Electives

• It is the responsibility of each medical student to select and arrange their own elective program. 
• Each student must complete a minimum of 10 weeks of clinical electives during the clerkship portion of the MD Program.
• Electives cannot be scheduled until students are aware of their rotation schedules. Students must receive an assessment from their preceptor in order to receive credit for an elective.
• Each medical student must complete a minimum of 10 weeks of clinical electives before the end of clinical terms of Year 4. 
• Clinical electives may be done at any Canadian medical school, LCME-accredited American medical school; international sites that are part of a formal exchange program; other approved gloal health sites; other sites as approved by the Electives & Selectives Coordinator.
• All clinical electives (including international electives, formal exchanges, electives at LCME-accredited medical schools, etc.) will count towards the minimum of 10 weeks of clinical electives required to graduate. All of these experiences will also count towards  visiting electives and electives diversification requirements.
• Each elective must be a minimum of two weeks duration, or 20 half-day contacts. A half-day contact is 4 to 6 hours duration. 
• Clinical electives cannot be more than four weeks duration. 
• Students can attend a maximum of six weeks summer electives, MED 528 (the optional Summer electives between years 2 and 3). Students may carry forward a maximum of four weeks credit from MED 528 to MED 547 Electives (Year 3) or MED 557 Electives (Year 4).  If a student wants to participate in optional summer electives when classes are finished in May, they must register in MED528 (both sections) and pay tuition.
• Students may carry clinical electives time forward from Year 3 to Year 4. 
• Students will not be granted credit for an elective that is supervised by a member of their immediate family, extended family or in-laws, or by anyone with whom they are involved in a close personal relationship. They will not be granted credit for an elective with their own personal physician or at a clinic at which they have been a patient within the previous 2 years as this would be considered to be a conflict of interest. 
• One clinical research elective of two weeks can also be approved by the Electives and Selectives Coordinator and count towards the elective requirement.
• Students are strongly encouraged to use electives to pursue a broad range of interests in addition to their chosen specialty. As a result, beginning with the class of 2021, the University of Alberta MD Program will subscribe to the national initiative to limit the maximum number of clerkship electives in one CARMS entry discipline to 8 weeks. This elective diversification policy extends to any clinical elective, including international electives and exchanges.
• Based on the Association of Faculties of Medicine in Canada (AFMC) 2022 guidelines, all visiting electives must be a minimum of 2 weeks long. Canadian medical students cannot exceed twelve weeks of visiting electives in total. Visiting electives includes those experiences in other Canadian medical schools, as well as those in LCME-accredited American schools, and international electives and exchanges.

NetCare & Connect Care - Depending on the elective, NetCare and/or Connect Care may be required.

NetCare

When access is required, visiting students must request access a minimum of 6 weeks before the elective start date. Please consult the "Netcare" information tab at the bottom of our Institution Profile for more information about how to request this access.

Connect Care

When access is required for an elective, visiting students will be sent details closer to the elective start date, as this is an in-class training and is NOT available currently online. Students will receive an email from AHS directly, not the department or the UME visiting electives.

In keeping with the AFMC Student Elective Diversification Policy, students may complete a maximum of eight weeks of electives in any single entry level CaRMS discipline. This will ensure a breadth of student experience and preparation for any potential career choice.

• Research electives do not count towards the eight week elective cap.
• Electives in subspecialties that are part of a PGY-3 (R3) match (e.g. Pediatrics, Internal Medicine) are counted as separate disciplines and do not count towards the eight week cap in the general specialty.
• Clinical electives must normally be a minimum of two weeks duration.
• Elective diversification extends to any clinical elective, including international electives and exchanges. 

For more information about elective diversification, including the list of CaRMS entry level disciplines, please refer to the Electives Diversification Policy.

The following sites & acronyms are used in the electives catalogue.

Students are encouraged to examine the opportunities available in the electives catalogue, but are not limited to these selections.

If you are in doubt about any elective, it is suggested that you discuss the matter with the coordinator, electives & selectives and/or the electives administrator prior to making firm arrangements.

The following instructions apply to U of A medical students.

The procedure for University of Alberta students to request and complete electives is outlined in the Booking & Confirming Electives Procedure. 

