Your Guide to MMSA Exchanges 2014/2015

Your

to

2014-2015

Contents Why should you go on an Exchange?

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FAQs

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The Application Process

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Feedback

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Professional Exchange Feedback 2014 Research Exchange Feedback 2014

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Stirling Elective

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Useful Links

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Why should you go on an

Exchange opportunities are offered every year by the MMSA

through the International Federation of Medical Students. I greatly encourage you to apply for an exchange, which besides being an asset for you in your future, it provides memories that will stick around for a lifetime.

They are an opportunity to meet other medical students and experience life in hospitals around the world.

One may either opt for a Professional or a Research exchange. Both are incredible experiences, the former will involve the hustle and bustle of hospital life, while the latter will involve taking part in cutting edge research regarding any aspect of medicine that interests you.

If I say these opportunities come once in a lifetime, I would be lying since exchanges are offered once a year! However, we won’t be medical students for very long so benefit from these opportunities for as long as you can. As medical students, planning a great summer is on the top of our todo-lists, and a good summer is well deserved after a whole year of studying.

Going on an exchange will only make your summer more memorable!

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I’m a first year student can I still apply for an exchange?

All medical students from 1st – 4th Year are allowed to apply for an exchange. There is no minimum requirement of points to make you eligible to do so. First years however have to keep in mind that, being a points system, having few points may decrease your chance of being awarded the exchange. Having said this in no way means that you will not be awarded one. Many people have been on exchange after their first year!

How many points do I need for exchange?

This is a FAQ, which is frequently left unanswered, for the simple fact that there is no definite answer! It all depends on the people’s individual choice of country. Therefore, you can even be awarded an exchange with 1 point unless someone else applies for the same country. Don’t get discouraged by having few points. But remember, the more points you have means you are more active and help out in our association J

Which is the best country for exchange?

Any country can be the best one as long as you make an effort for it to be the best, with an element of luck as well! With regards to best country for a good medical experience, this is also very difficult to say, for the simple reason that one can encounter all sorts of doctors in any country (even in those considered ‘the best’). So remember, keep your options open and research a bit on the countries you are most interested in keeping in mind what you really want to achieve and how much you want to benefit from the exchange.

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I’m a pre-clinical student can I apply for a professional exchange?

The answer will most probably be yes for almost all countries. However make sure to read the Exchange conditions (link on pg. 42) in order to be sure that you are allowed to do so, since some countries may require at least the completion of one clinical year.

Can I apply with another student?

Certainly. There are quite a number of countries with more than one place available and you are free to apply with other medical students.

Keep in mind however that, the points of the medical students applying for one particular exchange will be averaged. The students will then be considered as one application together and their average points will be used to decide whether they are awarded the exchange or not. If they are not awarded one, they are free to apply together again or individually if a second call for exchanges is issued.

Is it possible to apply for specific city in a country?

No, or better to say, not exactly. Initially you apply for the country. Once the online application process starts you apply for a particular month (July-September) and for the medical speciality/research project you wish to take part in. However, in the exchange conditions of each country, the cities, which are available for each particular month, are listed. Therefore if one wishes to increase their possibility of being accepted for a particular city, make sure you choose the month that offers it.

What happens if I’m not accepted for a particular research project or speciality?

This is unfortunately out of my control. If this happens, the receiving city will offer you another research project/medical placement according to their availabilities or maybe a change in city that will offer the same placement. However, keep in mind that these are things which happen very often mostly due to availabilities of doctors or places in the research lab. Do not get discouraged if you do not get your first preference but always be open to other opportunities. The outcome might actually be better than you expected! Â

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What happens if I’m not accepted for a particular month?

First, I will do my best to communicate with the Exchange Officer of the particular country in order to clearly understand the reason for the decline and make the necessary arrangements. If the medical student is available also in other months, there should be no problem in changing the month. In the worst-case scenario, where the country is unable to offer any place from July to September, the exchange contract may be postponed to the following year, hoping the same situation will not repeat itself.

Do I need to speak any languages?

