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OSR Liaison Update - GSA Committee on Student Records (COSR)
July 2009
Resources for Registrars
The Committee on Student Records (COSR) has released a new edition of
the Handbook for Student Records Administrators. This edition contains
updated information and is an excellent resource for administrators in
the Registrar's office. It is one of COSR's goals to continue developing
helpful resources for administrators. One proposed project is designing
a wiki to serve as a centralized source for information, including answers
to common questions, discussion forums, and important contact information.
This will prevent topics from becoming repetitive and recycling on the
list serv. Another project is organizing "Financial Aid for Registrars"
and "New Registrar Orientation" sessions for group meetings, such as the
biannual Professional Development Conference (PDC).
Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS)
The VSAS program was designed by the AAMC to streamline the process for
senior medical students applying for away rotations by allowing students
to submit one application to multiple programs. Last year, 10 pilot schools
participated in VSAS and the system handled around 2,000 applicants and
7,100 applications for away rotations. This year, VSAS includes 64 schools
and has already managed 5,200 applicants and 24,000 applications. Schools
will be invited to join VSAS again in the fall. Next year, VSAS will also
include 10-15 independent teaching hospitals that are not linked to medical
schools. COSR supports the future inclusion of osteopathic schools, but
encourages that international students continue to be handled outside
the VSAS program at this time due to their unique requirements.
Surveys have been sent out to participating schools and students, and
results will be compiled and presented at a future meeting. Despite the
increased use of VSAS, however, initial survey results indicate that students
are still applying to between one and two non-VSAS schools, indicating
a need for further expansion. Upcoming modifications to VSAS may include
a document management tool and the ability for students to upload additional
documents. COSR will begin working on a set of traffic rules to help registrars
and administrators further learn and understand the workflow of VSAS and
its useful features.
Affiliation Agreements, Standardized Immunization Forms, and Insurance
A working group was established to discuss issues pertaining to fourth
year medical students, such as affiliation agreements and standardized
immunization forms for away rotations. Affiliation agreements are often
required for a medical student to be permitted to complete an away rotation
at an outside institution, and they have become increasingly cumbersome
for medical school administrators to handle. There will be a discussion
with the Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems (COTH) about
the problems and hassle that affiliation agreements are causing in hopes
of further defining and addressing the need for these agreements. COSR
and the working group have encouraged the AAMC to continue discussions
with COTH and issue recommendations and guidelines for the use and content
of affiliation agreements.
As far as development of a standardized immunization form, it has been
recommended that this form be based on current Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) guidelines. The current immunization form that is used in VSAS is
based on a survey of medical schools, many of which use the same comprehensive
form for visiting students as they do for incoming students. If a new
standardized form is created, schools would have the option of incorporating
additional immunization requirements separately if necessary.
Finally, many schools are requiring needle stick insurance as a rider
on insurance policies for visiting students. Others require additional
liability insurance coverage. Options will be explored regarding the compilation
of a list of resources for students seeking additional coverage for international
travel, liability, needle sticks, etc.
If you have any questions, comments, or recommendations concerning the
GSA-COSR, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Jessica Nelson
OSR GSA-COSR Liaison
University of Michigan Medical School
jlnelso@umich.edu
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