Your Elective

What is an Elective?

A 6 – 8 week period of work experience often spent in another country but which can be spent in a UK medical setting or a research laboratory. Most students travel overseas, often to developing countries and some choose to combine their elective with a period of vacation travel. Worldwide teaching hospitals, non-governmental organisations (NGO), charities and religious organisations run medical student electives. Some charge fees to cover expenses and to help support other projects (this may be a much as thousands of pounds). It is possible to avoid excessive fees by planning your own elective – more work for you but a valuable experience.

Finding and Funding an Elective - Why it pays to start planning well ahead

Start early
Plan an initial budget as early as possible, even before you know exact costs. This can be adapted but will give you a solid basis from which to work – and has several advantages:

See ‘Budgeting for Electives’ on this site, for the main items you’ll need to include.

Have minimum and maximum amounts for categories of income and expenditure, so that you can balance the two as funds come in and out through the planning period.

If you receive funds in advance make sure you keep them separate from the rest of your money i.e. in a separate bank account.

Apply early for your elective place – Most electives take place in the final year of your medical degree. Planning should begin early as some locations are very popular. For example places on trauma electives at Johannesburg Hospital can fill up almost two years in advance. Don’t underestimate the time needed to hear back from overseas locations, to explore alternatives if your first choice isn’t available, to organise funding and to arrange visas and vaccinations!