Permission-Only Clerkships

A number of our Explore & Focus clerkships require permission for students to enroll. This means a student is unable to register for the clerkship until they have secured permission from the offering department. Since departments don’t have to provide permission-only availability in advance, availability for these clerkships may not be viewable in eValue. Students will need to contact the department of the clerkship to inquire about availability for a particular clerkship, time frame, and/or site. Please note that permission-only clerkship scheduling is handled outside of the EVOS automated scheduling system, so you will not be able to preference them in Phase 2 of scheduling for E&F.

A status of permission-only indicates that a rotation is only available based on preceptor availability or department review for student placement.

Permission-only clerkships allow the UW School of Medicine to offer a broader variety of rotations, particularly at smaller sites and within established residency programs.

Contact the clerkship administrator for the department offering the clerkship to request a permission for a clerkship rotation. Permission approval may require additional information, such as statement of interest, multiple possible time frames, or a personal statement.

Requests for permission-only rotations can vary in response time and availability. The best resource for the expected wait time is the department clerkship administrator. Note that some rotations only grant permissions cyclically or very close to the start date and will require the student to plan accordingly.

It is recommended to reach out at a minimum of two weeks in advance of the scheduling assurance date* to request permission for a particular clerkship.  Students granted permission for a clerkship should forward that permission onto the Registration Team. Registration will not be able to register students for a permission-only clerkship without that approval. 

*Scheduling Assurance Date is October 23, 2023. You may continue to make requests and departments may continue to approve after this date, but there is no assurance Registration can get these on your schedule prior to the first EVOS run.

Departments do not always know the availability for permission-only clerkships in advance. This means that often there is no availability listed in eValue. Contact the Department Clerkship Administrator to ask about availability for timeframes of interest if you do not see it listed in eValue.

• The earlier the better! Research and decide which clerkships you want to take during Explore & Focus and if any are permission-only, secure permission prior to the scheduling assurance date. You are not guaranteed permission-only clerkships if you miss this deadline (although you can still request them).
• Getting permission from a department can take some time so make sure you are requesting permission as soon as you have decided you want to take that particular clerkship.
  • You should be working on getting permission for your clerkships at least two weeks in advance of your scheduling assurance date to ensure you have enough time to get that permission.
• Department criteria for granting permission varies, they are the best resource for that information if there’s not detailed information in the clerkship catalog.  Once you have determined your interest in a clerkship, reach out to the department to make sure you have all of the information needed prior to requesting permission.
• Some permission-only clerkships are first-come, first-serve so it is in your best interest to reach out as early as possible to secure permission for a clerkship.
• Once you have been granted permission for a clerkship, forward your permission email from the department to somreg@uw.edu.