Medical schools recognize that students need educational experiences beyond those available in teaching hospitals. In response to this educational need, ambulatory sites, rehabilitation centers, geriatric facilities, nursing homes, health centers, and other sites are utilized to provide a spectrum of venues for exposure to a broad range of patients, illnesses, and care. For some schools this includes clerkships as far as 1,500 miles away. While none of the HMS-affiliated sites is quite so distant, we provide teaching in a large number of locales and therefore have felt the need for a transportation policy.

Financial Responsibility for Transportation:  Harvard Medical School policy is that students are responsible for arranging their own transportation, including that to and from their clinical sites. These sites, with rare exceptions, are accessible by public transportation from the Medical School.

Students who choose to take cars to their sites are responsible for covering all gas, parking fees and other expenses incurred by this mode of travel.

Cases of Financial Hardship:  Students who are unable to afford the cost of transportation to a clinical site should consult their Financial Aid Officer. Note: the average cost for travel to clinical sites is included in the standard student budget used to assess financial need.

For more information and a Transportation Guide, go to http://mycourses.med.harvard.edu/ResCourses/CampusWide/HMSTG/hmstg.htm. See also Section 10.12.