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Visiting Medical Student Rotations

Behavioral Health & Recovery Services

San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services provides excellent opportunities for medical students in inpatient psychiatry and psychiatric emergency services. Spaces are limited, however, and we are not able to accommodate all applicants.

Applicants must be currently enrolled in a U.S. Medical School and have completed their core rotation in psychiatry. Applications for visiting rotations must be submitted by May 1st for Fall rotations, and medical students will be notified by June 1st regarding availability of rotations. You must be able to supply proof of COVID vaccinations or an exemption, as per our county infection control policy. Please contact Priscilla Romero at PPadilla-Romero@smcgov.org and Eliana Riquelme at ecalvarez@smcgov.org with your application or questions. Application information is available below. Once you have completed the application and provided proof of vaccination, we will be notified by our organization that you are cleared, and we can begin the process of interviewing and coordinating.

San Mateo Medical Center’s Placement Process

1. All student placements must be approved by the host department manager or preceptor with a copy to the relevant placement processing departments. Placements are then processed and given final approval by:

  • Provider Students/Trainees (Medical Student, Residents, Physician Assistant, Nurse Practitioner: NP & FNP), by Priscilla Padilla Romero, MPH, MPP, Manager for Medical Staff/Provider Relations | ppadilla-romero@smcgov.org
  • Dental Students/Trainees, by Raul Ramirez, Dental Program Coordinator | raramirez@smcgov.org
  • All others Students/Trainees (Nursing: RN & MSN, Pharmacy, Rehab: OT, PT, ST, etc, Radiology, Medical Assistants, Respiratory, Dietetic interns, Surgical tech, MPH, Sterile Processing, Health Information, HRM, etc.), by Akram Abdul Cader, D.B.A, M.B.A., Education Department Manager | acader@smcgov.org

2. All students being placed at San Mateo Medical Center must complete the student declaration form in the resource library below.

  • A PDF copy of the form is automatically emailed to the student after completion. It is the responsibility of the student to email the completed form to the placement coordinator. (Students should inform Akram Abdul Cader at acader@smcgov.org if they don’t receive this form within a day of completing the form.)
  • A copy of this form must be reviewed by the school’s placement coordinator and kept on file with the student’s record.

3. As per our student placement contract between the County and an approved school, we are requiring that only the school’s placement coordinator or designee representing the school (not the student) fill out the placement request form in the resource library below.

The school no longer has to send any medical records, OIG clearances, BLS cards, etc., to San Mateo Medical Center.

The school is responsible for reviewing and verifying the students’ health immunization & placement records and maintaining documentation during the placement process.

In the event that San Mateo Medical Center needs to review these documents, the school will provide them.

The following information is required for the student placement form (placement coordinator will review and verify the original documents and fill in the form based on this information, and the completed the attestation):

  • Student Declaration Form
  • Student Personal Information
  • Approved Placement Details (Days, Shifts, Unit)
  • Student OIG Clearance Results (search student name on the OIG website)
  • Student BLS Card Copy
  • Student Immunization Records: Tuberculosis (TB) [Either: QuantiFERON, chest x-ray, or PPD]; HepB; TDAP; Varicella; Measles, Mumps, Rubella; Flu Form (as applicable); Fit Testing (as applicable); COVID-19

4. All students must complete SMMC’s Online Orientation found in the resource library below.

This link will change once it is updated. When this Orientation is updated, the new link will appear on the Student Declaration Form and on the Student Placement Form.

5. We anticipate that each application should take roughly 10 to 15 minutes to complete. The Online Orientation should take roughly 30-45 minutes to complete.