College of Veterinary Medicine

Visiting Clerkship and Scholar Policy (Printable version)
Visitor Approval Form (Printable version)

Overview

The Ohio State University Department of Veterinary Biosciences offers a variety of programs for visiting veterinary students, interns, residents, and faculty. Visitor programs enrich our own clinical program, provide academic growth for visiting participants and help other institutions meet specific programmatic needs. Visitors provide opportunities for collaboration, and sharing of ideas in teaching, service, and research. International visitors enhance our cultural diversity and encourage development of professional relationships between OSU and the global veterinary community. In some cases, visiting students and residents from other institutions develop an interest in applying for future intern, resident, or faculty positions in our program.

Visitors are accepted by special arrangement and prior approval of the faculty and Chair of the Department. The categories of visitor programs include the following.

• Visiting Student Clerkships—Unique experiences for visiting 4^th-year (senior) veterinary students who are enrolled in AVMA-accredited veterinary colleges in North America.
• Visiting Intern and Resident Clerkships—Unique experiences for visiting veterinary interns and residents from North American post-professional training programs.
• Visiting Practitioner Clerkships—Unique experiences for practicing veterinarians from North America, including veterinarians in private practice, industry, or nonprofit programs.
• Visiting Faculty Scholars—Focused experiences or academic collaborations for faculty members from peer colleges and universities in North America.
• International Visiting Clerkships and International Faculty Scholar Programs—Unique experiences for international visitors and observers who are senior veterinary students, interns, residents, faculty, or practitioners from other countries.

Specialty Areas Available

Rotations usually are for one week blocks in a specialty. Available experiences include extern-ships and rotations in clinical and anatomic pathology. Other areas of specialty focus may be possible by special arrangement. Visiting faculty scholars generally arrange to collaborate with a specific OSU faculty member.

Clinical Pathology and Anatomic Pathology

The daily activities of participants in the visitor programs are varied and will be determined and supervised by the faculty in each specialty service. Opportunities for learning are enhanced by the outstanding faculty and residents, the large and diverse clinical caseload, and the comprehensive facilities within the department and the OSU Veterinary Medical Center, including flow cytometry, mouse phenotyping, imaging, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology shared core services. Participants in the clinical pathology rotation will have the opportunity to evaluate hematologic and cytologic specimens from clinical cases, teaching sets, and an extensive archive of glass slide sets from the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology. Participants are invited to attend the weekly clinical case seminar in Veterinary Clinical Sciences (CPC), the clinical pathology seminar, the cytology elective, cytology rounds, and weekly specialty rounds for surgical pathology that include dermatology rounds and oncology rounds. Participants interested in anatomic pathology will primarily be involved in the necropsy service. Participants will have the opportunity to attend morning specialty conferences, histopathology conference and AFIP/gross pathology conferences. Rotations in research laboratories may be arranged in collaboration with a specific faculty member.

Guidelines and Information

• Clerkship Grades—Rotations are not routinely graded or evaluated, but special forms will be completed and grades provided (pass/fail) for veterinary students whose institution requires completion of such forms. Visiting students must provide advance notice of special requirements for grading or evaluation when they submit their application.
• Accommodations— Participants are expected to make their own arrangements for transportation and living accommodations. Many motels and hotels are available in the Columbus area through the Yellow Pages, the OSU Housing website or the Campus Bulletin Board. International visitors can also get assistance through the university's Office of International Affairs (OIA).
• Insurance—As visitors may be exposed to zoonotic illnesses and animal inflicted injuries, it is highly recommended that you carry personal health insurance during their clerkship period. The Ohio State University including its faculty, staff, students, agents and representatives are not responsible for illness or injuries encountered during your visit nor for payment of any care received.
• Liability—Visitors in clinical areas of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital will be required to complete the Visiting Clerkship & Scholar Program Request & Release form. This form includes a Release of Liability/Statement of Confidentiality.
• Fees—The standard visitor fee is US $400 per week (see Table 1). Requests for fee waivers should be submitted in writing with appropriate documentation as to reason (i.e. availability of funds, qualifications, etc.).  The final decision regarding fee waivers is at the discretion of the department chair.  In addition, a visa processing fee of US $350 is required for all international visitors who are not U.S. citizens and require a J1 visa. The visa processing fee cannot be waived. Payment of all fees before the scheduled visit is required in US dollars by bank draft, money order, or cashiers check, made out to Ohio State University--Department of Veterinary Biosciences. For special circumstances that justify a waiver of the required visitor fee, the sponsoring faculty member may request approval from the Service Head and the Department Chair. Upon approval of the Visiting Clerkship & Scholar Program Request, the visitor will be notified of the fees that must be paid.

