PLEASE BE AWARE: WE HAD A GLITCH AND DID NOT RECEIVED ANY APPLICATIONS FROM 12/29/09 TO 2/14/2010....IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS APPLIED FOR A STUDENT OR RESIDENT ELECTIVE, PLEASE E-MAIL ME AT This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it TO TELL ME THAT YOU HAD FORMERLY APPLIED, AND THEN DO FILL IN THE APPLICATION AGAIN AT THE END OF THE STUDENT ELECTIVES SECTION AND SEND IT AS DIRECTED.

ALSO, 3rd Year Students (Class of 2011), I'm sorry to say that I am completely overbooked for the 2010-2011 ski season, with a long waiting list. If you would like to go on a waiting list for the summer and fall of 2010 (I'm full, but spots usually open up), please go to the student elective section/APPLY ONLINE and fill in an application.

The student program at the Medical Clinic of Big Sky, at the Big Sky Ski and Summer Resort in Big Sky, Montana, was created in 1998, when 12 students joined us through the ski season. Now, we offer roughly 40 elective opportunities for students throughout the entire academic year. We select students based on various criteria and make our decisions each November, one year prior to the ski season for which the elective is offered (this is your senior year of Med School--we only accept 4th year students and residents). If you apply after November of your third year, you will have little chance of getting a spot for the ski season, although opportunities for the summer months might still be possible. 

Since 1998, we have hosted over 400 medical students, most of whom were eager to state that they had their best experience of medical school here in Big Sky.

What is the experience that they talking about? What can we offer that is so unique and exceptional that make students sign up for this elective years in advance?

To begin with, the Clinic is situated right on the slopes of a great ski resort, Big Sky. With thousands of acres of terrain, high speed quads, and relatively few skiers (compared to the big resorts in Colorado and Utah), skiing and snowboarding here cannot be beat. As you may have heard, some students come here just because of that.

However, we feel that it is the hands-on learning experience of working in a Clinic where we see every kind of ski and snowboard injury that stimulates students the most. As a rule, we are able to see these injuries just minutes after the person gets injured. These musculo-skeletal injuries along with a myriad of other medical problems, tourist related and otherwise, give students an experience that they would not otherwise get in medical school.