To be able to speak the language spoken in the country you will be visiting is definitely an asset! Most countries do not have any language requirements except English but always read the Exchange conditions of the particular country in case they do require certain languages or at least the basics of some. Keep in mind that despite most countries not having any requirements, a language barrier may still be encountered at times.

What expensive are covered and what do I need to pay for?

An initial fee of €150 is paid to the MMSA upon submission of the application. This covers the accommodation of your exchange. All countries have different exchange conditions! Some offer a number of free meals a day whilst others offer weekly pocket money. Social program costs, if present, also vary between countries. It is up to the student to cover the costs of flight and spending money.

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The Application Process

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Points Ranking

• Ranking of all the members in

MMSA according to the points obtained in the various events

MMSA Exchange Application

• Choice of 5 countries according to preference together with an application fee of €150

Exchange Awarded

Exchange not Awarded on first call

IFMSA Exchange Electronic Application Form

MMSA Exchange Application: Second Call

Obtain all documents

Receive Card of Acceptance

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Professional Exchanges Feedback 2014

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MD4 Country Visited: United Kingdom, London Department: Royal London Hospital Paediatric Department Overall application process: The enrolment was the same as a student enrolling into medical school for 5 years. A lot of the things we had to do and fill in etc. I found were very extra Medical Experience: Hospital was fantastic. Very eager to teach and very happy to involve us as students. Learnt so much and enjoyed every second Hospital/Department Standard: High Standard Social Program: 0 The social program was non-existent Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: N/A Recommend the country/city visited: Yes It's a great city with so much to offer. Health care system is very similar to Maltese one plus they speak English. Best Month Ever!

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MD 4

Country Visited: Friedberg, Germany

Department: Orthopaedics

Overall application process:

Apart from an insurance policy, which you have to get from Germany, everything was plain sailing.

Medical Experience:

First two weeks were not exactly easy as consultants were a bit arrogant and reluctant to speak English. I was expected to know what I should do while scrubbed in in theatre, as soon as I learned this I quickly was treated like an asset and spent most of my time scrubbed in. Also learned a lot of important things such as taking blood, inserting venflons etc.

Hospital/Department Standard: Normal Standard

Social Program: Social program cost 10 euro but there was not really a social program, most of the stuff the exchange students had to organise. Some more guidance from the locals would have been much more appreciated, however we did get along

Overall exchange experience:

Go on another exchange: N/A

Recommend the country/city visited: Yes

A lot of things to do during your free time, the place is relatively cheap (same prices as Malta) and the scenery is wonderful (Freiburg is built in the middle of the black forest surrounded by mountains). If you're into adventurous stuff I would totally suggest the place.

Learning experience is good too; I can easily say I learned more in 2 weeks than I learned in Malta in 2 years.

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MD4 Country Visited: Nottingham, United Kingdom Department: Neuroradiology, Queen's Medical Centre Overall application process: The Local Exchange Officer was very helpful and kept continuous contact with me via e-mail Medical Experience: I would have preferred a more clinical specialty as mine focused on imaging mostly, however when I asked the LEO (Local Exchange Officer) it was out of their control, as the university provided them with the departments and we had to stick with them. My consultant was very flexible and allowed me to attend some Neurology ward rounds and outpatient clinics when I asked him if I might do so to obtain a more clinical aspect.

Hospital/Department Standard: High Social Program: I enjoyed it very much! Although the local committee is very small compared to MMSA-Malta, they were very enthusiastic in organising things to do throughout the whole month e.g. Eating at the house of each local committee member's house everyday for the first week, watched a cricket game, went for a weekend in London, a farewell night out, amongst others activities.

Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: N/A Recommend the country/city visited: Yes Yes, definitely. The local committee members and my housemates helped me so much with feeling at home. The consultants, even of the other exchange students in my city, where very friendly and enthusiastic to teach.

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MD4 Country Visited: The Netherlands Department: Cardiology Overall application process: The National Exchange officer was very helpful Medical Experience: The tutor took her time to explain everything to me Hospital/Department Standard: High Social Program: Did not meet expectations The LEOs appeared disorganised and left many students to wander by themselves without clear instructions Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: N/A Recommend the country/city visited: No The city in itself was nice but the accommodation offered and the way the exchange was organised by IFMSA-The Netherlands was lacking.

