology hosts visiting students in summer and early fall each year.  

Students participate in clinical activities and didactic learning with residents and faculty, across our residency sites, with a typical rotation including one week of adult urology at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, one week of pediatric urology at Texas Children Hospital, and two weeks of adult urology at either the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center or Ben Taub Hospital. They are encouraged to participate in weekend or evening call as well during the rotation. They are asked to present a brief presentation to the department in the final week of the rotation.

Full information can be found on the page for Visiting Medical Students.

For the 2024-2025 academic year, rotations for visiting students in Clinical Urology  (course title MEURL 501) will be offered for visiting students in:

• Session 1A: July 1 – July 26
• Session 1B: July 29 – Aug. 23
• Session 1C: Aug. 26 – Sept. 30

Applications will be accepted formally through the AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) system, which will become available for students by the BCM Registrar on April 1.

We invite students who are interested in applying to contact Aqsa Khan, our department electives coordinator, for further instructions and details.

We are excited to host visiting students this fall and welcome your interest in advance of the VSLO application process!

Required elements to apply include 

• Medical school transcript
• USMLE score report
• Brief Letter of Recommendation 
• Brief statement of interest in BCM Urology (one paragraph)
• Response to having a VA badge (active or inactive) at another VA Medical Center *VA badge not required but access considered for placement across sites.
• Proof of immunizations, including COVID-19 vaccine
• Criminal background check
• Completion of home institution’s core clerkships

You will be asked to rank your preference of months, of the months you apply. We do try to balance students across the months based on multiple factors.

A few key instructions:

• All students (BCM and visiting) MUST follow the BCM rotation calendar. Students should only apply to blocks for which they know that they will be able to attend the full rotation according to the BCM’s Academic Calendar. No exceptions.
• For VSLO process and application, prospective medical students should not contact the department/elective coordinator. All inquiries should be directed toward the BCM Office of the Registrar.
• Once accepted to a rotation, the elective coordinator will be your point of contact for specific instructions and hospital onboarding.
• All visiting medical students are required to attend Visiting Student Orientation with the Office of the Registrar on the first day of the clinical elective rotation. No exceptions.