Abroad Clinicals and Clinicals in the US

[ayushman80]

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I'm looking into doing a couple of clinical rotations outside the US. Is it considered okay to do multiple rotations at foreign sights? Or is that generally frowned upon? I know that a lot of IMGs try to schedule their clinicals here in the US. Is it equally important for a US Allopathic student to have ALL clinical rotations here?

 

[Deepa100]

I'm looking into doing a couple of clinical rotations outside the US. Is it considered okay to do multiple rotations at foreign sights? Or is that generally frowned upon? I know that a lot of IMGs try to schedule their clinicals here in the US. Is it equally important for a US Allopathic student to have ALL clinical rotations here?

I think it is up to the school. My D.O school has a global health program. They will help me with it. I also interviewed at one other school which had a good international program. I would think it is the same for allopathic schools. I do know it is becoming increasingly common for students to do international electives. A lot of young folks I interviewed with already had quite a bit of global volunteering experiences etc.

 

[inthe415]

I was thinking about doing a rotation abroad as a third year (next year). I talked with the Director of a Program in Mexico that is affiliated with Stanford. They have a 6-8 week rotation (rural family practice) which can also involve participating in an HIV research program (interviewing people). It sounded great till I got the price. They wanted $490 a week for room and board. Language classes and airfare were extra. I have decided instead to sign up for a rotation at a Community Health Clinic which serves primarily Spanish Speaking migrant farm workers in Central Washington. They might even provide housing.

I have talked to a few students who did elective surgery rotations in the Phillipines during their fourth year. They used the same tables for surgery that they ate lunch on.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm looking into doing a couple of clinical rotations outside the US. Is it considered okay to do multiple rotations at foreign sights? Or is that generally frowned upon? I know that a lot of IMGs try to schedule their clinicals here in the US. Is it equally important for a US Allopathic student to have ALL clinical rotations here?

A lot of schools allow you to do "a" rotation abroad, often at a foreign location the school is partnering with in a variety of research matters, in lieu of a fourth year elective. However I doubt you are going to be able to do "multiple" rotations abroad at most US allo schools, because there are too many LCME required things, and you have to be around to take the step exams and to interview, maybe scramble, etc. And you won't be able to do any of the cores abroad -- those are LCME regulated and the comments need to go into your deans letter, making foreign study difficult. So yes, you can probably do 4-6 weeks abroad in 4th year. But otherwise it wouldn't be common to find a school that provides for more than that.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm looking into doing a couple of clinical rotations outside the US. Is it considered okay to do multiple rotations at foreign sights? Or is that generally frowned upon? I know that a lot of IMGs try to schedule their clinicals here in the US. Is it equally important for a US Allopathic student to have ALL clinical rotations here?

A lot of schools allow you to do "a" rotation abroad, often at a foreign location the school is partnering with in a variety of research matters, in lieu of a fourth year elective. However I doubt you are going to be able to do "multiple" rotations abroad at most US allo schools, because there are too many LCME required things on your schedule, and you have to be around to take the step exams and to interview, maybe scramble, do away rotations, etc. And you won't be able to do any of the cores abroad -- those are LCME regulated and the comments need to go into your deans letter, making foreign study difficult prior to 4th year. So yes, you can probably do 4-6 weeks abroad in 4th year. But otherwise it wouldn't be common to find a school that provides for more than that. You can always take the 5 year plan and spend a year doing stuff abroad if that's important to you.

 

[gangrenes]

you can consider heading to south east asia for electives. try sarawak for adventure and fun