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MD 3 Country Visited: Finland, Helsinki Department: Cardiac and Thoracic Department Overall application process: Any information required for the application process was very easy to obtain.

The NEO was always willing to help with any difficulties I had, or any questions that needed answering.

Medical Experience: Hospital/Department Standard: High standard Social Program: It was great getting to know the other exchange students and the local students of Helsinki. I felt extremely welcomed, and my contact person was very helpful and explained everything to me. The local members took us to various parks and historical sites, including a fun camping trip in another city.

Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Definitely Recommend the country/city visited: Yes Everyone I met in Helsinki, whether it was a waiter, a bus driver, a nurse, a doctor or a sales person, they could all speak almost fluent English. I think that's a very important aspect since Finnish is very difficult and unique as a language and not easy to learn.

Obviously ward rounds were completely in Finnish, especially for the older aged patients who find it easier to speak in Finnish. I was able to take histories from patients, perform cardiological examinations and assist in almost all surgeries. Doctors are willing to answer any questions (in English) by any students.

Regarding the weather, although I went in July, it was quite cold -the temperature dropped to even 8 degrees at night. During the day it is pleasant and very sunny - sunset at around midnight and sunrise at 3am, but it is easy to adapt. Overall it was a great experience and the city is peaceful; it is expensive but this is expected in all Nordic countries.

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MD 4 Â Country Visited: Canada, Winnipeg Department: Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg Overall application process: There was a lot of bureaucracy involved, which included the IFMSA applications, applying personally for the elective through the university of Manitoba as well as VISA applications.

Medical Experience: A lot of hands on practice was given and I have no complaints whatsoever.

Hospital/Department Standard: High standard Social Program: There was no social programme whatsoever organised by the local committee.

Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: N/A Recommend the country/city visited: Yes The particular medical educational programme at the hospital I was at is particularly good so I would recommend Winnipeg from that aspect.

However, as a word of caution, the city isn't the safest especially close to the hospital, which is the most violent area. The local committee responsible for incomings weren't the most organised in my case so you have to be prepared to create your own social programme and handle any problems with applications yourself.

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MD 3 Country Visited: Plzen, Czech Republic Department: Internal Medicine - General Overall application process: The application process was relatively easy, but it took until May for us to get our cards of acceptance Medical Experience: Hospital/Department Standard: Moderate Standard Social Program: We didn't have a lot of activities organized as part of the social program but we still managed to make the most out of it together with the other exchange students Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Maybe Recommend the country/city visited: Yes Czech republic is a really beautiful country and there are a lot of places of interest to visit. It was also really cheap to travel around and buy food! Also, our dormitories were only about 5 minutes away by walk from the hospital, which we found very convenient.

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MD 2 Â Country Visited: Poland, Wroclaw Department: General Surgery Overall application process: It was quite easy to apply, however we were accepted to Emergency surgery but the doctor changed his mind last minute, and we got placed in another department and hospital.

Medical Experience: Polish hospitals are very hands on, as a second year student I was allowed to scrub in and assist from the first week, I learnt a lot about general surgery and gained a lot of experience.

Hospital/Department Standard: Moderate Standard Social Program: It was amazing! There was something organised everyday, and in the evenings too. We saw everything there was to see in Wroclaw as a group and it was such a great experience. They also organise trips during the weekends to other cities in Poland. It was so organised that most of the students wanted to come, and we were quite a large group. Even if you did not want to join the social programme, there was always a lot to do in the city and the students are more than happy to help you out.

Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Definitely Recommend the country/city visited: Yes This was one of the best experiences of my life, Poland, and Wroclaw in particular is an amazing place. The accommodation was also good, you live in a dorm with other exchange students and get to mix with so many other Polish students who live there, and we bonded with our group so much after spending so much time together. Polish people are very friendly and can speak English, especially the younger ones. It is also a very safe and very clean city, with very efficient transport. It was really a great exchange and I highly recommend to anyone who is considering an exchange next year

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MD 3

Country Visited: Athens, Greece Department: Orthopaedics Overall application process: Some information required for the application was not clear and the NEO had to be contacted to clear things up. Some requested paperwork was on a Greek website which needed an account and was not working properly.

