Fourth Year Visiting Medical Student Electives Program

Children's National Hospital is the pediatric partner for the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences (GWSMHS) and Howard University College of Medicine (HUCM) in Washington, D.C. We offer over 35 electives in a wide variety of disciplines.

Third and 4th year GW and 4th year Howard University students are enrolled in our electives first. This limits the number of available placements we have each year. We are unable to offer and enroll visiting students until their registrations have been completed in mid-May. August through October are when most electives are full. Your application will be reviewed to determine your eligibility, the desired elective(s) and the requested rotation time frame(s). "Offers" and "denials" will be sent for all applications. We are not able to accommodate "off schedule" requests.

The visiting student placements begin the first full week in July. We require that all students have their COVID shots in order to rotate. Follow and complete the requirements stating in the VSLO GW/Pediatric application process. Transcripts must show your pediatric grade before you can rotate. We will process all applications for July and August first and then work our way through the remaining requests.

How to Apply

To apply for GW/Pediatric electives, go to the Association of American Medical Colleges/VSLO website. You must be enrolled at a U.S. LCME-accredited medical school or a participating COCA-accredited AACOM member college. The GW/Pediatric elective applications go live in April. View the GW course catalog and the Visiting Student page on GW website. Children’s National does not offer Acting Internships/Sub-I’s or Emergency Medicine rotations due to their full capacity for the year. Most of our electives are 4-week rotations and some require transportation. Three excused absences are allowed during the 4-week period. This includes illness, holidays, interviews.

Our Fees

A $150 application fee made payable to Children's National is required which will allow you to take up to eight weeks of electives. Payment is due after you have accepted our rotation offer and must be received no later than the Monday before the electives’ start date. If payment is not received, you will not be allowed to rotate.

For additional questions about our electives program, contact Program Coordinator Wilhelmina Bradford.