The below policy is effective for Summer 2027 applications and beyond. 

Purpose

Because clinical placement capacity within the Washington, DC, metropolitan area is limited, the Biomedical Laboratory Sciences Department prioritizes available local clinical placement capacity for students who have an established primary residence within the defined Local Clinical Placement Region at the time of application. This policy is intended to promote equitable allocation of limited local clinical placements while supporting the Program’s relationships with its clinical affiliates.

Definitions

• Local Clinical Placement Region. The geographic area within a 25-mile radius of GW’s Foggy Bottom Campus.

• Local Student. An applicant whose established primary residence is within the Local Clinical Placement Region at the time the application for admission is submitted and whose residence is verified in accordance with this policy.

• Primary Residence. The location where an applicant currently and principally lives. A temporary, secondary, mailing, or clinical-rotation-specific address does not constitute a primary residence for purposes of this policy.

Residency Verification

Applicants who list an address within the Local Clinical Placement Region or otherwise request classification as a Local Student must provide documentation verifying their primary residence. Listing a local address, including a secondary or family address, does not by itself establish Local Student status.

An intended, temporary, or clinical-rotation-specific relocation to the Local Clinical Placement Region, including plans to stay with relatives or other individuals for the purpose of completing clinical rotations, does not qualify an applicant for Local Student status.

Required Documentation

Applicants must provide two independent documents from different sources. Both documents must display the applicant’s name and the same residential address within the Local Clinical Placement Region. At least one must be a Primary Proof of Residency.

Primary Proof of Residency may include:

• An unexpired state-issued driver’s license or identification card showing the residential address;

• A current, fully executed residential lease or rental agreement naming the applicant as a tenant or authorized occupant;

• A current deed, mortgage statement, settlement document, or property-tax record; or

• Comparable current government-issued documentation that the Program determines establishes primary residence.

Secondary Proof of Residency may include:

• Utility bill;

• Bank or credit-card statement;

• Vehicle registration;

• Automobile, renter’s, or homeowner’s insurance document;

• Government correspondence; or

• Employer or payroll documentation.

Bills, statements, correspondence, and payroll documentation generally must have been issued within 60 calendar days preceding submission to the Program. Registrations, identification, and insurance documents must be current and unexpired.

Alternative Residency Verification

Applicants who cannot provide the standard documentation, including those whose primary residence is the home of a parent, spouse, relative, or other individual, may request an alternative verification process.

The Program may require a Program-approved Residency Certification or Affidavit completed by the individual with whom the applicant resides, accompanied by:

1. An acceptable Primary Proof of Residency in the certifier’s name showing the same address; and

2. Documentation reasonably establishing that the applicant actually resides at that address.

The Program may request additional documentation when reasonably necessary to verify primary residence.

Insufficient Documentation

Post-office boxes, mail-forwarding addresses, hotels, short-term rentals, temporary clinical housing, package or shipping labels, and documents establishing only receipt of mail or temporary presence within the Local Clinical Placement Region are not sufficient to establish primary residence.

Verification and Misrepresentation

All residency documentation is subject to verification. Applicants and students must cooperate with reasonable requests for clarification or additional documentation.

Submission of materially inaccurate, misleading, altered, or fraudulent information or documentation may result in denial or revocation of Local Student classification and may be referred for review under applicable University policies and procedures. Any resulting University action will be determined in accordance with those policies and procedures.

Clinical Placement Limitations

Local Student classification provides priority consideration for available clinical placements within the Local Clinical Placement Region but does not guarantee placement at a particular clinical affiliate, location, shift, or schedule.

Students remain subject to all Program and clinical affiliate requirements and may be assigned to any participating clinical affiliate within the Local Clinical Placement Region based on educational requirements, affiliate availability, and Program needs.

Continued Residency Verification

The Program may require updated residency documentation before clinical placement when reasonably necessary to confirm that a student’s Local Student classification remains accurate.

Students must notify the Program Director, Student Advisor, and Clinical Coordinator in writing within 30 calendar days of any change in primary residence and must provide updated residency documentation upon request.

Establishing Local Residency After Admission

A student who establishes a primary residence within the Local Clinical Placement Region after admission may request consideration for an available placement within the Region by submitting the residency documentation required by this policy within 30 calendar days of establishing the new residence.

