College of Allied Health Professions
UNMC_Acronym_Vert_sm_4c
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Clinical Clerkships

At UNMC, your classroom extends far beyond Omaha. Our PA students train in:

  • Rural Nebraska communities: gaining hands-on experience where healthcare is most needed.
  • Urban and specialty clinics: building skills in fast-paced, diverse environments.
  • Sites across the U.S.: from Colorado to Florida, expanding perspectives and professional connections.

Our program is designed to provide students with broad and balanced clinical exposure and providing extended preparation in areas central to the PA profession. Each student will:

  • Complete 14 total rotations

  • Select from five electives to explore individual interests

  • Gain eight weeks of family medicine experience

  • Train for an additional four weeks in another primary care setting

When schedules are created, student preferences are taken into consideration. Not every request can be accommodated due to site availability and program requirements, but every student has a voice in the process. The Clinical Team works carefully to ensure fair assignments while maintaining final responsibility for all clerkship and scheduling decisions. Every rotation is a chance to grow, adapt, and discover your future as a PA.

The policy below explains how clerkships and travel are assigned.

PA Policy on Assignment of Clinical Clerkships and Travel

During Phase II, students develop their clinical competence at clinical sites that have been established by the Program. These sites, known collectively as the Nebraska Clinical Network, have been established over many years with Nebraska physicians, PAs, hospitals, clinics and other institutions together with selected sites outside of the state of Nebraska. Students are not required to provide or solicit clinical sites and/or preceptors.

Because of the PA Program’s educational focus on primary care practice and the Program’s professional commitment to the state of Nebraska, many clinical clerkship sites are located away from Omaha and outside Nebraska Medicine. The majority of these sites are across the state of Nebraska with many located in rural areas. Because the Program’s goals include educating students broadly in medicine as well as providing optimal clinical experiences for students, the following requirements guide the Program’s policy for the assignment of all students to clerkships during Phase II of the Program.

  • Each student is required to complete at least one clerkship in a rural setting, as assigned by the Clinical Team. When available, students will be assigned for two consecutive months in a Family Practice clerkship in a rural location to meet this requirement.
  • Every student should expect to perform all required and elective clerkships within the Nebraska Clinical Network.
  • Clerkships established outside of the Nebraska Clinical Network must be approved and arranged by the PA Program. Requests by students for clerkships outside the Nebraska Clinical Network will be subject to University and Program policy, logistical, legal and monitoring considerations, and clerkship site circumstances.
  • Students must pay their own transportation costs to all clerkship sites.
  • Students must pay for costs of room and board if these are not furnished by the clerkship site. Financial assistance may be available to help with these costs. It is the student’s responsibility to pursue these opportunities with the Financial Aid office.
  • Required testing and educational sessions are held at a UNMC campus up to eight times during Phase II of the Program. Students are responsible for all costs incurred to attend these sessions including travel to and from clerkship sites to the UNMC campus hosting the sessions.
  • All international clerkships must be set up through and approved by UNMC’s International Student and Programs Division. No outside agencies are accepted. Students are responsible for all costs associated with international travel.
  • The final authority for the assignment of all clerkships and schedules rests with the Clinical Team.

All students must complete the clerkships designated as "required" by the Program. Reasonable effort will be made to accommodate student preferences on clerkship scheduling and sites. However, in all cases the final determination for all clerkship dates, sites and activities will be at the discretion of the Clinical Team.

Grades are assigned on the basis of performance and end-of-clerkship examinations as defined in the Phase II Handbook on Canvas.

Clinical Rotation Travel Policy

Students in the UNMC PA Program are expected to participate in clinical rotations in Omaha, rural Nebraska, and across the United States. Each student’s schedule is unique, and travel requirements will vary. All students should anticipate rotations in both Omaha and rural Nebraska, which may involve significant travel within the state.

In addition, 4 to 6 of the 14 required clinical rotations may take place outside of Nebraska, with some assignments located up to 24 hours of travel from the state. Common destinations include Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, Texas, and Florida; however, rotations may be scheduled in any state.

 

Travel is a required component of the program and an expectation of enrollment. Students are responsible for planning accordingly and for all expenses associated with required travel.