Application season

2/2024 through 5/2024

Who should apply?

Competitive applicants in the OHSU Orthopaedic Surgery Diversity-Equity-Inclusion Visiting Subinternship Scholarship Program will have demonstrated academic excellence, strong leadership and extracurricular experience. The program is open to applicants who demonstrate the above and belong to groups that are underrepresented in the health and science professions as defined by the Association of American Medical Colleges: African American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic American and Pacific Islander. Those who apply to the program should be students strongly motivated to pursue a career in Orthopaedic Surgery. Clerkships are four weeks in duration and are available, space permitting, to full-time third and fourth-year students who are in good standing at LCME-accredited U.S. medical schools.

Program goals

• Encourage students to consider a career in Orthopaedic Surgery
• Enhance student awareness of opportunities in academic medicine
• Provide specific mentoring and networking for underrepresented students
• Identify future leaders in Orthopaedic Surgery

Subinternship program description

Oregon Health & Science University Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation values diversity and inclusion.  We are committed to building and preserving diversity among our faculty, staff, and trainees. The OHSU Orthopaedic Surgery Diversity-Equity-Inclusion Visiting Subinternship Scholarship is a program designed to give students who belong to groups that are underrepresented in the health and science professions an opportunity to experience the exceptional training that OHSU has to offer. The scholarship award is to assist with the financial burdens of travel for a visiting student.  Sub-interns at OHSU function as members of the surgical team, participating in outpatient clinics, inpatient care, emergency procedures, and the operating room.

In addition to the great overall experience of the sub-internship, the scholarship program includes the following:

• Each student is paired with a faculty mentor in an area of their interest.
• Each student will have pre- and post-rotation meetings, virtually or in person, with the Residency Program Director.
• Funding of $2,000 to help defray the costs of travel and housing. (A check will be issued upon arriving in Portland and starting the rotation.)
• Opportunity to interact with current OHSU residents, fellows, and faculty at social events.

Application requirements

Applicants must be on track to complete all required clerkships through their home medical school prior to beginning this internship. Visiting subinternship positions will be available as four-week rotations during the months of June, July, August, September, October and November.

While applications can be submitted ahead of VSAS opening, receiving the final award is dependent on completed and accepted OHSU VSAS application. Please see the OHSU School of Medicine Visiting Students webpage for eligibility requirements.

How to apply

Please submit the following documents:

1. CV
2. Personal statement or letter of interest
3. Application Form
   1. COMLEX/USMLE Step 1 Score:
   2. COMLEX/USMLE Step 2 Score (if applicable):
   3. Clinical rotations and grades
4. One letter of recommendation from a clinical faculty member

Separately, submit your application to OHSU through VSAS once it is open. You may apply for the scholarship before a VSAS application, but must successfully apply through VSAS to be able to rotate.

Please submit all application materials via email to Robin Sasaoka, Education Manager, with the subject line of Orthopaedic Diversity Subinternship Application.  You will receive confirmation of your application submission within 3 business days and please contact us at sasaokar@ohsu.edu if you do not.

Visiting subinternship positions for the Summer and Fall of 2024 are available as four week rotations, with the following dates:

• Summer 1: 07/01/24-07/26/24
• Summer 2: 07/29/24-08/23/24
• Summer 3: 08/26/24-09/20/24
• Fall 1: 09/30/24-10/25/24
• Fall 2: 10/28/24-11/22/24

Applications may be submitted beginning February 15, 2024. Notifications and selection of preferred rotation dates will follow and offers are contingent on the successful completion of the required VSAS application.  Applications received by the end of February will be reviewed and notifications given by March 29, 2024. Thereafter, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis based on remaining slots available.

About the OHSU Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program

OHSU is where healing, teaching and discovery come together. As the state’s only academic health center, it provides an uncommon array of opportunities to provide the most comprehensive health care, education of the next generation of orthopaedic surgeons, and achieve breakthrough research gains.

Our Orthopaedic Residency Program is first and foremost a place to train physicians to provide excellent patient care. We specifically focus on training compassionate surgeons. We expect our graduates to be proficient in all facets of general orthopaedic surgery, not isolated subspecialties. The training should unfold with multiple faculty mentors as the primary source of learning, and should involve early exposure to procedural and operative interventions. All residents will also be exposed to methods of research, writing, quality improvement, and the education of other medical professionals. We are fortunate to have training sites within a 5-mile radius including two trauma centers, a Veteran’s Affairs hospital, a Shriners Hospital, and community hospitals. We remain proud of our graduates as they move across the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the nation. We seek trainees with a deep curiosity for orthopaedic surgery, who will become great surgeons with big hearts for their patients. We ask the question, "What will this applicant add to our orthopaedic surgery residency program?"

Equal employment opportunity statement

Oregon Health & Science University is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.