Medical Experience: Very good hospital experience, with a lot of hands on episodes. Got to go into surgeries in the last two weeks due to paperwork taking a long time to be signed.

Hospital/Department Standard: Moderate standard Social Program: Rather poor to Inexistent No social programme was present. The only activities done were due to some Greek students taking their own initiative to guide us around.

Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Definitely Recommend the country/city visited: Yes Yes but the students must be prepared for poor lodging, an inexistent social programme, some hospitals are rather old and not state of the art and must be able to adapt quickly to the situations that might arise.

Good Hospital, Beautiful Country, Bad Lodging, Bad Student Association

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MD 3 Country Visited: Frankfurt, Germany Department: Internal Medicine - GI Overall application process: We were not being updated of what we should do with regards to documents etc. until the very end.

Medical Experience: Doctors were really helpful and used to help us a lot.

Hospital/Department Standard: High Social Program: Wasn't impressed at all.

We only got to meet the other exchange students during the third week and we only met twice till then.

Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Not really Recommend the country/city visited: Yes The hospital staff was really helpful to us and we got to learn new stuff as well. Even though there was a language barrier especially when it came to a discussion with patients they always tried to explain to us in English.

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MD 2

Country Visited: Kuopio, Finland Department: Clinical Microbiology, Kuopio University Hospital Overall application process:

Medical Experience: Hospital/Department Standard: High Social Program: There wasn't much of an organised social programme. We had two events during the whole month, basically two whole-country weekends, which included visits to other cities and a visit to Tallinn, Estonia. The good thing is that this left us with a lot of free slots to fill in as we pleased. I found this to be quite a good option because the other exchange students and I were free to go and do whatever we liked. The local students were very helpful and sometimes they joined us as well.

Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Definitely Recommend the country/city visited: Yes Kuopio hosts 1 of 5 university hospitals in Finland, so the hospital there is of quite a high standard. The city is surrounded by beautiful lakes and vast forests so you won't get bored there in the evening and on the weekends.

You can do many outdoors activities like hiking, trekking, camping, canoeing and even berry- and mushroom- picking if you go in the right months!

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MD 2

Country Visited: Ljubljana, Slovenia Department: General Surgery-thoracic department Overall application process: We had to fill in some additional paperwork for subsidised meals etc. which were in Slovenian so we needed a lot of help to fill in Medical Experience: Doctors and scrub nurses were very helpful and took the time to explain what the patient had and a step by step of the procedure. Also got to scrub in on 2 occasions Hospital/Department Standard: High Social Program: There were the initial 2 weekend excursions, which were organised very well. The first week was a bit more all over the place but during the week we were left at liberty to do whatever we wanted and ended up organising stuff between us Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Definitely Recommend the country/city visited: Yes The country is beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed the excursions organised both by the local contact persons and by simply catching a train and going on our own. The cost of living there is not very expensive. The hospital experience was very rewarding. It offers a different university experience since you stay in student dorms with other exchange students

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MD 3 Â Country Visited: Lisbon, Portugal Department: Emergency Medicine Overall application process: Comments: Quite easy but you have to wait long sometimes Medical Experience: Language was a bit of a barrier but doctors did their best to make us feel comfortable. Department was a bit too quiet sometimes and we had to wait for patients to come in.

Hospital/Department Standard: Moderate Social Program: Great The social programme was amazing! Great and helpful people with enjoyable activities.

Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Maybe Recommend the country/city visited: Yes Portugal is a wonderful country which is quite similar to Malta in culture, climate and people hence it was easy for us to adapt well. The people in the group were amazing and there was so much to see especially in our host city Lisbon. Such a great experience, with lots of fond memories and deep friendships that I will cherish forever.

