Electives Database

As part of the MBBS curriculum at UTAS, 4th year students are required to undertake a 4-6 week elective (which can be undertaken anywhere in the world). The University of Tasmania proudly has the School of Medicine Internationalisation and Electives Program (SMILE) which compiles a database of elective reports from returning students, both as part of the curriculum & extra-curricular placements. TUMSS encourages returning students to submit their own elective report.

Welcome to the TUMSS elective database. This a collection of past and present students’ electives, created with the aim of helping future students finding an elective perfect for them. To view more information about each elective, click the plus symbol in the left most column. If you would like to add your own elective experience to the database, click here!

Entry	Timestamp	Student Name	Name of elective hospital	Name of University - if applicable	Country	City/Town	Specialty	Start Date	End Date	How did you arrange this elective?	URL to elective institution/application and contact details	Name of elective agency (e.g. Work the World) - if applicable	Tips on how to apply	Summary of overall elective experience	Rating	Positives	Negatives	Language spoken	What to bring	Would you recommend this elective?	If not why?	Tips for future students	Fees	If so, how much did you pay?	Total cost (including elective fees, flights, accommodation and insurance)	Cost Breakdown	Scholarship or bursary receiced?	If you received a scholarship which one?	Holiday opportunities	Additional comments
1	12/02/2019	Sophie Sanderson	King Edward Memorial Hospital II (KEMH)		The Falkland Islands	Stanley	Everything	10/11/2018	21/12/2018	I applied directly through the host institution/university	practice@kemh.gov.fk - Contact email		Email the team at KEMH, and the receptionists will organise everything for you, including suggestions for accommodation, restaurants and things to do. They give you a welcoming package and timetable, so you feel organised. The doctors are very welcoming,	Reflecting on my time of the Falkland islands I can see that I had a very different experience to many of my peers. Although there were no cocktails on white sandy beaches in warm weather, there was a charm in Stanley. I started to know and get used to th	8	The variety of cases that came in and the people I met while overseas.	. The expense - fruit, internet and travel were all very expensive.	English	Good international coverage for your phone, money (trips to outer islands are expensive, but worth it - lots of penguins/seals/other wildlife), clothes for all types of weather, bathers for the local pool, a travel card, camera, Australian themed presents	Yes		- Plan ahead, know what you are getting into - Know that you will have people to meet up with! otherwise do not go solo - Organise accommodation early - Know passwords to all your email/bank accounts, as you will be logging in from a different computer an	No		$6,000	Flights ~ $4000 Accommodation ~ $1200 (6wks) Miscellaneous ~ $800	Yes	Denis P Mackey (GP scholarship, as GP run hospital) - $3000, Overseas travel scholarship - $1000	SOUTH AMERICA - Patagonia, Atacama desert, Bolivian salt flats!
2	17/02/2019		Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre		Australia	Melbourne	Infectious Diseases	27/11/2018	21/12/2018	I arranged my elective with a clinician that I contacted/knew					7			English (& many others)		Yes			No		Variable		No
3	17/02/2019	Georgia Roberts	AMDA Hospital Damak		Nepal	Damak	Gen Surg/Obsgyn			I arranged my elective with a clinician that I contacted/knew			Contact me for my supervisors email.	Overall a fantastic elective! Very hands on, I learnt to suture and close up in surgery (most c sections), pulled out some babies and administered spinal anaesthetics! The people were lovely, we were welcomed into their homes for dinners, attended hospita	10	The people! And actually being able to scrub and participate in surgery.		Nepalese (doctors can speak English though)	Scrubs, protective eyewear, masks, some medical supplies to donate.	Yes			Yes	$500USD	$2700 ish	Contact me and ill send out budget.	Yes	AMA Tas $250.	Kathmandu, Pokhara, hiking in everest or Annapurna region, Ilam, visiting elephants near the indian border
4	17/02/2019	Michael Armarego	Belfast City Hospital and Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast		Northern Ireland, United Kingdom	Belfast	Haematology and Emergency Medicine	12/11/2018	07/12/2018	I applied directly through the host institution/hospital			Basically ended up going through the HR department at the hospital - no formal application process. Would not recommend in terms of an organisisation strategy as it always seemed like it could fall through. START WORK ON A UK VISA EARLY THEY ARE A NIGHTM	Had an awesome time, everyone was lovely in both departments. Had a good amount of patient contact and plenty of time to demonstrate skills and learn	9	Lovely clinicians, tertiary centre so very unique and interesting patients and techniques that arenâ€™t done in Tassie	Long days, perennial darkness, lack of fresh fruit and vegetables	English	Just normal clinical things (steth, book and pen)	Yes		Send off plenty of emails to anywhere you would even vaguely consider going to and who knows you may end up in Belfast	No		~$3000	Flights $1700, accomodation $900, food and entertainment $600	Yes	Travel mobility scholarship	Dublin is lovely, and Belfast is close to mainland Europe so flights are cheap. Just remember itâ€™s very cold in parts of Europe so dress accordingly.
