Travel versus commuting

The School of Medicine is only able to provide funding support for travel from your official duty station to a required clerkship site and/or a required exam site (including OSCEs). Travel here means point-to-point, from your duty station to your clerkship site. Note that the School has no funding to support travel for preceptorships or elective rotations.

There is also no funding available to support commuting while at clinical sites or within the Seattle metropolitan area. Many clinical rotations, both in and outside the Seattle metropolitan area, require students to commute between multiple clinical sites, between didactic teaching sites and clinical training sites, and between student housing and clinical facilities. You will need to take the initiative to discover all site-specific transportation requirements before your clerkship begins. Some clerkship sites can provide vehicles, shuttle services, or other forms of transportation, while other sites provide limited or no transportation.

You should generally expect to provide your own transportation. It is your responsibility to understand expectations for travel while at the clerkship site and make appropriate plans before the clerkship begins. You may need to be flexible with carpools, local and regional transportation options, bikes, etc., and be prepared to accept any costs related to “local commute” requirements, including providing your own vehicle. Detailed information on clerkship site transportation requirements can be got from the department clerkship administrators. You should contact the required clerkship department or the clinical site to get answers to any site-specific travel questions you have.