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MD 4

Country Visited: Poland, Poznan Department: General Surgery Overall application process: Easy to follow and quick response Medical Experience: It can be improved by making sure we have a good English-speaking tutor and is willing to show us more skills and allow us to try different procedures.

Hospital/Department Standard: High Social Program: It can be improved by being more organised and according to a set timetable, rather than planning from just 1 or 2 days before.

Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: N/A Recommend the country/city visited: yes Beautiful country and during the weekends, NICE trips are highly recommended as you can taste different cities from all Poland! There is a lot going on in summer, including open-air festivals and events.

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MD 2

Country Visited: Ljubljana, Slovenia Department: Surgical Infection and Traumatology Overall application process: Easy to fill in and not much work had to be done in obtaining documents and other paper work Medical Experience: Hospital/Department Standard: Moderate Social Program: In Slovenia, social program was well organised. It included 2 weekend trips to different parts of Slovenia were together with events during the week. These included boat tours, cultural visits etc. On the whole it was very good Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Definitely Recommend the country/city visited: Yes Slovenia is a great place! It’s peaceful and quiet! Accommodation was very good and close to centre/hospital. Hospital stuff and doctors are helpful and spoke English. Cost of living is cheap when compared to Malta. Social Program is really good. An experience to remember!

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MD 3

Country Visited: Switzerland Department: Paediatric Surgery Overall application process: It wasn't complicated, there are just many things to obtain and it's good to plan ahead just in case you have any problems Medical Experience: The hospital was excellent; doctors were very nice and ready to teach. It's very hands-on and they make you work long hours and hard. It's all in French!

But everyone speaks English in general if you want to clarify something.

Hospital/Department Standard: High Social Program: Zero There literally was no social program. Just one organised day where we were told to meet in one city. Otherwise we organised everything.

Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Maybe Recommend the country/city visited: Yes Switzerland has a very high standard of medical care, which is organised extremely well. It is crucial that you can speak in French, but otherwise they are all very ready to teach you as much as you want, and let you assist them in any procedures being done. You’re basically treated as a doctor like them.

It's also a great country to visit for the scenery and activities, but not really for you if you want to go party. They take their work seriously and it's excellent work experience.

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MD 2 Â Country Visited: Germany Department: Orthopaedics/General Surgery Overall application process: Germany took long to reply Medical Experience: Hospital/Department Standard: High Social Program: Poor Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Definitely Recommend the country/city visited: Yes Although the social programme was poor, the hospital experience is very good. The hospital I was at was state of the art and I had the opportunity to see very modern operations, which are only carried out at a few hospitals.

Language barrier was a bit tough.

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MD 3

Country Visited: Catalonia Department: General Surgery Overall application process: I changed month from August to July and I got the confirmation 1 month before. So it was mostly my fault for the process to have taken that long. But previously I only got Facebook message confirmation of the city and department. So they were not 100% professional either with me.

Medical Experience: Hospital was good. It was a specialist hospital for general surgery. The doctors were overall friendly and wanted to practice English. Of course, not all of them. They would speak mostly Catalan between themselves and although I can understand Spanish, Catalan is very different.

Hospital/Department Standard: Moderate Social Program: Average. They took us out maybe 4 times, but sometimes they would plan events during our hospital hours (weekday morning), which was not very intelligent (e.g. to go to the beach once). And other times it would be to visit a park for example (kind of boring). No parties unfortunately. After 2 weeks the exchange students stopped going to the social program altogether. Still, no regrets for going.

Overall exchange experience: We had flat problems: No internet (and it COULD have been fixed I know for sure), leaking roof with plaster falling from the ceiling, a showerhead that broke on the second week.

Go on another exchange: Maybe Recommend the country/city visited: Yes

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MD 4 Â Country Visited: Germany Department: General Surgery Overall application process: Easy to follow Medical Experience: It is a bit difficult because everything is German so you have to find someone to translate Hospital/Department Standard: Moderate Social Program: The social program was not very well organised Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: N/A Recommend the country/city visited: Yes It was a good experience and you get a lot of practice on blood taking and scrubbing for surgery. However few people speak English and the language may be a bit of a problem

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MD 3

Country Visited: Croatia, Rijeka Department: KBC Rijeka Plastic surgery Overall application process: The Website describes all the steps very clearly Medical Experience: Hospital/Department Standard: Poor Social Program: Really good The only problem was that the Croatian group remain dissociated from the other students Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Definitely Recommend the country/city visited: Yes In this city there is not much to do during the week and therefore it lead the members of the group to bond with each other very quickly.