5	17/02/2019	Gili Smart	Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	South Africa	Johannesburg	Trauma	12/11/2018	07/12/2018	I applied directly through the host University	https://www.wits.ac.za/health/faculty-services/elective/		Apply early online in order to sort out all of the paperwork, and then give yourself extra time in Johannesburg before starting your elective to finalise your application/registration there.	Excellent exposure to trauma, cases that one would not see on a regular basis in Australia. This elective includes ward work, theatre time, and being on-call in the trauma emergency unit which included working in the resuscitation bays. Some informal teac	10	Exposure to a range of medicine that I wouldnâ€™t see in Australia	Often long hours and hard tedious work	Primarily English	Bring your wits about you - HIV prevalence is incredibly high in South Africa. Also bring PEP. A stethoscope, safety goggles, a couple of tourniquets and a personal pair of scissors also are a must. You can bring scrubs from Australia, but you also buy pe	Yes		Be prepared to work hard and be at the hospital for long hours - it pays off with the experience that you gain, but be aware that you may have to sacrifice sleeping and eating at times in order to help out in an environment that relies on students for the	Yes	8000 rand (~$800 aud) for 4 weeks	Approximately $2500 aud		Yes	STMP scholarship	Take the time after your elective to relax after a busy crazy experience to fly down to Cape Town and enjoy the coast. Also must spend some time in a game reserve, can recommend Kruger National Park.
6	17/02/2019	Hannah Forde	Korle Bu Teaching Hospital	University of Ghana	Ghana	Accra	General medicine and O&G	19/11/2018	14/12/2018	I arranged my elective through an elective agency (e.g. Work the World)	Elective Ghana Just google it	Elective Ghana	Just flick them an email	Really enjoyable! Loved it. Different to Australia	9	The people	Cultural shock (initially this came to be a great thing) and the heat	English	White coat, summery clothes, mosquito repellent and nets, malaria prophylaxis, first aid kit, backpack for weekend trips, we brought some gloves and things not necessarily needed though, hand sanitizer, scrubs, conditioner	Yes		Once you are there organise some weekend trips. Get to know the locals they are super friendly.	Yes	400 for hospital	$4,000	Flights-3000 Accom-300 Fees-400 Everything in Ghana is super cheap like $1 a day for food. Cheap taxis etc so expensive to get there but once you are there itâ€™s cheap	Yes	UTAS mobility	Weekend to Wli waterfalls, weekend to cape coast, weekend to akosombo dam and explore greater Accra. Also flights via Europe were the same price as going directly to and from Australia so did 3 weeks after in Europe as well
7	17/02/2019	Ayame Ochi	Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital		United Kingdom	Liverpool	Aortic Surgery & Interventional Cardiology	24/11/2018	21/12/2018	I arranged my elective with a clinician that I contacted/knew			I emailed Mr Manoj Muduvalli who put me in touch with the student HR person Nidah Ali Mann. I happened to meet the CEO of the Trust, Jane Tomkinson, who is keen to have students at the Trust so emailing her is always an option	Observational placement. I didn't apply for a student visa. In aortic surgery and interventional cardiology I don't believe I would have been able to scrub into theatre regardless due to the nature of procedures. Watched procedures - thoraco-abdominal a	8	High level procedures not able to be seen in Tasmania. Some aortic surgery is not done to such a level even within Australia. People were keen to teach	Observational. Can be cold and dark	English	A stethoscope and lots of questions. Good documentation of your intentions in the UK so that boarder security don't kick you out.	