Experiences of a Student Elective at McGill University

Abstract

It is often debated if medical electives are beneficial for students. While medical electives are not mandatory for students in the developing world, they are an important part of medical training in some Western universities (UCSD School of Medicine, n.d.) and have been part of UK undergraduate training since the 1970s (Cruikshank & Walsh, 1980). In the West medical schools form committees to guide, counsel, and help students plan their electives during vacations. In South Asia, the concept of electives is minimally encouraged; however, the students themselves share their elective experience and encourage other students to take electives, mostly through online forums. Electives often provide students a chance to work in a different setup, with different disease prevalence patterns, hospital management protocols, and learning experiences under various doctors with diverse problem solving approaches. It is also a two pronged tool whereby students can enhance their clinical skills and find opportunities to obtain a research project under the mentorship of research oriented academic consultants. This article is a brief sketch of experiences encountered by a South Asian medical student on a clerkship elective rotation in cardiology at a tertiary care hospital in Canada.