MSFC offers the following abortion training options: the Clinical Abortion Observation funding program (CAO), the Reproductive Health Externship funding program (RHE), and the Reproductive Health Externship at British Pregnancy Advisory Services (RHE at BPAS). All these programs provide financial and logistical support for your efforts to obtain clinical exposure to abortion care. The CAO is a short program, lasting between 3 days and 2 weeks. The RHE is at minimum 2 weeks in duration and participants are required to have exposure to at least 50 abortion procedures. The RHE at BPAS is a one-week experience.

We require that students find a host facility that guarantees exposure to 50 abortion procedures.  Depending on your chosen host facility, the average time commitment can range from two weeks to one month or more.

For opportunities lasting less than 2 weeks, please apply for the Clinical Abortion Observation.

You may participate in either program at any point during medical school. Many students who pursue abortion training during their clinical years coordinate with their schools to complete an externship as one of their elective rotations. Applications are accepted throughout the year and awards are granted on a rolling basis.

Absolutely. CAO participants are encouraged to apply for the RHE.

Yes, your Family Planning or Ob-Gyn elective may qualify for funding, as long as it provides enough exposure to abortion provision to fulfill the RHE funding program requirements. If you are unsure about whether or not your elective qualifies for funding, contact the Training Program Coordinator and provide them with information about your elective. We also have a non-exhaustive list of electives offered by academic institutions that provide training in abortion procedures. We can share this list with interested applicants upon request.

You will be required to submit a budget form detailing anticipated expenses as part of your application. For the RHE and the RHE at BPAS covered expenses may include travel, housing, commuting, and host facility costs. Since Clinical Abortion Observations are organized locally, only commuting expenses are covered.

Please note: MSFC will happily consider applications requesting funds to cover housing expenses incurred as a direct result of participation in the externship, but current housing costs do not qualify under the stipend. Additionally, MSFC is unable to cover the cost of meals during your externship.

Funds are typically disbursed in two equal payments. The first payment is sent at the midpoint of your externship; the second is sent upon completion of the post-survey and submission of receipts. If you’re not a US citizen or US permanent resident, your stipend will be disbursed in one payment at the end of your externship, after submission of the post-survey and receipts.

You may arrange an externship at any site that can provide exposure to abortion procedures. In order to assist medical students with this process, MSFC maintains a non-exhaustive database of host facilities excited to participate in this program and is able to provide contact information for these sites upon request. RHE participants must make arrangements at one or multiple host facilities that will give them exposure to at least 50 abortion procedures. We encourage students to research host facilities to find the best match.

Each host facility is unique and makes its own decisions regarding hands on training for externs. Our Abortion Training Programs are designed to be observation-based.

A letter of good standing refers to a letter from your medical school confirming your date of matriculation into the program and satisfactory completion of its courses and other requirements thus far. Letters of good standing need to be signed and on your medical school’s letterhead. They can typically be obtained through your medical school’s registrar or dean’s office.

Your personal statement should be one page in length and include any previous experience with abortion training (if any), as well as your motivations for seeking this opportunity.