Yes		Try organise a student visa early, but it isn't guaranteed you'll get one. If you don't get a student visa and plan to go on a tourist visa, bring as much documentation as you can. I took bank statements, a letter of approval from the Trust, a letter fro	No		3000+	1600 - flights (return Hobart - Manchester. Student flights)1000 - accommodation (Airbnb)250 - insurance0 - elective fees99 - Student flights changing your return flight fee	No		Northern Wales is beautiful - There is a medieval Christmas festival in Conwy!Many Christmas markets! Liverpool is great if you love art, The Beatles and/or football. It's a great central location to travel to other areas of Northern England.Lots of gr
8	17/02/2019	Ayame Ochi	Royal Hobart Hospital		Australia	Hobart	Cardiothoracic surgery	02/01/2019	25/01/2019	I arranged my elective with a clinician that I contacted/knew			Sent an email to Mr Hardikar. He is very busy so send a follow up email if he never replies.	Ward round at 7am - did intern type jobs like write progress notes, Xray forms, path forms, etc Spent the rest of time scrubbed into theatre - AVR, CABGs Practiced my suturing a lot, assisted on he chest, assisted in VATs Put in the catheters in theatre w	10	True hands on experience	Nothing. But the days can be long It also would have been good for me to spend a bit more time in clinic	English	A stethoscope Willingness to learn Good supportive shoes so you can stand for a long time.	Yes		Bring your own shoes for theatre Try get into a clinic with the consultants Ask the theatre nurses if you can put catheters in Befriend the theatre nurses - they make your life the best	No		0	0	No		Mofo in Launceston was amazing - worth the 2.5hour drive. Walshie admired my onesie.
9	18/02/2019	Eu Gene Lim	Launceston General Hospital	University of Tasmania	Australia	Launceston	Psychiatry & Ophthalmology	12/11/2018	07/12/2018	I applied directly through the host institution/hospital			Contact the Head of Department or contact the practice manager	Easy, relaxing application process. Informative elective	8			English		Yes			No		$0		No
10	18/02/2019	Dipti Sugumar	Korle Bu Teaching Hospital	University of Ghana	Ghana	Accra	General medicine & public health	19/11/2018	14/11/2018	I arranged my elective through an elective agency (e.g. Work the World)		Elective Ghana	Do it 12ish months in advance! This elective takes a lot of planning but is very much worth it!		10	The people, the travel, seeing a different healthcare system	Electricity cut offs	English	A sense of adventure and good humour!	Yes			Yes	$400 accomodation + $200 university mentor ship	$6,100		No
Entry	Timestamp	Student Name	Name of elective hospital	Name of University - if applicable	Country	City/Town	Specialty	Start Date	End Date	How did you arrange this elective?	URL to elective institution/application and contact details	Name of elective agency (e.g. Work the World) - if applicable	Tips on how to apply	Summary of overall elective experience	Rating	Positives	Negatives	Language spoken	What to bring	Would you recommend this elective?	If not why?	Tips for future students	Fees	If so, how much did you pay?	Total cost (including elective fees, flights, accommodation and insurance)	Cost Breakdown	Scholarship or bursary receiced?	If you received a scholarship which one?	Holiday opportunities	Additional comments