Away/International Rotations

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how many DO students are doing a rotation abroad?

i'm probably going to COMP and i think when i get ready for rotations' i'd be interested in doing a rotation in australia

have any DO students done rotations out there in the past?
 
Hey guys,
might be the wrong place to put this, but I wanted an American student's perspective on this. Has anybody done an overseas rotation? Was it hard to set up, was it worth it, etc??? I'm interested, but would like some more info. There is a lot out there on google and what-not, but I don't speak german or swedish, so I'm kind of up a creek...
Anyhow, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much!
-KE
 
This might help you some:

http://www.ifmsa.org/exchanges/

Or, you could try here:

http://www.medicstravel.co.uk/

Though the book they describe on that site is probably better. Where were you thinking of going? For instance, I was told that though they'd like it if you spoke some Norwegian in Norway, the standard of English is so good that you could get by.

I can't help on the US student perspective though.
 
What kind of rotation are you looking to do? I went to Amsterdam for a summer peds program. They change it every summer...I am not sure how it would work for rotation credit...but they were quite amenable to having american medical students..and I had a great time.....
 
I don't know, anything really. I'm just kind of planning way ahead here. It would be something "off the books" so to speak, as I don't think I would get credit for it. I could be wrong about that though...my school is funny about these sorts of things. Did you get credit for yours? I'd like to do something in uro or nephro, but I'd take any chance I could to get out of the country and do something fun. As far as location, any suggestions? I was thinking Sweden, Germany, Holland or Czech Rep. Thanks guys.
 
This is a great thread! I just checked out "Medics Travel" (the link was posted here), and it looks sooooo great! I wish I spoke another language....I only speak Polish besides English, but I figured when I set up my rotation, I'll take an intensive language course/buy CDs...whatever it takes. I'm going to be a third yr next year, so I've got a year to plan this. Also, I need to check w/ my school if they'll grant me credit for an abroad rotation - that's obviously a factor in making up my schedule. thanks for the helpful post w/ the websites! Also, could someone who's actually done an abroad rotation post if they went through an organization to set it up, or just did it on their own - i.e. the logistics. Thanks so much!
 
well, i study in prague. you can do any of the rotations here in english, no problem. it is simply a matter of what rotations are offered during the time period that you will be here. drop me a line, and i will help sort it out if you are interested.
 
Hey Neil,
Thanks for writing back!! I actually have a friend who did an exchange program over there last summer (not for rotation credits, though...she had just finished MS 1 at that time). She said it was a terrific experience. Which hospital are you at? I'd look it up, and write a letter/email, etc. to the Chief of staff or a DME when the time came - like I said, it'd be a year from now. Thanks!
 
i am at several different hospitals, depending on the rotation. most specialties have an entire building devoted to them, and there are seperate hospitals for many specialties (ob/gyn, urology, endocrine/metabolism, peds, etc...)

i will be happy to tell you who is in charge of the english program in whichever rotation you are looking to do. i will still be here in a year, don't worry about that!

good luck
 
Awesome! I'll keep your contact info then. Thanks!
 
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How does one go about researching good places to do away rotations??

I want to do one at Hopkins, Stanford, somewhere in Detroit and one in Manhattan. Is there a website that I an do more research?
 
seems your best bet is to visit the web sites of the medical schools (or hospitals if they are community based programs) you'd like to visit. Most sites will have links to intructions on visiting clerkships. Some links are readily appearant, others take hours to find 🙂 Some places have very formal applications requiring letters of rec, personal statements, and application fees while others are very unofficial. If you've exhausted the school's web site, find any contact info you can (most likely the registrar) and start making phone calls till you find the right person. One of the other useful things I did was work backward from residency programs I am potentially interested in -- those lists are readily available at FREIDA: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/2997.html

Depending on what field you're thinking of, 4 away rotations may be a bit overkill, not to mention expensive and difficult to schedule.
 
Hello, I was wondering if anyone is aware of any good online sources to find international opportunities for a fourth year student. Also if anyone who has went on a foreign trip has any advice or praise for a particular program or country this would be greatly appreciated!!!
 
I have my country picked out, so what I have done is go online and just go to the web sites of all the medical schools in that country. Some of them have posted their application online, others have no information. A few of those with no information, I phoned up and asked. It's working pretty well for me, although I'm still sending out the applications.

