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A clinical elective or attachment abroad is a great way to start planning your professional career.
And if you’re a medical student who dreams of getting into a residency program in USA or UK then
a clinical elective outside your country is a tremendous opportunity which not only boosts your
confidence (by working in an international hospital setting) but also helps you securing a residency
spot by making your resume (CV) more competitive.
If you are planning to apply for a training / nontraining job in the U.K after graduating from med
school, a clinical elective in the UK will make a huge difference in securing a hospital job. Your
recent clinical experience and experience of working abroad are of prime focus when it comes to
hospitals weighing candidates during their selection process.
This article is based on the UK electives experience of Ajmal Khan, a final year MBBS student at
Bolan Medical College, Quetta.
A commonly held belief here in Pakistan or the subcontinent about the British people is: Brits are
not welcoming OR they don’t like us etc. However, the reality is completely contradictory
(explained here).
3. Enriching clinical exposure and learning
The United Kingdom ranks #3 in the list of Best Countries of the World according to the TIME
Magazine and #4 in the Top 10 Public Health Care Systems in the World by USNews. So, it’s a
huge opportunity for you to be able to work with worldrenowned healthcare professionals and
have an unprecedented clinical exposure and learning.
5. TOURISM
Yes, this is the fun part. While your stay on Tier 4 Visa as a clinical elective student in the U.K,
you can make the most of your visit by going out and touring new places, meeting people and
making new friends.
Places that I visited:
Buckingham Palace
London Eye and London Bridge
London Museum
Emirates Stadium and The White Hart Lane, London
My Clinical Electives Experience in the U.K
Hospital: University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust
City: Birmingham
Elective Specialty: Neurosurgery
Elective Supervisor: Dr. Shabin Joshi (Nepal) (Subspeciality: Neurooncology — minimally
invasive surgeries pertaining to the brain and spinal tumors.)
Residency: Oncampus
Elective Student Name: Ajmal Khan, Bolan Medical College, Quetta (Batch: 201112)
Duration of Electives: From 3rd February 2017 to 6th March 2017
The University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW)
Electives fees: NONE (this was a free elective, I wasn’t charged)
Visa & consultation fees: Rs. 12,000 PKR ($120 USD or 86 British Pounds)
Air tickets: Rs. 60,000 return air tickets
Accommodation: Rs. 30,000 PKR per month (meals not included)
Traveling Expenses: Rs. 16000 per month (You have to buy a prepaid travel card to travel
anywhere in West Midlands)
Meals: 1012 British Pounds per (maximum)
TOTAL EXPENSES: Rs. 250,000 (1800 British Pounds roughly)
It all started when I passed my 2nd prof exams (3rdyear MBBS). I was weighing between career
choices: USMLE or PLAB? I used the social media as my power tool to access information on
various Facebook pages and groups and so I connected with medical students and professionals
from around the world which then led me to choose PLAB as my final career path leading to the UK.
Making myself a breakfast inside my dorm.
So, subsequently, I started my online research on prerequisites necessary to increase one’s
chances of getting into a dream residency program in the UK. I came across different articles
which suggested U.K clinical electives as a MUST HAVE. And that is when I started thinking about
going to the UK for a clinical attachment because I wanted to make my C.V stand out and get
medical residency of my own choice which is neurosurgery.
You should plan your electives ahead of time by looking into their electives calendar. Here’s the
calendar of UHCW:
Mode of difficulty: Easy
You can apply for the visa on your own or get consultation services of private agencies. But I would
suggest that you do it yourself for saving cost and for your own experience.
For more details on UK Visa, please check here.
** No IELTS Required
My Experience
Here’s what I experienced during this incredible journey to the United Kingdom… I hope readers will
find it useful.
Each department had two MDMS sessions scheduled per week at their own MDMS conference
room at UHCW. For me, I found these sessions very interesting and highly productive. These
sessions allowed me to sit together with experts and observe their discussions leading to a more
accurate diagnosis and proper a treatment plan.
I assisted various surgeries in the department of neurosurgery at UHCW. I learned to
scrub which is often not done right in our practice.
The surgeries were planned, extremely safe, minimally invasive and patients were thoroughly
counseled by the surgeon days before the procedure.
The operation theater comprised of various teams which mainly included plastics surgeons,
radiologists, and anesthesiologists.
The staff assisting doctors inside the O.T was highly trained.
I attended the following surgeries:
1. Craniotomies for various pathologies
2. Laminectomy
3. Spinal cord decompression
4. Ulnar nerve compartment syndrome surgeries
5. Trigeminal nerve injections
6. AV Clipping
7. Ventriculoperitoneal Shunts
Teachings Attended
As an elective student at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, I had the privilege to
attend classes alongside the university’s own medical students.
The studentteacher ration per class was: 1 to 5 (maximum).
They had conferences and presentations every week at UHCW offering credit hours and
certificates to the participants.
Clinical Audits
A clinical audit involves identification of a problem, its resolution through quality improvement and
implementation of new strategies for improving preexisting methods.
I did two audits (for which I received certification from my supervisor):
1. Trigeminal neuralgia and its surgical management
2. Referral database audit for six months
The clinical audits are very important as they make your C.V stand out during the selection
process.
That’s it!
If you have any queries regarding the application procedure and visa, please feel free to drop us
your questions below in the comment box. We’ll get back to you soon.