Does the research intern or observer need a background check?
If your research intern or observer is 18 or older, they will need a background check to be appointed. You can fill out the HR Background Check form to initiate the background check.
What are the links for the Protection of Minor Learning Exchange modules?
The required training for Protection of Minors can be found on the Oracle Cloud Learning Exchange listed as Protection of Minors Annual Training 2025-2026. All faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, and students who will have contact with a minor must take Protection of Minors training annually. New training modules are released annually in July.
A faculty member wants to pay a minor to be an intern in their lab. Is this allowed?
Generally, minors are appointed as unpaid student observers. Please reach out to Aaron Howard, aaron.w.howard@vanderbilt.edu, if you are interested in paying a minor.
I work in a VUMC department that wants to host a student observer or research intern. Who should I contact?
Please reach out to vumc.iso@vumc.org to appoint a student observer or research intern in a VUMC lab.
I want to shadow in a clinical setting. Who should I contact?
The Vanderbilt Observational Experience in Vanderbilt University Medical Center places students in observational positions in a clinical setting.