However, the country that I picked is very Western (hence, I just looked up the med schools), so if you are looking for something more relief or mission oriented, I wouldn't know.

And on another note, I also found out that to be considered for a fourth year, spring semester (i.e. post-Match) elective at Oxford, you need to apply in the spring of M-2. 👎 👎 👎 So be early if you want to apply for that one.
 
I'm trying to go to the Czech Republic, hopefully Charles University in Prague. I haven't been to Prague yet but I'm hoping to visit this summer on the 2 week backpacking trip I'm taking. Maybe neilc can shed light on this possibility? Turns out that my correspondence with KU-Leuven was going great until I found out that I had to speak Dutch fluently. OOPS 🙂

If anyone (ahem, NeilC) could answer the following questions that would be great!

1. How many international med students are there at your university?
2. Is it ok if they only speak English?

Thanks!
 
hi there, happy to help!

at my school there are typically about 100 international students enrolled in the english program. you can rotate if you only speak english, but your clinical duties will be limited. basically, you will see patients with the attending, and it is more like lecture/pimping regarding diagnosis and management. most clinicals start with a lecture also.

if you do a surgical rotation, you will be able to scrub and learn whatever you want. the clinicals are as easy or as difficult as you want them to be. they will let you do whatever you want, if you show interest.

hope this helps! if you need any help, let me know. i will do whatever i can to sort you out with a good rotation.

neil
 
Nice... I'm really looking forward to my international rotation.

I'm taking another backpacking trip this summer, and Prague is definitely on my to-see list. I'm flying in to Brussels on the 12th (the day after Step 1) and I'd like to check out the med school when I get to Prague.

Maybe we could meet up in Prague if you're still there?

Thanks!
ttac
 
I am intent on going somewhere in Guatemala for an international elective. Does anyone have any ideas or experience with rotations in Guatemala? I am fluent in Spanish and would prefer to work with patients rather than to do a Spanish-learning oriented rotation. I have not found any good sites with the help of AMSA or IFMSA. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!
😱
 
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Check out www.GodsChild.org. I'm planning on doing it next year. It sounds really religious, but it's not.
 
IlianaSedai said:
I have my country picked out, so what I have done is go online and just go to the web sites of all the medical schools in that country. Some of them have posted their application online, others have no information. A few of those with no information, I phoned up and asked. It's working pretty well for me, although I'm still sending out the applications.

However, the country that I picked is very Western (hence, I just looked up the med schools), so if you are looking for something more relief or mission oriented, I wouldn't know.

And on another note, I also found out that to be considered for a fourth year, spring semester (i.e. post-Match) elective at Oxford, you need to apply in the spring of M-2. 👎 👎 👎 So be early if you want to apply for that one.
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How far in advance did u have to apply for those? I'm a US med student looking to do rotations in England, but have no clue how to go about it. Plus I don't find the GMC website at all helpful.
 
kaos said:
How far in advance did u have to apply for those? I'm a US med student looking to do rotations in England, but have no clue how to go about it. Plus I don't find the GMC website at all helpful.
Click to expand...

Depending on the school, I've seen an average range from six months to a year in advance for most UK schools. I'd start a year ahead to be on the safe side-- during 3rd year if you want a 4th year elective, except for Oxford which requires you to turn it in by the end of 2nd year.

The GMC web site is no good for student electives. I found it easiest just to get a list of all the legit medical schools in the UK and look up their web sites individually. Some have applications online, others you just have to email or call them and ask. A few don't accept outside students for electives, but most do and it shouldn't be hard to get one.
 
July is the first month that many places will accept visiting students for rotations (since that is the first month you are considered a "4th-year" medical student at most schools).

However, with most new residents beginning in July, is this still considered a good month to rotate?

It seems as if all the attendings would be focusing most of their attention on the new residents trying to get them broken into the new system. So most of the procedures would probably go to the new resident.

Therefore, August or September seem like better months to do an outside rotation.

Does anyone agree or disagree with these observations?
 
Maybe not ideal but most people I havve spoken with that have done it said it was just as good as any other month. The new interns are usually the senior residents' concern and not the attendings'. The attendings still pay as much attention to you as they would otherwise.

