FAQs from my E-BOOK on Clinical Electives/Clerkships in the US

Here's a few Contents(FAQs) from the Volume 1 of my Book, i would like to Share with you guys for free here on my Blog from my e-book. You can Download the Complete book from www.lulu.com

So Here it Goes, :)

BEGINNING of PREVIEW!! :)

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CHAPTER 2:

Some Common QUESTIONS:

FIRST OF ALL,

Clerkships can only be applied for in your 'LAST' Year of Medical School. e.g In India it is the 'Internship year' , in some Countries it’s the ‘House Job’ year. Bottom-line,
you should be an Under-Grad in the ‘Last Year’ of Medical School. Once you are a Graduate, you cannot apply.

So,

Q1. What Is a Clerkship & what is an Elective?

Basically Clerkships are Clinical Rotations in Wards as a Part of the Clinical Learning Procedure which We all do at our Respective Medical Schools in 3rd, 4rth or 5th years  as the Case may be. All Students undergo clerkships at their Med Schools in Medicine Ward, Surgery Ward, Obs & Gynae, Peds & so on. On the other Hand an ELECTIVE is a Clinical Rotation of OUR OWN CHOICE that we participate with our will to get Some Clinical Experience in some Specialty of our Interest at a Foreign Institution. So You Guys will have to apply for Electives to get USCE (United States Clinical Experience). BUT, Yes but!!,
Many Hospitals in US now use these terms interchangeably. SO We hereby giving full Respect to this fact will Do the same & Use them interchangeably for ELECTIVES. ;)

Q2. So Why Do a Clerkship/Elective?

The Purpose of Having a USCE is to Show it in Your "RESUME" in a Residency Interview & Get Some Good LoRs & MUCH MORE. But Seriously, You Get to know the functioning of a US based Hospitals. You Learn to Interact with Patients, how to talk to them, How to take histories, How to Create a Rapport with Both the Patient & the Medical team including Nurses, & Other Staff. For Example in an IM(Internal Medicine) Elective you will Participate in 'Ward Rounds', Present Cases to the Attending & Residents, Take Histories, Do Physical Examinations & Do Almost Everything what an American Med Student will be Doing during his IM Hospital Rotation in his final year of MBBS. So You Learn as Well as Perform All Duties at Par of an American MBBS Student. In Addition you can participate in Seminars, Presentations & all other Activities the Department offers at your own will. Not to mention the most important thing is the CONTACTS you will be making, not only with the Attending & Residents but many many others at the institution who may be of Use in one way or the other. If an Attending who holds a Good Position in that School is Impressed he can Not only Write you a Great LoR but also Personally Recommend you for A program at the Same or Different Institution. Plus You Get Chances to do some Publications too in the Same Institutions. Beside that The Interactive & Communicative Skills you will be developing is Rewarding.

BOTTOMLINE while putting you in a Rank order list, The Program Director knows US hospitals are not totally ‘alien’ to this you. So it is always good to have SOME kind of a USCE in any form. But as we are focusing here on Clerkships So let’s just focus on them.

 

Q3. What if I Do Electives in UK or Canada or Any other Country??

See, it’s always good to have a Clinical Experience. It's always Counted & Appreciated, but

"USA Electives ARE different from UK and Canada electives, as those last two have National Healthcare systems, and patient care is “rationalized”. But in the USA, since all patients are INSURED, the tests, procedures, and elective operations are usually done more often than not."

So that is one of the Reasons Non-US Electives are not THAT Remarkable in the CV though Better then 'Nothing' at all. Not to Mention Again the Hospital Settings & Social Life of Patients & Social life in the Hospital Staff & team & many other things of 'US' Hospital Settings which you get to Learn from the 'US' only. So bottom-line, try USCE. Any other country for them is almost the same as Home country experience.

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END of PREVIEW :)

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Hope it was Usefull. :)
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God Bless You! :)