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Research Exchanges Feedback 2014

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MD 1

Country Visited: Montreal Canada Department: McGill University Overall application process: There was no need to acquire a Visa and there was no hassle in obtaining the rest of the required documents.

Research Experience: Hospital/Department Standard: High Social Program: 0 There was absolutely no social program here. We had to organise everything ourselves.

Overall exchange experience: I did not give it a '5' just because there was no social program. However, it was an amazing experience and I recommend that everyone should try going on an exchange.

Go on another exchange: Definitely Recommend the country/city visited: yes Montreal is a beautiful city! There is always something going on and the people are extremely friendly. Even though they speak French, they are also very fluent in English. There is something for everyone in the city and there are lots of festivals, which take place in summer. Montreal is also central enough to visit other cities that are a couple of hours away such as Quebec City and Toronto.

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MD 2

Country Visited: Maribor, Slovenia Department: Vascular Surgery Overall application process: Was very easy to follow IFMSA guidelines in checking which documents are needed. Acquiring certain documents was not as simple.

Research Experience: The research programme we were assigned with was excellent and I learnt a lot from it.

Hospital/Department Standard: Moderate Social Program: Excellent social programme with something planned every weekend with some week events too.

Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Definitely Recommend the country/city visited: Yes The research exchange was of excellent standards and the social programme made it that much more enjoyable. The city is a beautiful one and the places we visited were beautiful. Definitely an experience I will never forget!

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MD 4

Country Visited: Japan Department: Kinki University- Immunology Department Overall application process: Adding on more choice of countries to the application process really benefited the students and made the application process fairer.

Research Experience: Hospital/Department Standard: High Social Program: It could have been better organized, but they made an effort considering we were only 2 students on exchange.

Overall exchange experience: The Lab personnel really made an effort to include us. They gave us mini projects to do and even had all their meetings in English to accommodate us.

Go on another exchange: N/A Recommend the country/city visited: Yes It was an amazing experience I would really recommend. The cultural experience in itself is worthwhile. Japan is a beautiful country and although the people don't speak excellent English, they all try to help. The IFMSAJapan team are super organized and the lab researchers actually made an effort to include us. The social programme and accommodation were great.

Would greatly recommend Japan and especially Kinki University in Osaka.

Never felt so welcome and comfortable on an exchange and I've been on many!

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MD 4 Â Country Visited: Japan Department: Immunology Overall application process: Past experience with IFMSA exchange applications Research Experience: Hospital/Department Standard: Moderate Social Program: Good!

Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: N/A Recommend the country/city visited: Yes Beautiful country, good social programme, excellent accommodation and amazing experience. Disadvantage is the language barrier (easily overcome with Google translate!)

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MD 2

Country Visited: Friedberg, Germany Department: Albert-Ludwig’s-Universität Freiburg Overall application process: Everything was very smooth and lots of help from both local and foreign exchange officers Research Experience: Hospital/Department Standard: High Social Program: Almost inexistent Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Definitely Recommend the country/city visited: Yes A country where everyone is very hard working and with very high standards.

Also, everyone was very welcoming

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MD 2 Â Country Visited: Germany, Ulm Department: Neurology Department, Ulm University Overall application process: Great! German students communicated with me quite readily and after a few months settled all the details Research Experience: Managed to get some great views of different methods used in a laboratory especially when it came to experiments done with mice!

Hospital/Department Standard: High Social Program: Great! German students couldn't come with us most of the times - but had prepared all the details of where to go and how to get there!

Overall exchange experience: Go on another exchange: Definitely Recommend the country/city visited: Yes Would definitely recommend it! Did not know any German, but many of the locals and students talked in English! The experiments I've seen and participated in where really informative and interesting.