C
 
Hi

I agree with Seaglass. You should be ok with any month you pick. However, if you go later in the year, the interns will at least know what they are doing, and will have more time and confidence to let you do things. If I had a choice I'd wait until at least october or so.

lf
 
Many programs won't allow student electives in July for just this reason.
Be sure to ask this before you send in your application.
 
Hey, due to research and a bunch of scheduling reasons, I haven't been able to get anytime off during my fourth year. One of my friends has a nice place in NYC though (a bunch of my friends live in manhattan) and offered me a free room if I did a rotation there. I was hoping to do an easy fourth year away elective during either february or march (after I'll have already matched) and have some time to hang out with my buds in the city.

So, does anybody have any recommendations on really non-time consuming away electives for MSIV med students in NYC?
 
Sledge2005 said:
Hey, due to research and a bunch of scheduling reasons, I haven't been able to get anytime off during my fourth year. One of my friends has a nice place in NYC though (a bunch of my friends live in manhattan) and offered me a free room if I did a rotation there. I was hoping to do an easy fourth year away elective during either february or march (after I'll have already matched) and have some time to hang out with my buds in the city.

So, does anybody have any recommendations on really non-time consuming away electives for MSIV med students in NYC?
Click to expand...

Anesthesiology at NYU. Hours ~7:00-12pm (leave after break for lunch). On cardio you basically sit in on one case and leave at lunch, or when it finishes (1-2pm).
 
powermd said:
Anesthesiology at NYU. Hours ~7:00-12pm (leave after break for lunch). On cardio you basically sit in on one case and leave at lunch, or when it finishes (1-2pm).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, although 7am sounds kind of early!

Anybody do any easy rotations in NYC that started more around 9?
 
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The computer course at NYMC. It's the course we all take as a filler so we have extra vacation. I've heard recently that some Columbia students take it as an away elective. It requires doing some basic work on the internet, cutting-and-pasting, no classes to attend - you'd definitely be able to enjoy NYC this way!
 
fuzzyerin said:
The computer course at NYMC. It's the course we all take as a filler so we have extra vacation. I've heard recently that some Columbia students take it as an away elective. It requires doing some basic work on the internet, cutting-and-pasting, no classes to attend - you'd definitely be able to enjoy NYC this way!
Click to expand...

Now you're speaking my language!
 
How early in 3rd year do we have to begin setting up audition rotations/away rotations (whatever you want to call 'em)? I realize that the answer depends on the specific program (for example, you have to apply for an away at Oxford almost a year in advance), but I am looking for a general answer... thanks.
 
jak -

i think the answer to your question hinges on 2 things (and others will correct me if i'm wrong).

1) most programs won't process away applications until they're done dealing with the match - i.e. they're busier worrying about their future employees than medical students. as such, you can wait till mid m3 (january) to even begin worrying about this - i don't even think the EEC is updated until then, anyway.

2) the caveat is the uber-selective specialties (derm, ophtho, etc... anything with an early match)... they may deal with med students & aways earlier... but i'm not going into the early match programs, so i dunno...

as the tagline says, just my $.02

-t
 
Very tough to say. I know that some of the programs I wanted to do EM aways at were full at the end of March.

The interview season is over in Feb and at the end of Feb the match lists have to be submitted, so then the programs are waiting to hear about the match, if you could squeak in a phone call or email then it may be worth it.

Also, check the school's website, rarely will away students be allowed to sign up for electives before the home students.

Hope that this helps!

F4B
 
Charles University? Prague? I've been trying to figure out how to set up a clerkship there for weeks with NO success. I'm interested in Internal Med. (but flexible) and looking at April 2005. I'll be forever indebted to the person who has information, emails, or phone numbers of who to contact. neilc????
 
I plan on doing ortho aways, and know where I want to go. Would it be more convenient for me to set these up before interview season (this year), or is this "too early"? My only worry is that I may not have what dates to set these up during 4th year from my school by then... I begin 3rd year in less than 2 weeks and we have yet to receive our schedules, what's up with that?! :meanie:
 
i would think that setting them up before this year's application cycle might be too early; but ortho is quite competitive... call the programs you're interested in. even if they say they can't schedule right now, they might be able to put you down on some sort of 'early waiting list' or something...

can't hurt to call...

-t
 
I know it's really early for me to be thinking about stuff like this, but I'm seriously thinking about doing a 4th yr rotation in England. Does anyone have any tips on going about this?
 
kaos said:
I know it's really early for me to be thinking about stuff like this, but I'm seriously thinking about doing a 4th yr rotation in England. Does anyone have any tips on going about this?
Click to expand...