Establishing a primary residence within the Local Clinical Placement Region after admission does not retroactively confer Local Student status or guarantee a placement within the Region. The Program will consider such requests based on available clinical placement capacity, with priority given to students who qualified as Local Students at the time of application.

If you answered Yes to "At the time of application, I live within 25 miles of the GW Foggy Bottom main campus in the Washington, D.C. area", your Enrollment Advisor will provide you with the Local Acknowledgment Form (LAF) to be completed electronically. The GW regional clinical coordinator will place you in one of the local GW-affiliated laboratories. Applicants must provide two forms of documentation verifying their primary residence. Refer to the Local Clinical Placement Residency Policy for details and a list of acceptable proof of residency documents.

If you are employed at a laboratory outside of the local area, you may request to complete your rotations at that facility, provided the site agrees to it. Refer to the Clinical Facility Fact Sheet–Clinical Site Verification (CFFS–CSV) section for additional instructions.  

If you answered No to "At the time of application, I live within 25 miles of the GW Foggy Bottom main campus in the Washington, D.C. area", you have two options to fulfill the clinical site requirements: (1) the Clinical Facility Fact Sheet–Clinical Site Verification (CFFS–CSV), or (2) Facilitated Clinical Placement (FCP).  

1. Clinical Facility Fact Sheet–Clinical Site Verification (CFFS–CSV) Process

The Clinical Facility Fact Sheet–Clinical Site Verification (CFFS–CSV) is not a legally binding document and is for informational purposes only.

• The CFFS–CSV must be completed electronically by the laboratory director, laboratory manager, or laboratory educational coordinator. You will need to provide the facility name, the name of the laboratory point of contact, and their organizational email address. A link to the CFFS–CSV will then be sent directly to that contact. Do not put your name as a placeholder on the CFFS–CSV.
• Keep track of your outreach activities.

The laboratory facility must meet the following criteria to be approved for clinical placement:

• Be accredited by a U.S. or an international accrediting agency. 
• Designate at least one clinical liaison to coordinate student clinical experience.
• Offer clinical experience to students in the following laboratory procedures:

Blood Bank

• Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC)
• ABO and Rh Typing
• Antibody Screening
• Antibody Identification (can be performed by discussion, observation or simulation)
• DAT Testing
• Crossmatches and Compatibility Testing
• Blood Component Management
• Evaluation and Reporting of Results/LIS

Chemistry

• Quality Control/ Quality Assurance
• Cardiac Function Studies
• Hepatic Function Studies
• Renal Function Studies
• Endocrine Function Studies
• Electrolytes/ Metabolic Function Studies
• Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM)
• Evaluation and Reporting of Results/LIS

Hematology/Coagulation/Urinalysis

• Quality Control/ Quality Assurance
• Automated Hematology procedures (CBC)
• Blood smear and differential
• Routine Coagulation Screening Tests (PT/INR)
• Routine Coagulation Screening Tests (PTT)
• Urinalysis: Physical and Chemical Examination
• Urinalysis: Microscopic Examination
• Body Fluids Analysis (smear prep, cell counts, interpretation, and reporting)

Microbiology

Bacteriology must have at least 4 of the procedures marked with * in addition to the other methods listed

• Quality Control/ Quality Assurance
• Culture Setup and Primary Plating
• Microscopy (Gram stains etc.)
• Manual/ Automated Identification Tests 
• Susceptibility Tests
• Serology Tests/ Methods (can be in a different section)
• Urine Specimen Workup*
• Blood Specimen Workup*
• Respiratory Specimen Workup*
• Wound Specimen Workup*
• Tissue and Body Fluids from Sterile Sources*
• Urogenital Specimen Workup*
• Stool Specimen Workup*

2. Facilitated Clinical Placement (FCP)

Applicants may participate in GW’s Facilitated Clinical Placement (FCP). Participating in the FCP option means that the GW regional clinical coordinator will place the student at a clinical site in any geographical region within the continental United States (US). A GW regional clinical coordinator will facilitate this process with the clinical site directly. The FCP option does not apply to students who reside outside of the continental US and US Territories. Please note that electing the FCP option may require temporary relocation to complete rotations. The cost associated with relocation is the responsibility of the student.

If you’d like to proceed with the FCP option, reach out to your Enrollment Advisor, and they will provide you with the Facilitated Clinical Placement (FCP) form to be completed electronically.