Medical Learner Opportunities

U.S. and International Applicants

All visiting medical student applications must be submitted through the AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities program.

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services has joined the AAMC’s Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) program for processing student applications. Currently, Pine Rest is accepting applications for 4th year clinical elective opportunities. We do not currently offer externships/observerships. Our physicians, psychologists, residents, social workers, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and faculty are committed to excellence and innovation in student education.

Pine Rest offers rotations in the following areas of psychiatry:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Addiction Psychiatry
• Adult Psychiatry
• Geriatric Psychiatry

Elective rotations are awarded based on available educational opportunities and approval of the residency program director. Applications are prioritized as follows:

• Students from affiliated schools (Michigan State University College of Human Medicine)
• Fourth or final year students from other accredited medical schools in the U.S.
• Students from medical schools outside the U.S. who have demonstrated a tie to West Michigan.

Students accepted for an elective rotation will be required to do the following:

• Pay a nonrefundable $550 rotation fee.
• Send verification from your medical school that you are a student in good standing and are covered by home medical school liability insurance.
• Send proof of immunization/immunity of the following diseases: Chicken Pox, Rubella, Mumps, Polio, Tetanus/Diphtheria, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B, Influenza within past 12 months, TB Skin Test within past 12 months, and a COVID vaccine (vaccine itself or a school approved declination of vaccine). 
• Be able to show proof of a completed criminal background check, fingerprinting, and drug screen, if requested by Host Institution

Fourth Year Medical Student Elective Rotation Scholarship for Medical Students Underrepresented in Medicine

Pine Rest’s Graduate Medical Education Department is committed to fostering an environment of excellence and providing the highest quality patient care through our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

We encourage inclusion of all, including those who are historically underrepresented in medicine by their racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, socioeconomic, and gender identities. We offer a unique opportunity for fourth year medical students from groups currently underrepresented in medicine. Our scholarship provides assistance and support in order to gain clinical exposure within the field of psychiatry in the form of a month-long elective rotation.

The purpose of this scholarship is to guide and support medical students from underrepresented groups who plan to pursue psychiatry as a career. The scholarship provides $2,000 for travel, housing, food and other expenses. The $550 rotation fee is also waived for scholarship recipients. Throughout the rotation, scholarship recipients will receive a comprehensive learning experience at one of largest free-standing behavioral health organizations in the country.

Medical student rotations at Pine Rest are highly integrated with our psychiatry residency program which allows for interaction with current residents and faculty through both clinical experiences and didactics. Thank you for considering us, we hope to connect with you soon!

Who can apply?

• Current 3rd year medical students applying for 4th year elective rotations from underrepresented backgrounds in medicine (including, but not limited to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identification) currently in good standing at an accredited U.S. allopathic or osteopathic medical school who intend to match into a psychiatry residency program.

How can I apply?

• All visiting URM scholarship applications must be submitted through the AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities program.

  · In addition to the institution requirements (i.e., transcripts, immunization records, CV, etc.) students are required to complete the following as part of the application:

• Submit a letter of recommendation

• Submit a letter of good standing from medical school

• Answer the following questions:

  1. Describe any experiences in your personal life or in your training that have led you to appreciate the difficulties faced by the medically underserved. How do you foresee caring for the underserved in your future practice?

  2. Describe challenges that you have faced as an underrepresented minority in medicine and how you plan to use those experiences when caring for underserved populations.

How are the scholarship recipients selected?

• All applicants completed by the due date will be reviewed by a medical education sponsored committee.
• Meeting with scholarship applicant and members of the scholarship review committee to discuss what the scholarship has to offer and answer questions.

What is the deadline to apply?

• We will start accepting applications on January 1, and applications will be due on April 1. Students will be notified of our decision by May 15.

What are the details of the scholarship?

• Medical students selected for this rotation will receive a $2,000 stipend for rotation expenses. The stipend will be given in the form of reimbursement for travel, housing, food, and other expenses incurred throughout the month-long rotation. The stipend will be given after satisfactory completion of the rotation and after appropriate documentation is submitted. The $550 rotation fee is also waived for scholarship recipients.

Questions?

Please reach out to medical.education@pinerest.org for further information.

Visiting Resident rotations are typically scheduled on a 4 week basis. Pine Rest offers the following visiting resident rotations:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Adult Psychiatry: Addiction Medicine
• Adult Psychiatry
• Geriatric Psychiatry

Residents accepted for a rotation at Pine Rest will be required to provide verification of personal health coverage and proof of immunization/immunity of the following diseases: COVID-19, Chicken Pox, Rubella, Mumps, Polio, Tetanus/Diphtheria, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B, Influenza within past 12 months, TB Skin Test within past 12 months. A criminal background check and drug screen will be conducted by Pine Rest.

Please contact medical.education@pinerest.org if you are interested in applying for a Visiting Resident rotation at Pine Rest.