Elective 2014

Hey all. I am wanting to go to anywhere in south America for my elective. Would anyone have local contacts that I could get in contact with to arrange something?

Going with a pre-made travel agency seems to be too pricey for me.

Reply 1

carcinoma

17

Original post by Magician

Hey all. I am wanting to go to anywhere in south America for my elective. Would anyone have local contacts that I could get in contact with to arrange something?

Going with a pre-made travel agency seems to be too pricey for me.

Use this website - http://www.electives.net/

It has most of the local hospitals for each country, reviews from students who have been in the past and contact details.

Reply 2

BabyGirl

The MDU website is also great for arranging electives.

Reply 3

Catchetat

15

the elective network - that's with mdu

google that :smile:

Reply 4

hoonosewot

11

Just to be clear, the above 3 posters suggestions are all for the same thing haha.

Electives.net is the website for The Electives Network, which you can get free access to via the MDU website. It's a very good resource.

Reply 5

nexttime

22

I was looking into South America, but there is no way my Spanish will be good enough in time sadly. At a complete loss as to where to go now, except that it must be 3rd world and English speaking.

Reply 6

Catchetat

15

Original post by nexttime

I was looking into South America, but there is no way my Spanish will be good enough in time sadly. At a complete loss as to where to go now, except that it must be 3rd world and English speaking.

not sure if you count malaysia as being 3rd world...

Reply 7

m197

11

Original post by Catchetat

not sure if you count malaysia as being 3rd world...

Have you been at all? I'm considering a malaysian elective but have no idea what it's like

Reply 8

GdotL

17

Original post by hoonosewot

Just to be clear, the above 3 posters suggestions are all for the same thing haha.

Electives.net is the website for The Electives Network, which you can get free access to via the MDU website. It's a very good resource.

Any way of gaining access without being a member?

Reply 9

carcinoma

17

Original post by GdotL

Any way of gaining access without being a member?

It's free if ur an MDU Member which you should be

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 10

GdotL

17

Original post by carcinoma

It's free if ur an MDU Member which you should be

Posted from TSR Mobile

Clearly I wouldn't have asked if I were already a member though!

Reply 11

carcinoma

17

Original post by GdotL

Clearly I wouldn't have asked if I were already a member though!

I didn't mean that but is it not a requirement for you to have joined either MDU or MPS by your medical school?

If not you may as well join, its free.

Posted from TSR Mobile

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 12

hoonosewot

11

Original post by GdotL

Any way of gaining access without being a member?

If you're not in the MDU then join it, it's free, gets you access and also gives you some cover.

Reply 13

Helenia

20

Original post by nexttime

I was looking into South America, but there is no way my Spanish will be good enough in time sadly. At a complete loss as to where to go now, except that it must be 3rd world and English speaking.

What exactly would count for you as "English speaking?" Loads of countries in Africa have English as one of their languages alongside local languages, and elective students seem to manage fine. I went to Swaziland and it was awesome.

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Reply 14

nexttime

22

Original post by Helenia

What exactly would count for you as "English speaking?" Loads of countries in Africa have English as one of their languages alongside local languages, and elective students seem to manage fine. I went to Swaziland and it was awesome.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Yeah that would count. Its too much choice that's getting me down more than anything!

Can i ask what was good/bad about Swaziland?

Reply 15

Helenia

20

Original post by nexttime

Yeah that would count. Its too much choice that's getting me down more than anything!

Can i ask what was good/bad about Swaziland?

Good - beautiful country, very friendly people, none of the racial tensions you see in neighbouring South Africa. I was able to get lots of hands-on experience in medicine and O&G, which is what I was interested in at the time. Saw quite a lot of things I'd never seen in this country. The cost of living once you are there is very low, though flights to get there are not cheap. There are loads of places to go on excursions at the weekend like game parks/nature reserves; I went to Maputo in Mozambique for one weekend and some of the other students went diving in South Africa.

There is some crime, as there is everywhere, but in general it is very safe, and I felt much less harassed by locals than I did when I went to Zanzibar on my honeymoon.

Bad - it IS a third world country. The healthcare facilities were fairly primitive by our standards (they have one CT scanner in the whole country), and the grinding poverty that many people endure can be quite distressing. The HIV rate is the highest in the world - great for clinical signs, but horrible seeing young people die. English is an official language there, but in reality only educated people speak it, so you need a nurse for translation in most clinics, which is varyingly useful.

Overall though, I had a great time. It was not my plan to go to a developing country at all - I applied to Canada! But they let me down with ~6 weeks to go, so I had to arrange something last minute, and Swaziland was what popped up first. I was a bit scared on the plane over there, but very glad I did it.

Reply 16

Catchetat

15

Original post by malaz_197

Have you been at all? I'm considering a malaysian elective but have no idea what it's like

Don't really know but there are malaysians studying at my uni. It's a Muslim country so there are no bars at least not in the rural bits.

It's also quite a hot and humid country. And apparently they keep monkeys as pets.

It's probably not exactly a 3rd world because life expectancy is comparable to the US...

Reply 17

insomniacz

5

Just planning accommodation for my elective to Sydney next year - anyone else headed that way?

Elective 2014

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