Electives

[medgirl20]

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Can anyone recommend good programmes for an international student to apply to for electives in the summer before final year in either the US or Canada. No preferences on location but don't have any local knowledge on the programmes and what reputation they have. Thanks

 

[roxtu]

Hi,
I am not sure at all about specific programs that are known to be good places for international students to go, but in my experience, it is very common to do visiting electives and most schools are able to accomodate you. I can tell you a little bit about what I did when I was researching programs, though.

When I was deciding to do a Sub-internship, most of the decisions were left to me, for example:
1. Where did I want to go? (If you are coming from Europe vs. coming from Asia/India, you may want to go to a place where the traveling would be the shortest)
2. What type of program do you want to experience (a large academic program vs. a community-based program)? Here you can think about the type of place you want to do your residency, and if you're considering eventually doing a fellowship, you may want to check out an academic program because that's where most of the fellowships will be located.
3. What specific elective do you want to do? High-risk obstetrics/the Antepartum service run by Maternal-Fetal Medicine docs, Gynecologic Oncology, REI, Urogynecology/Female Urology, Family Planning, etc.

Once I made these decisions, I then went to the FREIDA website to find programs in the specific state/city where I wanted to go.
http://www.ama-assn.org/vapp/freida/srch/

Most schools have pretty easy links that you can find (often through the Ob/Gyn department website) for how to apply as a visiting student. If you want to go this summer, it may be a good idea to start looking now, just because the deadlines are variable, and most of the electives are first-come, first-served. Also, a lot of the programs had schedules that were different than my home medical school, so you may have to leave some time before and after starting the 4-week elective.

I would suggest checking with your home Ob/Gyn department to see where previous students from your school have gone for their away electives. They may even have reviews/evaluations from past students that would allow you to form better opinions about the potential programs.

Good luck!

 

[tiredmom]

Something additional to consider... if you are looking to see more of the people involved in the program... faculty/residents, etc... be careful in what course you choose. At our school - the people doing a gyn rotation, a gyn onc rotation, or the REI rotations don't really get to see L&D at all or attend the most heated conferences - so you don't get a full picture of the program. Unless, you pick up a call night or do something on the side. Is this unique to my school?

I didn't do any away rotations, so I can't tell you where to look. My school has had international students rotating in their 4th year (UTHSC - San Antonio).

 

[roxtu]

Yeah, that is definitely what I experienced. The Sub-internships are pretty specialized, and you focus on the conferences of your specific service. It is very common to do an overnight call or weekend call in L&D to see the obstetrics side of things if you're doing a Gyn rotation. I found it was also a good way for me to meet a few more of the residents and to get a better feel for the program I was visiting.