Department of Pediatrics

The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital is excited to invite you to apply for our funded fourth-year rotation, the Visiting Student Elective Scholarship Program in Pediatrics. Thank you for your interest!

 The University of Vermont Department of Pediatrics recognizes that certain groups have been historically excluded from opportunities and are underrepresented in medicine (URiM) and in the pediatric workforce. The Visiting Student Elective Scholarship Program (VSESP) in Pediatrics elective at UVM Children’s Hospital is intended to provide a unique experience for URiM students interested in applying to a pediatric residency who may also be interested in experiencing pediatrics practiced in an academic rural setting while gaining clinical opportunities and mentorship.

The VSESP in Pediatrics, sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont will offer two student elective positions during the month of October 2023, each with a $2,500 stipend for reimbursement of travel, housing, meals, and application fees.

Overview

The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital is in Burlington, Vermont, a Refugee Resettlement Community with increasing racial and ethnic diversity.

Two visiting rotations, each 4 weeks in length, will be offered from October 2-27, 2023:

• Sub-internship in the NICU (4 weeks)
• Pediatric Primary Care and Pediatric Pulmonary (2 weeks each)

Neonatal Intensive Care

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) acting internship provides fourth year medical students with the opportunity to attend deliveries and work at an intern level in caring for newborns with acute medical issues. Our NICU Fellowship program has a focus on global health and as such the student may also learn about research and other projects related to global newborn care.

Primary Care Pediatrics

During the Primary Care Pediatrics portion of the rotation, students will have the opportunity to care for children of all ages for both acute and well-child visits. The primary care pediatrics site in Burlington houses the New American clinic, the student may also have the opportunity to spend time in the community-based Building Strong Families clinic, a model of group well visits for New American young children and their parents.

Pediatric Pulmonary

The Pediatric Pulmonary service provides students the opportunity to evaluate infants, children, and teenagers with a broad variety of respiratory conditions such as airway disorders, cystic fibrosis, asthma, and infections.  The student will work as an integral part of the team in varied settings including outpatient subspecialty clinic, general inpatient pediatric unit, pediatric ICU, and neonatal ICU.  The student will practice bronchoscopy using simulation and attend bronchoscopies that are scheduled during the rotation.

While participating in VSESP, visiting students are invited to attend a variety of teaching sessions alongside the pediatric residents.

There will be no overnight or weekend shifts for visiting students.

Each visiting student in the VSESP Pediatrics Program will be matched with a resident/fellow and an attending as mentors for the month based on shared interests. Students selected will also be guaranteed a residency interview if interested in applying to our Department of Pediatrics Residency Program at the University of Vermont Children's Hospital.  

Eligibility

Eligible students include fourth-year medical students (post-clerkship year) in good standing who have passed Step One of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) or the COMLEX Level 1 exam and are enrolled in a U.S. LCME or COCA accredited institution (an MD or DO granting program) and who are members of groups that the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) has identified as underrepresented in medicine.