Procedure

Clinical Electives at the University of Alberta

1. The student finds an elective from the electives catalogue on the MD Program website.  Students are required to submit an elective request through MedSIS. Instructions on how to do that are available here: Submitting an electives request in MedSIS
2. For Rural Electives Only
   To request Rural electives, please contact the specific placement contact.
   • For electives in Red Deer, email Pam Nacinovich pam.nacinovich@ualberta.ca  
   • For electives in Grande Prairie, email Corrie Merchant merchant@ualberta.ca 
   • For all other electives email Kurfy Kangave dalsou@ualberta.ca
   • For all rural electives, provide 
     1. The title of the elective;
     2. Three (3) specific start - end dates, in order of preference; and 
     3. Your year of study at the time of the elective.  
   • The placement contact will provide you with available preceptors.  Students will contact the preceptor/s to arrange the elective and forward an email approval from the preceptor to the placement contact prior to submitting the elective request through MedSIS.   All rural electives need pre-approval by the preceptor, prior to submitting the elective request through MedSIS.
   • When arranging a rural elective, ensure that the preceptor is a physician in the discipline of the elective that you are requesting (eg. Anesthesiology electives must be with an Anesthesiologist)
3. All elective requests should be submitted through MedSIS a minimum of three weeks prior to the start date of the elective.
4. Only electives that have been entered in MedSIS by the submission deadline as determined by the MD Program for the CaRMS first iteration will appear on the student's CaRMS application.
5. The student must supply the name of the primary preceptor who will do their assessment (the preceptor they worked with the most or the one assigned to evaluate students on that elective). This document provides more information: Electives Flow
6. Electives must be recorded in Assess.Med by completing the top portion of the "Assessment of Elective Performance" form so that an assessment can be completed by your preceptor.  The form must be completed by the preceptor in order to receive credit for the elective. It is the student's responsibility to ensure the Assessment has been completed.
7. Electives should be cancelled by the student at least six weeks prior to the start date of the elective. Failure to do so may result in a professionalism lapse.

Failure to submit your elective request correctly will delay processing. This process is extremely important to follow since it protects students by providing malpractice insurance coverage. If students do not follow these steps, they run the risk of having no malpractice coverage.

Note: Based on the Association of Faculties of Medicine in Canada (AFMC) guidelines,Based on the Association of Faculties of Medicine in Canada (AFMC) 2022 guidelines, all visiting electives must be a minimum of 2 weeks long. Canadian medical students cannot exceed twelve weeks of visiting electives in total. Visiting electives includes those experiences in other Canadian medical schools, as well as those in LCME-accredited American schools, and international electives and exchanges.

The procedure for University of Alberta students to request and complete electives is outlined in the Booking & Confirming Electives Procedure:

• The student requests the elective through the AFMC portal. 
• The student forwards the official confirmation of the elective from the AFMC portal to the Electives Administrator in the MD Program. The elective is then entered into MedSIS. 
• The student is responsible for verifying that the elective appears in MedSIS before they start the elective. 
• The student provides the Electives Administrator with the name of the preceptor by the last day of the elective. 
• Electives must be recorded in Assess.Med by completing the top portion of the "Assessment of Elective Performance" form so that an assessment can be completed by your preceptor.  It is the student's responsibility to ensure the Assessment has been completed.
• Credit is granted when the preceptor completes an assessment of the student and a passing assessment of the student is received. Students can contact the Electives Administrator for assistance if they have difficulty getting the assessment complete. The Electives Administrator will follow-up on any outstanding assessments. 
• The student completes an elective evaluation of the elective within 21 days of completion, as prompted by MedSIS. 
• The Coordinator, Electives and Selectives receives any negative evaluations via MedSIS and Assess.Med and investigates as necessary.

All students undertaking international electives, including those in LCME-accredited medical schools in the United States, are required to complete the steps outlined in the International Electives Policy

In addition to the steps outlined in the International Electives Policy, any electives taking place in the United States must be approved by the electives coordinator by emailing electives@ualberta.ca and outlining the details of the elective; i.e. location, date, preceptor, topic.

