observership or elective

[bsk]

hello everyone my name is brenda i'm new to this webside.
i am currently a 3rd year medical student in China, doing MBBS program. i'm a little bit confused about the term observership and elective, can someone please make the difference for me?
i am interrested in doing a 1 month intership or more in the US during this summer , just to acquire some more experience. i haven't done my USMLE steps but planning to after i graduate.
is it possible for me? any suggestions?
thanks

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[Winged Scapula]

hello everyone my name is brenda i'm new to this webside.
i am currently a 3rd year medical student in China, doing MBBS program. i'm a little bit confused about the term observership and elective, can someone please make the difference for me?
i am interrested in doing a 1 month intership or more in the US during this summer , just to acquire some more experience. i haven't done my USMLE steps but planning to after i graduate.
is it possible for me? any suggestions?
thanks

An elective is a clinical rotation and is only available to currently enrolled medical students. It is further differentiated from core rotations which are the foundation of clinical medicine and usually include Surgery, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Family Medicine, Psychiatry, and Pediatrics. Electives may be a subspecialty (eg, Neurology, pediatric surgery).

In the US, electives are available only to students during their final year; some may require a passing score on USMLE step 1. You are not eligible for them after you graduate.

An observership is a rotation done after graduation and does not involve any clinical involvement with patients; you are just "observing". This is mostly for licensing and litigation issues in the US. These are not nearly as desirable as an elective and you will gain much more experience doing an elective. Unfortunately, many foreign students do not understand this so decide to come to the US after graduation and end up being surprised that they can't do an elective.

Finally, you've used the term internship above. In the US, the term is reserved for the first year of a residency training program.

My suggestion is that you work toward a clinical elective during your last year of your MBBS program as this will give you the most experience.

 

[bsk]

thank you for clarifying. so if i understand well i can't do neither of them?

 

[bsk]

An elective is a clinical rotation and is only available to currently enrolled medical students. It is further differentiated from core rotations which are the foundation of clinical medicine and usually include Surgery, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Family Medicine, Psychiatry, and Pediatrics. Electives may be a subspecialty (eg, Neurology, pediatric surgery).

In the US, electives are available only to students during their final year; some may require a passing score on USMLE step 1. You are not eligible for them after you graduate.

An observership is a rotation done after graduation and does not involve any clinical involvement with patients; you are just "observing". This is mostly for licensing and litigation issues in the US. These are not nearly as desirable as an elective and you will gain much more experience doing an elective. Unfortunately, many foreign students do not understand this so decide to come to the US after graduation and end up being surprised that they can't do an elective.

Finally, you've used the term internship above. In the US, the term is reserved for the first year of a residency training program.

My suggestion is that you work toward a clinical elective during your last year of your MBBS program as this will give you the most experience.

thank you for clarifying. so if i understand well i can't do neither of them?

 

[Winged Scapula]

thank you for clarifying. so if i understand well i can't do neither of them?

No you can do either one.

You are only eligible for an elective while you are a student; some places will require Step 1 before you do.

You are eligible for an observership at any time; they probably won't require Step 1 but they aren't clinically very useful.

You are not eligible for an internship at this point in time.

 

[Medstart108]

thank you for clarifying. so if i understand well i can't do neither of them?

Right now you are eligible for an observership. Observerships are for students to learn more about the US healthcare system, learn some clinical medicine and perhaps make some contacts.

You won't be eligible for elective until your 5th year of your MBBS program, aka your final year. In that year you can apply for electives. Most places though will require the USMLE Step 1 to be completed. What I recommend is that you write the Step 1 as soon as possible, since you can only do electives in your final year of medical school and since Step 1 is mostly pre-clinical knowledge you would probably do best if you take it sometime in your 3rd or 4th year, don't rush it though you only have one shot, so make adequate preparation.

 

[bsk]

Right now you are eligible for an observership. Observerships are for students to learn more about the US healthcare system, learn some clinical medicine and perhaps make some contacts.

You won't be eligible for elective until your 5th year of your MBBS program, aka your final year. In that year you can apply for electives. Most places though will require the USMLE Step 1 to be completed. What I recommend is that you write the Step 1 as soon as possible, since you can only do electives in your final year of medical school and since Step 1 is mostly pre-clinical knowledge you would probably do best if you take it sometime in your 3rd or 4th year, don't rush it though you only have one shot, so make adequate preparation.

thank you so much guys

 

[bsk]

No you can do either one.

You are only eligible for an elective while you are a student; some places will require Step 1 before you do.

You are eligible for an observership at any time; they probably won't require Step 1 but they aren't clinically very useful.

You are not eligible for an internship at this point in time.

thank you so much guys

 

[Kristinajohn16]

I am a 2nd year NON EU med student in Poland. Do you think its possible for me to apply for electives in other countries? or is it too early?

 

[Medstart108]

Yes it is definitely possible to apply eventually, again most medical schools will take international elective students only in their final year of medical school. Some may take in the 2nd last year, but most will require Step 1 to be completed as well as prior completion of a core rotation.

Since you are in your 2nd year, you probably don't need to consider this issue until several months before your final year. If you are in a 4 year program that means considering this issue in your 3rd year.

Again, if you are interested in a US elective you should write your USMLE step 1 after your 2nd year for 4 year programs.

 

[opee]

I know this is an old thread, but I have a questions along the same line:
Is it sufficient to do an elective year in the US after finishing the cores abroad (or vise versa)? In other words, does this eliminate the need for the observership later, or both cores and electives need to be completed in the US?