Visiting Students
The Department of Surgery offers elective rotations to 4th year students from both US and Canadian allopathic and osteopathic medical schools. Unfortunately, College of Physicians and Surgeons policy limits our ability to enroll foreign medical students in traditional 4th-year surgical sub-internships, unless the student is enrolled in one of the 28 international institutions with which Columbia holds a formal exchange program.
4th Year Surgical Sub-Internships for Visiting Students
We offer a wide range of opportunities for visiting students to participate as members of a surgical team at Columbia. Rotating on our services gives students the chance to work in an intense, clinically-active setting beside residents and attendings, often taking on the responsibilities of surgical housestaff. For those students considering applying for surgical residency at Columbia, a 4th year elective can provide valuable information as to how one might fit into our surgical family. Please be advised that rotating on a surgical service as a 4th-year student does not guarantee the student an interview or a training position in our general surgery residency program, but a strong performance on a 4th-year elective can greatly improve an applicant's standing
Electives are available in a variety of general surgery and surgical subspecialty settings. These rotations include, but are not limited to:
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Colorectal Surgery
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Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary Surgery
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Vascular Surgery
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Transplant Surgery (Liver, Kidney)
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Pediatric Surgery
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Cardiac Surgery
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Bariatric / Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery
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General Thoracic Surgery
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Surgical Research
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Surgical Intensive Care
For a current list of our elective surgical offerings, click HERE.
Visiting Student Application Service
Because of the large number of requests we receive for surgical electives from visiting students, we cannot guarantee that all applications for 4th year surgical sub-internships will be honored. Columbia University will be using VSAS, the new Visiting Student Application Service, to receive visiting student applications. To apply to Columbia University, please complete and send us a VSAS application for your preferred electives and dates. For more information on VSAS, please see www.aamc.org/vsas, or contact vsas@aamc.org, or (202) 478-9878. For more information on our visiting student electives, please contact Val Ambrose at va2134@columbia.edu.
Please see the College of Physicians and Surgeons Visiting Student Information Page (http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/ps/students/visiting.html) for detailed instructions on how to initiate the application process for a surgical elective.
Please pay careful attention to necessary paperwork deadlines, fees, and occupational health requirements.
Additionally, feel free to contact our residency office (212) 305-3038 with any specific questions you may have about our electives.
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