1. It is the student's responsibility to submit ALL required documentation for the application to the medical school for their elective. For example, medical clearance forms, police record checks, etc.
2. If the elective is confirmed at the other medical school, the student then forwards to electives@ualberta.ca a confirmation email from the preceptor/administrator. The email should include the title of the elective, the location, start and end date of the elective and the preceptor first and last name and email address.
3. The elective will be entered in the student's schedule in MedSIS.
4. The student must supply to electives@ualberta.ca, the name of the primary preceptor who will do their evaluation (the preceptor they worked with the most or the one assigned to evaluate students for that elective).
5. Electives must be recorded in Assess.Med by completing the top portion of the "Assessment of Elective Performance" form so that an assessment can be completed by your preceptor.  In order to receive credit for an elective the form must be completed by your preceptor.  It is the student's responsibility to ensure the Assessment has been completed.
6. If the elective is cancelled for any reason, the UME Office, the preceptor and the department (where applicable) must be notified within two working days.

The Global Health Program of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry (FoMD) monitors all countries where students have requested electives, both Field Station and non-Field Station locations, on a regular basis for natural disasters, political instability, and potential exposure to disease. Students are assisted in finding new locations for electives if conditions in the country of their requested elective change prior to the scheduled date of the elective.

The Global Health Program is responsible for verifying that the following have been considered and are acceptable:

• potential risks to the health and safety of patients, students and the community
• the availability of emergency care
• the possibility of natural disasters, political instability and exposure to disease
• the objectives of the elective
• the number and type of patients seen
• the level and quality of supervisions and methods of teaching
• the working conditions
• any potential challenges to the code of medical ethics adopted by the home institution

It is assumed that the quality of electives at sites with which the University of Alberta has a formal agreement (e.g. Karolinska Institute, Graz, etc.), as well as electives at LCME-accredited medical schools in the United States, is high and student safety is not an issue.

All students undertaking international electives, including those in LCME-accredited medical schools in the United States and exchanges with sites the University of Alberta has a formal agreement with, are required to complete the steps outlined in the International Electives Policy

Prior to an international elective:

• Undertake the prerequisite 12 hour Global Health Education and Advocacy Elective (GHEA) organized by the MSA’s Jr. and Sr. officers of Global Health. They can be contacted at lo.globalhealth@gmail.com.The GHEA must be completed before an international elective or exchange. Students are only required to complete the elective once during their medical education.
• Participate in the Global Health Program’s pre-departure training day. This is a required activity each time a student registers for an international elective.
• Students must submit their application form (available on the Global Health Program’s Go Abroad website) at least 6 weeks prior to departure to allow the UofA's Risk Management and Insurance office to determine whether the UofA's insurance and WCB will cover students in that country. The University will purchase additional insurance coverage if required.
• Sign the Release of Liability Form
• Complete the Goals and Objectives Form
• Register their elective with the MD Program office (electives@ualberta.ca) so that it can be entered into MedSIS.
• If undertaking an elective in a low or middle income country (LMIC), attend a travel clinic for up-to-date information about vaccines and medications needed for the country in which they will be undertaking the elective. For the purposes of this document, low income countries are classified as having incomes of $1,005 or less and middle income countries as  $1,006 - $3,955 (World Bank classification, 2018).
• Take the University of Alberta International (UAI) Pre-Departure Orientation. Students who have completed the Pre-Departure Orientation previously do not need to repeat it for each international elective they are registered for. However, students must complete a new Risk Plan every year if they are registered for an international elective. For more information and to request that a Risk Plan be reset for an upcoming elective, contact uairm@ualberta.ca. 
• Register with UGo Off-Campus Travel Registry
• Register with the Government of Canada’s Registration of Canadians Abroad
• Listen to a vodcast about health risks and safety in international electives

Upon Arrival at the Elective:

• Upon arrival at your destination, email the FoMD’s Global Health Program (ghfomd@ualberta.ca) to inform them that you arrived at your elective safely.

After the Elective:

• If receiving bursary support from the Global Health program, students must complete a poster outlining their elective experience for the Global Health Fair which is hosted annually in the first week of February in collaboration with International Week. 
• Attend a post-elective debrief session organized by the Global Health program
• Complete the Global Health Program’s post-elective survey/evaluation form 

More information about how to participate in international exchanges, including Field Station and Non-Field Station Electives, IFMSA Exchanges, and European Electives can be found on the Global Health’s Going Abroad website and in the MD Program’s International Electives Policy.