Why do an Elective?? Is it necessary? What is the Benefit? & What if i cannot get one!!!

Why do an Elective?? Is it necessary? What is the Benefit? & What if i cannot get one!!! 

Well this is the Most frequently asked question to me by my 4th & 5th year followers all over the World. Many in this Group are Apprehensive as to what is the Significance of these 'things' & How to Get one & What to do if We End up not getting Any!!!

So here we are in this Post to Discuss about these Questions from you guys ;)

So Let's Begin,,,

• What Exactly is a Clerkship and what is an Elective?

Basically Clerk-ships are Clinical Rotations in Wards as a Part of the Clinical Learning Procedure which We all do at our Respective Medical Schools in 3rd, 4th or 5th years as the Case may be. All Students undergo clerk-ships at their Med Schools in Medicine Ward, Surgery Ward, Obs & Gynae Wards, Peds & so on. On the other Hand an ELECTIVE is a Clinical Rotation of OUR OWN CHOICE that we participate in 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) & not CLERK-SHIPS.
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.  

• Why Do an Elective/Clerkship?

The Bottom-line Purpose of Having a USCE to most International Medical Students is to Show it in Your "RESUME" for your Residency Interviews & Get Some Good LoRs. 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 Doctors & Hospital Staff. You do all that a US 4rth (final) Year Student will do in Medical School during his Rotation in that Particular Department. 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 by your performance he can not only write you a Great LoR but also Personally Recommend you to a program at the same or Different Institution. Plus you may as well Get Chances to do some Publications too in the Same Institutions e.g. at Harvard & other Reputed Places. Besides that The Interactive & Communicative Skills you will be developing are of course rewarding. 

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

• What if i Do Electives in UK or Canada or Any other Country??

---Continued in our Book.

These were some of the Questions from the Second Chapter named 'FAQs' from our Book. If you want to get answers to more questions regarding electives, Check out our Book on Electives. The ost Comprehensive text on Electives.View the full index here.

P.S- Still i would love to answer a question here for you guys for free & that is 

• What if i do not get one????

Well friends, no need to Panic. It's completely okay. Majority of IMGs Submit a USCE of Observerships & if lucky enough an Externship or a Research (too good). So Do Not think that your chances are Drastically down. Nothing like that. As these experiences also make you aware fo the Health care system Functioning in the US and hold good Value contrary to the myth that 'observerships' are useless. NO THEY ARE NOT. They are a Great Asset in your Resume & You Must go for them. I Can Write an Endless List of IMGs geting Matched who had Only Observerships as USCE. But Still , because Elective is a 'HANDS ON EXPERIENCE' It Seriously is a Big Deal. So DO NOT Miss an Opportunity while in your Final Year. Apply, Try & If you get one, You are Seriously Blessed. But do not get demotivated if you do not get it. Remember, Your Duty is only to try your Best. Leave the Rest on God. I Hope this Topic was useful for you.

If you have any more Queries or Doubts, Do not hesitate to Contact me or ask me on my facebook Page & You can also Inbox me if you want a One to One Consultation Only.

Anyways, In order to Know more About electives Get a Plethora of Information about Electives. Check out our Book 'US Clinical Electives A to Z'  on lulu.com. You can also buy the Book from iBookstore now. Install the iBooks app from istore & you can get the Book from there.

Okay friends, Hope to See you Soon with a New topic of Interest on my Blog. Keep Believing!!
All the Best!! (y)
:)