Electives abroad

[physiologyman]

Im a FMG attending medical school in Pakistan and wish to place in a competitive residency such as surgery though I haven’t decided yet after my 5 years of medical education in Pakistan.


1.When applying for residency ( especially in competitive fields such as surgery) is it of any use doing electives in Pakistani medical colleges and hospitals or will it be useless and hold very little weight as compared to electives in American medical colleges?
2.What signifies that you’ve completed an elective? What proof would you have to show the residency program to validate that you’ve completed the elective. Is a certificate from the professor enough to validate the elective claim?
3.How long do electives usually last?
4.What year of medical school do FMG students become eligible to apply for electives in American medical schools?

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[Winged Scapula]

1.When applying for residency ( especially in competitive fields such as surgery) is it of any use doing electives in Pakistani medical colleges and hospitals or will it be useless and hold very little weight as compared to electives in American medical colleges?

While many Pakistani colleges of medicine are well regarded in the US, most students use electives to increase their competitiveness or to find out more information about a certain field. Therefore, I would encourage you to use any elective time available to you to do them in a US hospital if you are planning on applying here for residency. It is possible to match without US clinical experience, but it does make it harder, by most measures and opinion.

2.What signifies that you’ve completed an elective? What proof would you have to show the residency program to validate that you’ve completed the elective. Is a certificate from the professor enough to validate the elective claim?

It should appear on your school transcript and mention may be made of it in your Dean's letter when you apply for residency. Hopefully, you will have obtained a letter of recommendation from a US faculty member when doing the elective. There is no other need for "proof".

3.How long do electives usually last?

Between 2 and 8-12 weeks, although the vast majority are for 4 weeks. Some schools will not allow students to do visiting electives for any longer than 4 and some will. it really depends on the program, but I would expect 4 weeks to be the standard.

4.What year of medical school do FMG students become eligible to apply for electives in American medical schools?

Final year.

 

[Blade28]

I don't have much to add, except please do a search for terms like "observership," "US clinical experience" and "electives" or "away rotations" to assist you in finding out more.