Ulm is definitely not well known but very central and perfect for exploring the south of Germany. Its a really nice little city with a rather big cosmopolitan area and centre though still easy to get around and has a homely touch. Just an hour away from Stuttgart and Munich, really central!

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Stirling Elective Elective 2015 Including Feedback of Stirling 2014

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The Stirling Elective is an opportunity offered to all medical students who have successfully completed their 4th year of studies and will start their final year in September 2015. The elective takes place in August, in Forth Valley Royal Hospital. It includes a total of 4 clinical attachments (1 per week) focused mainly on surgical specialities. Thus, students must be highly interested in pursuing post-graduate studies in surgery.

Despite being award through the MMSA points system, this opportunity is not part of the IFMSA Exchange Programs and thus fees vary. All students must be Maltese citizens (stipulated by the Hospital). Students need to pay â‚Ź20 as an MMSA processing office fee. Accommodation and boarding is not including nor organized, however, students will be guided in the best options for this. There is a hospital registration fee of ÂŁ10 payable on arrival to the UK.

Have a look at some feedback from students who have been part of this elective in August 2014 to get a better insight at what this international opportunity has to offer.

More

information

regarding

details

on

the

Stirling

application process will be once the points ranking and exchange applications have been issued.

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Feedback Stirling Elective 2014

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The elective was more than we hoped for! The administration including Mr Camilleri-Brennan

were very approachable and helpful throughout the whole stay and also provided us with additional material such as notes and books to use whilst we were on elective. The 4 attachments we had were very well organised - each week we had a different rotation of the most important surgical specialities - General Surgery, Emergency, Vascular and Ortho/Urology. All the consultants we were attached with knew about us and were expecting us and allowed us to take a more hands-on approach by clerking and examining patients during wards rounds and outpatients, and going round the wards with the FY doctors taking bloods and primary investigations. Moreover, we had daily tutorials, most of which were OSCE based thus allowing us the opportunity to practice tackling cases in a way that we are not taught to do so at our Medical School. Furthermore, the library was very welcoming and opened 24/7!

Although we were living in Falkirk, the administration provided us with weekly bus tickets.

One disadvantage we encountered was that the Maltese elective students from previous years were accommodated in nearby bungalows in Labert (5 minutes away from the Hospital) but this was given to other Scottish Students who were doing their placement in Forth Valley Royal Hospital as well. We were living in the Junior Doctors Residence in Falkirk. The accommodation was very good as we had a common kitchen and living area with separate rooms and their ensuite bathrooms, but unfortunately it lacked WIFI! There was also no organised social programme as this was an Elective organised between MMSA and Mr Camilleri-Brennan but if the accommodation had been situated in another town (not Falkirk) we could have organised our own much more easily.

I truly recommend this experience to any 4th year medical student! I learnt so much and the staff was so helpful and accommodating throughout the whole experience. They even provided us with a number of tutorial presentations and notes, which will help me, pass my finals! The hospital is not a teaching hospital normally, and thus elective students are the centre of attention with consultants taking time out of their busy day to explain procedures and patients to you, helping you scrub up and assist in surgeries and even buying you a Starbucks coffee (found in the hospital!) once in a while!

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“The exchange was overall an excellent experience. We were received warmly by each firm who gave us opportunities to take active participation in our learning process. The administration was also helpful and did their best to accommodate us when possible. The best aspects of the exchange were the tutorials and the emergency workshop organised for us, which were always very informative. One suggestion for improvement is to include a social programme in the exchange, as it would allow a more holistic experience�

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Useful Links MMSA http://mmsa.org.mt/

IFMSA www.ifmsa.org

IFMSA Professional Exchange Conditions www.ifmsa.org/Exchange-Conditions/Professional-Exchange

IFMSA Research Exchange Conditions http://ifmsa.net/public/ecscoreselect.php

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Martina Bugelli

Professional And Research Exchange Officer – Outgoings 2014-2015

Email: neo.nore-out@mmsa.org.mt

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