The key for the UK is to apply very early -- so for you, no, it's not too early. Many require applications to be in one academic year in advance (usually before summer vacation kicks in); there are a few that require more time.

Go to yahoo or dmoz.org to find all the medical schools. Then search (painstakingly) through each medical school web site to look for either the elective application OR the name of the person in charge of electives. Make use of email and phone for those schools that don't have their elective information online, so youcan ask them directly -- oftentimes, the gems are hidden.

Beyond that, it's pretty simple and more or less the same as arranging an away elective in the US. Note that if you want to save money, try to rotate outside of London, which has a much higher cost of living (often more than double) compared to the rest of the UK.
 
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I don't remember what forum the original question was in, and I can't find it, so I'll just start a new thread here.

To whoever originally asked the question, if there are any opportunities to do a rotation outside the US, here's 3 of which I am aware.

1) DOcare at KCUMB (formerly known as UHS): I'm not a member of this organization, so I don't know the specifics (I don't even know if it's a national organization, or only located at KCUMB). However, for the 4th year required rural or underserved population rotations, students can complete a mission trip to Guatamala (or, it might be the Dominican Republic, I'm not certain). There are several prereqs. To find out more, try starting a "DOcare" thread under the Osteopathic forum, I'm sure somebody there can provide more information.

2) Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl Germany: Army or Air Force HPSP students can arrange a rotation here. However, HPSP will not pay for it, and students must do most of the foot-work themselves to set up the rotation. Even though the hospital is in Germany (about an hour southwest of Frankfurt), it is run by the US Army, and therefore falls under US medical regulations, not German. The only real way to set up a rotation here is to personally visit the hospital, make contacts and work from there.

3) Poland, through LECOM: I am not a student at LECOM, so I know of no specifics, or if the program is even still offered. I heard about it when I interviewed at LECOM a few years ago. Can any current LECOM students provide more information?

Does anyone out there in SDN-land know of anything else?
 
Why these 3 choices specifically? Thought of any Asian countries? You get to see loads of patients as well. and some rare ones.
 
Those are the only choices of which I am aware, I had no intent of excluding any area of the world. As stated, I encourage anyone with more information on opportunities to rotate abroad to share it.
 
There are a ton of places, u can literally do it wherever u want to. Its just a matter of seeing what programs are already established there and see if they'll let you do it.
I know of several in West Africa specifically Nigeria.
 
hi,
i'm a med student at the end of my fifth year. i'm looking for an interesting place to take a 3-4 weeks clerkship in orthopedics next april. i'll be more than happy to have a name of a place which is close to a ski resort. can somebody help?
thanks,
b.
 
We have a few slots open for three upcoming classes:

Maritime Wilderness First Responder + Dive Accident Management, September 4-12, Ambergris Caye, Belize.

Wilderness - Cave - River Medical Rescue, January 3-13, Caves Branch, Belize.

Wilderness & Tropical Medicine, January 15-29, Caves Branch, Belize.

ALL classes are credit granting for required and elective credit through the University of Nebraska School of Medicine, line # FMED-750.

We have had students from over 20 schools and several countries rotate with us.

All programs can be done as 2 or 4 week rotations.

Lots of information is available at: http://www.remotemedicine.net follow the medicine & rescue buttons.

Or, feel free to email me.

Dr. Keith Brown
[email protected]
 
When is the best time to schedule your elective rotations. I just started second year and already people in my class are talking about this. Problem is...i haven't had any exposure to the various disciplines yet....consequently, don't know what to rotate in.

If I wait to schedule them...will it be harder to get them???

Thanks for your time.
 
At my school, we don't take elective rotations until fourth-year...so the earliest we can sign up for them is in the spring of our third-year.

I'm guessing your schedule is different though? Regardless, just find out when you are first allowed to schedule your electives and plan accordingly. IMHO, many students wait until having gone through some clinical rotations before deciding what they would like to go into or what electives they might want.
 
I am interested in this Family Practice residency program with the UVA system. For anyone that can answer, do you feel it's necessary to do an away elective in a health system in order to get a residency position? Can I just do my electives locally and spend a day visiting, then plan for an interview?

How do people do it?
 
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