Department Sponsored Visitors Program
This protocol was developed to provide a process for bringing international visitors to the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah who are outside the Dean’s Office Global Health Education unit programs. 

Visitors must have all appropriate approvals and must comply with hospital requirements. 

Criteria – Physicians/Residents
A physician or resident is defined in this case as someone who has a medical degree from a non-US school.

  • Visitor must have an individual faculty sponsor and department/division approval.
  • Department must take responsibility for all educational activities.
  • Visitor will not be eligible in participating in hands-on clinical care activities, therefore, no liability (malpractice) insurance will be necessary.
  • Visitor does not pay tuition; thus, faculty and departments/divisions may not be compensated for hosting international residents/physicians.

The following are required of the visitor:

  • International background check
  • Immunizations & TB-free verification
  • Drug screen
  • Health insurance
  • Application fees
  • ID badges, HIPAA, Confidentiality Agreement, required training.
     

Criteria – Medical Student
A medical student is defined in this case as someone who is currently attending medical school and is of good standing as verified by their medical school.

  • Visitor must be vetted through the home school/hospital.
  • Visitor may not replace a University of Utah student.
  • Sponsoring department/division is totally responsible for providing the clinical rotations (may not promise or request other department rotations).
  • Patient interaction is under the direct supervision of faculty from the sponsoring department/division.
  • Visitor must have 12 months clinical experience (equivalent to U of U final year students). 

The following are required of the visitor:

  • International background check
  • Immunizations & TB-free verification
  • Drug screen
  • Health insurance
  • If the visiting student is allowed by the department to have patient contact, they must provide US acceptable liability insurance –$1,000,000per event/$3,000,000 aggregate.
  • Application fees
  • ID badges, HIPAA, Confidentiality Agreement, required training 
     

Regarding Patient Contact:
Per university policy, international students are allowed to have hands on patient care, though this is left up to the sponsoring faculty/department, and needs to be indicated on the faculty approval form. If granted hands on care, the student will be required to provide medical student liability insurance.

Per United States law, under no circumstance is an international medical graduate allowed to have hands on patient care when they rotate withing our health care system. They are only allowed to observe. If the visitor will not have patient contact, they will not be required to provide liability insurance.
 

Fees associated with rotating required for all visitors: 

  • All visitors must pay a mandatory $40 application processing fee
  • All learners (students, residents, fellows) pay $200 per week of rotation
  • Physicians pay $450 per week of rotation
  • All fees cap at 8 weeks:
    Learners : $1600
    Physicians: $ 3600

**All fees are used to cover the administrative costs and mandatory background check and drug screen required for each visitor. The Global Health Education office does not seek to make a profit, but to recover the costs for credentialing these visitors.

 
The Global Health Education Department will assist in the following:

  • Ensure the visitor has met all hospital requirements
  • Aid in getting UNID, ID badges, HIPAA, and training requirements
  • Assist in finding housing for visitor
  • Provide letters or forms for US Visa requirements
  • Provide maps and School of Medicine regulations
  • Provide certificates to visitor for department approved criteria

For any questions regarding our program, please reach out to April: April.Dansie@hsc.utah.edu