Program overview

Program length: 4 weeks (one rotation)
Location: Rochester, MN or Mayo sites in Minnesota or Wisconsin

This program provides physician assistant students a hands-on clinical experience in a health care setting with a diverse patient population. The rotation exposes students to areas of medicine not addressed by core rotations and prepares them to work both independently and collaboratively as a member of a health care team.

Application process

Prerequisites

Mayo Clinic provides clinical rotation experiences to students from PA programs across the country. These rotations are only available in elective areas. Requests for rotations in core areas (Behavioral Health, Cardiology, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, General Surgery, Hospital Internal Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, and Pediatrics) will not be considered.

Students must be enrolled in an ARC fully accredited PA program to be eligible to participate in the Mayo Clinic Physician Assistant Clinical Rotation Program. Students should check with their clinical coordinator to determine if their institution meets that requirement. Please note, students from fully-online programs will not be considered.

Non-U.S. citizen applicants

Admission to Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences is open to U.S. workers in the four categories below. Therefore, visa sponsorship is not available.

1. U.S. citizens
2. U.S. nationals
3. Lawful permanent residents
4. Asylees and refugees

Applicants whose primary language is not English must submit results from the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based test (TOEFL iBT). Scores from the speaking portion of the exam are given particular consideration in admission decisions. Learn more about the exam and register online at the Educational Testing Service.

The Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences code for the TOEFL iBT is 5784.

Educational transcripts from schools outside the U.S. must be translated (if they are not already in English) and evaluated for U.S. equivalence by an accredited credential evaluation service company prior to submission. Please refer to the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services for a list of qualified companies. The applicant pays for the examination and credential-evaluation services.

How to apply

PA students who wish to participate in clinical training at Mayo Clinic must have their program's clinical coordinator contact the Physician Assistant Clinical Rotation program director, Ryan Meverden, to request a rotation. Requests made directly by students will not be considered. Under no circumstances should the student make a direct rotation request to a preceptor. 

The clinical coordinator's request must include:

• Student's name and email address
• Type of rotation requested
• Specific dates requested
• Any connections the student has to Mayo Clinic
• Any connections the student has to the area

If it is determined that the clinical specialty requested has capacity during the dates requested, and if the requesting institution has a current affiliation agreement with Mayo Clinic, then the student will be accepted and the appointment process will begin.

If it is determined that the clinical specialty requested has capacity during the dates requested, but the institution does not have a current affiliation agreement with Mayo Clinic, then the request will be forwarded to the MCSHS Education Committee. If approved, a one-time affiliation agreement will be drawn up. A completed and signed affiliation agreement must be in place before the appointment process can begin.

Accreditation information

See accreditation information for Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.