Application process

Individuals' interested in visiting must submit a complete application and payment for any applicable fees in advance of their planned visit. Materials required for a complete application are detailed below. Applications must be reviewed and approved by the faculty member, Service Head and chair of Veterinary Clinical Sciences. For visitors requesting rotations through 2 or more clinical service areas, the faculty member and Service Head from each clinical service must approve the proposed visit for their specialty area, including the date and duration. Visitor requests may be denied, if the proposed visit is scheduled to occur during a time when a large number of OSU veterinary students or other visitors are expected in the specialty service, or if the proposed visit is scheduled to occur when faculty staffing is insufficient to meet programmatic needs. The Department Chair reserves the right to limit visitors at any time.

When a decision is rendered on the application request, you will be notified via the email provided on the Visiting Clerkship & Scholar Program Request and Release form. If the application is approved, you will be advised rotations and dates approved as well as all applicable fees. Fees, in total, are due prior to your arrival and must be paid in US dollars by bank draft, money order, or cashiers check, made out to Ohio State University-Department of Veterinary Biosciences. You will also receive additional information regarding your visit; including the day and time you should arrive on your first day and directions to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

To apply, please submit the following

1. Completed Visiting Clerkship & Scholar Application Form
2. Completion of the State of Ohio Declaration Regarding Material Assistance/Non-assistance to Terrorist Organizations (DMA) Form
3. For international visitors, proof of funding, visa processing fees if a visa is requested.
4. For students, a transcript or letter of verification from Dean of Student Affairs (or other comparable institutional official) verifying that the student is matriculated and in good academic standing in a college of veterinary medicine.
5. For interns, residents, faculty, and practitioners a letter of intent and curriculum vitae or résumé.

Please send all application materials to

Linda Hess
Department of Veterinary Biosciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
The Ohio State University 1925 Coffey Road
Columbus, OH 43210
UNITED STATES

Only complete application packets will be forwarded for review and approval.

Fees

• Visitor Fee—The standard visitor's fee is $400. Requests for fee waivers should be submitted in writing with appropriate documentation as to reason (i.e. availability of funds, qualifications, etc.). Final decision regarding fee waivers is at the discretion of the department chair If a fee has been designated for your visit; you will be notified via email when you are notified that your visit has been approved. Fees are payable in US dollars by bank draft, money order, or cashiers check to The Ohio State University - Department of Veterinary Biosciences Office prior to your visit.
• Visa Processing—International visitors are required to have an appropriate visa and clearance from Homeland Security. We charge a fee of $250, payable to The Ohio State University, for the administrative processing related to visa eligibility documents. The visitor is responsible for paying this and all other fees and expenses incurred with the visa application. Processing fees must be received before J-1 eligibility documents and supporting materials will be sent to international visitors. If a visa processing fee is required, this can be included in the same envelope with your visitor fee, but must be a separate check.

All applicable fees must be paid prior to your visit. Arrangements can be made that the fee is paid on your first day with a check, money order or cashiers check payable in US Dollars and provided to The Department of Veterinary Biosciences administrative office. Please note that cash is not accepted and you will be directed to the nearest financial institution to acquire the appropriate payment method. Fees are not refundable.

If the fee has not been paid on or before your first day, and satisfactory arrangements have not been made, the visitor will not be allowed to spend time in the department until the financial arrangements have been satisfied. Once payment is made, the visitor will be allowed to participate in their visit. If you are an international visitor and financial arrangements have not been satisfied within 3 days of the start of the visit, the Univerisity's Office of International Affairs (OIA) will be informed that the visit has been cancelled and OIA will contact the appropriate US Agency to advise them that the visit has been cancelled.

Special Institutional Agreements

Formal agreements or contracts may be appropriate for veterinary schools and other institutions that send students or trainees to OSU's College of Veterinary Medicine on a recurring basis. These negotiated agreements may provide for specific funding commitments or for a reciprocal exchange of students that is mutually beneficial to both institutions. Each institutional agreement is a unique contract that requires thorough consideration by the faculty and administrative approval by the Chair, Dean, and institutional fiscal officer. Our College currently has special institutional contractual agreements with Ross University (City, State or Country), St. Georges University (City, State or Country), and Rakuno Gakuen University (RGU; Japan).