Observership/Shadowing

This is unpublished

This policy applies to observership or shadowing for medical students or pre-med students only.

UW PM&R does not provide visiting rotations or observerships for residents or fellows from non-UW training programs.

For information about visiting medical student clerkships, see UW School of Medicine’s Visiting Student Clinical Elective Program page.

Allowed Groups

The following groups are allowed to observe/shadow a UW PM&R attending, provided that they meet the observation site-specific (i.e., hospital) requirements and are approved by the Program Director. All observership requests are considered on a case-by-case basis. 

UW Students 

Students currently enrolled at UW may observe/shadow a UW PM&R attending. If needed, the program office can help identify available faculty sponsorship. 

Visiting Students Currently Rotating in UW Clerkships 

Students accepted to and currently rotating in UW clerkships may observe/shadow a UW PM&R attending. If needed, the program office can help identify available faculty sponsorship. 

Non-UW Persons With Faculty Sponsors 

Non-UW persons who have a pre-established relationship with UW PM&R faculty through research, work, or personally may observe/shadow. The UW PM&R faculty must request observership permission from the program on behalf of the non-UW observer applicant. The program office is not able to solicit faculty sponsors for non-UW persons. These observership requests are considered on a very limited case-by-case basis. 

Not Allowed Groups 

Residency Candidates 

Individuals who have applied to UW PM&R residency program, unless they have been accepted to and are currently rotating in UW clerkships, may not observe/shadow UW PM&R attending. For example, “second looks” are not allowed. 

Visiting Medical Student Clerkship Applicants 

Medical students who have applied to rotate at UW PM&R as a visiting student but were not accepted may not observe/shadow UW PM&R attending. 

Non-UW Persons Without Faculty Sponsors 

Non-UW students who do not have a pre-established relationship with UW PM&R faculty may not observe/shadow UW PM&R attending. The program office is not able to solicit faculty sponsors for non-UW persons. 

Maximum Length of Observership 

Observership experiences should not exceed five days. There may be shorter hospital-specific limits on the maximum length. Please see hospital-specific observer application pages for details.  

Process 

UW Students and Students Currently Rotating in UW Clerkships 

  1. UW student or the UW student’s faculty sponsor contacts the program office about arranging the observership. 
  2. If needed, the program office identifies an available faculty whom the student can observe/shadow. 
  3. The residency Program Director reviews the observership request, considering the impact of the additional learner on residents’ learning environment. 
  4. If approved by the Program Director, the UW student works with the assigned faculty and hospital directly to arrange the observership through the hospital observer application process: 

Non-UW Persons with Faculty Sponsors 

  1. The non-UW person has a pre-existing relationship with a UW PM&R faculty and asks the faculty if they can observe/shadow. 
  2. The UW PM&R faculty sponsor contacts the program office on behalf of the observer applicant about arranging the observership. 
  3. The residency Program Director reviews the observership request, considering the impact of the additional learner on the residents’ learning environment. 
  4. If approved by the Program Director, the observer applicant works with the sponsoring faculty and hospital directly to arrange the observership through the hospital’s observer application process: