Malpractice insurance for visiting students?

[BellKicker]

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I'm doing an elective in the US this winter. They want me to find my own liability insurance. Now, I wrote to several companies and they don't sell that type of insurance. One agent believed I wouldn't find a single company who would sell me one.

If anyone has any experience with this, I'd be grateful for some advice.

Don't tell me to try the international forum or ask my school. Been there and done that and it didn't help.

It's pretty frustrating. The elective is exactly where I wanted it and in exactly my specialty of choice but this insurance thing might spoil it all.

 

[southerndoc]

Will your institution sign off? Most schools have insurance policies on students, including international students.

Have you asked if you could buy into the school's policy where you'll be doing your rotation?

We've had a few international students before (the last of which was from Germany). My institution requires malpractice insurance, so he evidently found some. I'll ask our medical student coordinator when I see her next. Unfortunately, I'm on outpatient right now, so it might be a while.

Cheers!

 

[irishmed]

Hi
I'm doing a rotation in the US this winter also and I automatically am covered for malpractice insurance by the MDU - medical defence union in the UK which provides free malpractice insurance for students. Perhaps there is a similar institution in Denmark???
good luck

 

[BellKicker]

Thanks, both of you.

But no. There's no way I can get it through my school or anywhere over here. I know that some US schools just tell you to pay an amount a month and they'll add you to their policy but I'm going to a hospital that's only slightly affiliated with a medical school. I mean, asking them to cover me will be my last option but I don't want to spring this on them before I'm absolutely sure I can't get one on my own.

It's just that I hear of these independent liability polcies all the time. Like people will say: "You can moonlight at VAs after you pass step 3 but you have to buy your own insurance". Where do they buy this insurance? IMGs observing at hospitals in the US. You hear of that all the time. What do they do about insurance? You'd think there was a market for it.

Anyway, I hope something turns up.

Geek Medic, if you could ask that coordinator what the German student did, I would be very grateful.

 

[SweetMD]

Hi Bellkicker,

I can tell you what that German student did. If you get credit for this elective by your home school, you must be covered under your school's malpractice insurance, EVEN if you are outside the country. So that German student didn't have to do anything, just probably present a copy of that policy paper to the coordinator.
It could be worth trying to talk again to someone more competent at your school. If all fails you can get private insurance from any insurance carrier who deals with doctors and med students. It should be very cheap or free like irishmed wrote. There are so many of them, it's hard to believe you would not have them in Denmark. Talk to any senior med student at your school who has done an elective outside of your country. Surely, you are not the first one to go, right?

 

[BellKicker]

OK, sweetMD, I appreciate your advice. But I'm afraid you're wrong.

We don't really have malpractice issues here, first of all. And whether I get credit for it or not has probably has nothing to do with it. My school wouldn't care if I typed notes for the doctors for a month or sat in the bathroom crying, I'd still get credit for it.

The advisor I talked to said she has dealt with this problem numerous times. She hasn't been able to find either a Danish or American insurance company willing to sell such a policy. Again, my school has no malpractice policy on anything. I know that sounds like blasphemy to an American but that's how it is here.

It's a weird situation, I'll agree with that. SweetMD, can you tell me the name of an insurance company you imagine would sell me an insurance?

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[BellKicker]

BTW, what did the German student do? Did you mean international students in general or did you actually know a European med student at your school?

Thanks

 

[SweetMD]

I know many German and other European med students. 🙂
Like me and irishmed said, they don't have to do anything.
That your med school holds no malpractice insurance is ... quite unbelievable??!!! I would say impossible!!!??? Not that I don't believe you, but what if something happened during one of your rotations? 😱
Getting credit is important, not because your med school could care less, but in legal terms!

About these European insurance companies, I'll get back to you in a little while, promise.

I would highly advise you to talk to your seniors though. They are probably the best bet to clear this up for you quickly.

 

[BellKicker]

I see your point about malpractice insurance. I'm sure there's something going on behind the scenes that we never hear about but whatever that is doesn't stretch across the Atlantic.

