UW Department of Surgery - Medical Students

Exploring Surgical Specialties

Following the competition of the required Surgery Clerkship, elective courses allow students to explore different sub-specialties of surgery. There are numerous surgical sub-specialty electives available across Seattle and the WWAMI region. All surgery electives, with the exception of “away electives”, meet Surgery Selective requirements.

Click on the sub-specialty of interest from the sidebar menu to explore the course offerings, locations, and important credentialing information for each site.


Surgery Special Electives

Special electives are used for away rotations. Students will enroll in Special Electives in order to receive credit for away rotations in non-UW courses. Students must first fill out an application for special electives which must then be signed by the Program Administrator, and if applicable, the UW Regional Office, before submitting to the School of Medicine. For details on the application process and to obtain a copy of the application, please visit the School of Medicine’s Special Assignment Elective page.


Permission-Only Electives/Sub-Is

RULES FOR PERMISSION ONLY ADDS:

  • Permissions will only be sent to one site at a time. Multiple sites will not be contacted for the same rotation dates.
  • If you are requesting permission for a course in Surgery please do not request that same rotation block from another Department. If you are asking permission you should be intending to register. Dept. permission for a late drop may not be granted. Please plan your schedule accordingly. 
  • Granted permission will only be for the requested course and rotation block. If you would like to change to another rotation block you must submit a new permission request.

Disclaimer for permission only courses:
Students should only request permission-only electives if they intend to commit to registering and attend the elective if approved. UW students who register for an elective and subsequently cancel it are taking away opportunities for other medical students and is a disservice to the site.