And I really wish all I had to do was nothing. But since I've asked the one person everyone refers to as the expert advisor and she's told me in the clearest terms that she can offer me no help whatsoever....... You get the point.

Credit or not, that's hard to answer. It would take a while to describe the curriculum of the Scandinavian schools. Most people who go to the US take a whole semester there and usually get little credit. We don't have electives, you see. In my case I actually will get credits.....kind of. Like I said, that part would take too long to explain.

I actually did find one company that offers liability insurance. It's called PGY1MD.com. I asked about it on another forum and got maybe 5 angry responses from people who claimed to have been very disappointed with their services. I guess I'll go with them for now. We'll see how that pans out. Maybe I'll just lose my check and never hear from them again🙁

Anyway, it would be great if you could think of some insurance companies. I never thought of, say, a British or German company. Especially the British go to the US to do electives quite often so maybe that's a good bet.

Thanks for your help, SweetMD.

 

[SweetMD]

hey there bellkicker.

PGY1MD - you are not serious about that I hope. That's just a bunch of IMG's who try to make money over the Internet. They can maybe proofread your personal statement, but I doubt that they are able to cover you.

Well, here is a German Insurance company who is specialized in dealing with med students and doctor's needs.
http://www.mlp.de -> then click on English. Try to call someone up there even if you think you are not eligible because you are a Danish citizen!!!
Then there are tons of companies out there like this one:
http://www.chaseinsureinvest.com/InternationalPersonalLiability.html I cannot say anything about the latter or other companies, but MLP is reliable and good as friends have told me.

Seriously, before you jump and buy something expensive and shady on the internet that might not even cover you should you get in trouble, do your research: you wrote that classmates go to the States for a whole semester or so- what did they do? Hunt these people down for information. Another thing to do is talking to your Dean directly! I am 100% sure, he will say - we have liability insurance with ....xy ... company. Otherwise it is just f..k.. unbelievable! (Sorry 🙄 )
Wish you best of luck. You'll see it'll work out!

 

[BellKicker]

Thanks, SweetMD. I really appreciate it!

The whole semester ones go to Vanderbilt in Tennessee. You have to go for a whole semester and you invariably fall a semester behind here. They're covered through Vanderbilt, possible for a fee paid by my school. No help there.

You'll like this one: I called the advisor at my school and basically repeated all the stuff you've said, like how incredible it sounds that there's no malpractice insurance. Only I told her you were one of the assistant professors at the hospital. Well, she told me that she had asked the dean and other officials and still there was no help. But she did say that she remembered another student who was able to buy her own policy somewhere and that she would contact her. Plus she knew of students who had the US program add the students to their policies (maybe as a big favor, she wasn't sure).

Well, I'll call those places and hopefully I'll get somewhere with it. Especially the German one sounds good. In the EU, we're supposed to be one big family, so being non-German shouldn't matter.

PGY1MD...... Is it really that bad? I would never ever use them for their matching services or anything like that. But don't you think they'd sell me an insurance? What would they do? Just send me a phoney piece of paper or just keep the check and not answer my calls? I guess there are people like that out there but still, htey can't be that bad, can they?

I owe you one, SweetMD.

BellKicker

 

[neilc]

hey bell kicker, i am also going thru pgy1 md...they have been good to me. a bit pricey, but what can you say. we are in a tough spot...

if you have any probs or questions, feel free to contact me. don't have any special info or anything, but i have been dealing with pgy1 md for a bit, and they have so far followed thru on promises.

good luck

 

[Annette]

Bellkicker, have you contacted the medical school affiliated with your hospital? They may be able to help you even if the hospital you will be at can't (or won't).

 

[BellKicker]

Thanks, neilc and Anette.

Anette: No, I hadn't thought of that. The hospital is only loosely associated with a medical school; but you're right it's certainly worth a shot.

I've got a few leads now. I'll post if and when (when, hoepfully) I find something. Someone might find it useful.

BellKicker

 

[SweetMD]

I owe you one, SweetMD.

My pleasure! 🙂

One day I'll remind you... 😉

Just promise me never again to even think about giving up something important, because there is *always* a way!