Failure to comply with any policies may result in cancellation of your elective and/or application, and/or a Letter of Professionalism.

EVALUATIONS

Should an evaluation for this rotation be required, please remember to bring a copy of the appropriate form from your home University. Should you need assistance tracking down an assessment post-elective please contact the UGME office at intl.electives@dal.ca

1. ELIGIBILITY

INTERNATIONALS & CANADIAN STUDENTS STUDYING ABROAD

“International” student type = Students abroad, including Canadian citizens/permanent residents registered in a full-time undergraduate MD program at a FAIMER/WHO or LCME accredited medical school outside Canada.

Students must be in their final year of undergraduate studies and have completed five core rotations (Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry or Surgery) prior to the start of the desired elective date. Students requesting Emergency Medicine and Emergency EMS electives MUST have their Emergency core completed prior to the start of the elective (no exceptions). Your application will not be processed if all five core rotations, whether completed and/or scheduled, are not entered.

2. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

PRECEPTOR SEARCH

Learners are prohibited from contacting their own preceptor. Departments will attempt to match you to a preceptor in your preferred area of specialty or community.

CONTACTING DEPARTMENTS DIRECTLY

The departments listed in the link below, and only these departments, should be contacted directly to arrange an elective. You will only have to submit your application if the department tells you they have a spot for you. For all departments not listed, please apply directly via the AFMC Student Portal.

Please refer to the Department Contacts tab for contact information

ELECTIVE CAPACITY

Please note that the elective portal capacity feature is not an indication of capacity, but rather a representation of all the electives we offer throughout an academic year. Therefore, an elective may or may not be available for your intended timeline. Dalhousie University implements black outs for electives that are unavailable. Please check elective opportunities via the AFMC Student Portal. We endeavour to have these as up to date as possible.

NUMBER OF ELECTIVES

• Learners can apply for multiple electives at Dalhousie University; however, we do not accept multiple applications for the same dates. The maximum number of choices is five per application.
• The maximum combined elective duration is four weeks per calendar year, while the maximum combined elective duration is eight weeks per academic year. Our academic year is September to August.

PROCESSING TIMES

We try to obtain a response from departments within four weeks of receiving the application; however, this varies depending on preceptor availability.

CONFIRMATION TIMELINE

We will attempt to secure a placement until eight weeks prior to the elective start date. All applications are processed on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If an elective has not been secured by this time, applications will be cancelled to provide students the opportunity to book an elective at their home school.

Due to capacity, we cannot guarantee that all applicants will receive a confirmed elective.

The timeline in which students receive a confirmation is subject to variables, such as:

• If there is capacity in the elective choices provided on the application.
• How many times elective choices are changed/updated.
• How quickly the department/preceptor provides confirmation of availability.

3.DOCUMENT REQUIREMENTS

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT DEPARTMENTS WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT AFMC REQUIRED DOCUMENTS.

WITH APPLICATION SUBMISSION

• A recent and clear photo of yourself (Registrant Account)
  • Colour photo only. Black and white photos are not accepted.
• AFMC Student Portal Immunization and Testing Form
• COVID Vaccination
• Letter of Good Standing with the following details:
  • Your full name(s) and last name
  • The program you are registered in as well as the program length in years and the language of education. Our electives are only offered in English.
  • That you are in academic good standing, your current year of the program and that you are approved to do a clinical elective as part of your curriculum requirements.
  • Expected graduation date (day, month, and year).
• Police Records Check for Service with Vulnerable Sector
  • Must be valid within 12 months of the end date of the placement.
• Completed or Scheduled Core

• Proof of language competence

• Canadian students must upload a driver’s licence or passport.

CLOSER TO ELECTIVE START DATE

• Influenza vaccine
• Proof of current N95 Mask Fitting
• Proof of current CPR-HCP or BLS

IMPORTANT NOTES

• Elective requests will not be accepted that are less than 16-weeks or more than 26-weeks from the start date.
• Electives start on Monday and end on Friday (except holidays). Emergency Medicine – Halifax electives end on Sunday. Your confirmation letter will have the correct dates.
• Add any additional available dates in the comments section. These are not considered official elective requests – they are just comments that departments may consider. Official requests are only those entered as an elective request in the application.
• Choices are processed in the order in which they are entered in your application.
• In the comment section, PRIOR to submitting your application, add any additional information that you want departments to see (i.e., preceptor and/or language preferences, etc.).

• All clinical electives must be done for academic credit. We do not offer core clinical training, pre-clinical electives, or observerships through the AFMC Student Portal.
• After being confirmed for an elective, it is okay to communicate with the Placement Contact to clarify scheduling or program specific details.
• Under no circumstances can new dates be requested or renegotiated after an elective offer is accepted by the applicant.

CONTACTING DEPARTMENTS

Do not phone contacts (email only).

If a department is not listed below, it means they do not wish to be contacted directly. Please apply directly via the AFMC portal

If you do contact the department directly and receive an elective offer, it will not be officially confirmed until:

• An application is submitted via the AFMC Portal, and the student is confirmed by UGME as being eligible; AND,
• The elective is accepted by the department and the student; AND,
• The student receives a confirmation letter from UGME.

Note: If you receive an offer from a department, please submit your application immediately to ensure there is enough time for it to be fully processed before your offer expires or ends up outside the 16-week window. Also, it may take several days for Dal to process your application.

Do not contact one department while you have another application request or communication with another department processing for the same dates, or your application and/or elective(s) may be cancelled.

• Anaesthesia/Chronic Pain (Halifax, NS)

Allister Barton — Allister.Barton@dal.ca

• Diagnostic Radiology (Halifax, NS)

Melissa MacLeod — Melissa.MacLeod@dal.ca

• Emergency Medicine – Emergency Medical Services (Halifax, NS)

Jennifer Day — ugemportfolio@nshealth.ca

• Emergency Medicine (Halifax, NS)

Jennifer Day —ugemportfolio@nshealth.ca

• Obstetrics & Gynecology (Halifax NS)

Mary Boudreau – Mary.Boudreau@dal.ca

Includes the following: General Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Urogynecology, Reproductive Endocrinology, and Gynecology Oncology.

• Pediatrics – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine (NICU) (Halifax, NS)

Wendy Mitchell — Wendy.Mitchell@iwk.nshealth.ca

• Pediatrics – Endocrinology

Cheryl-Ann Langley – Cherylann.langley@iwk.nshealth.ca

• Pediatrics – General Pediatrics (PMU) (Halifax, NS)

Dr. Joanna Holland – Joanna.Holland@iwk.nshealth.ca

• Pediatrics – Hematology & Oncology

Jennifer Curran – Jennifer.Curran@iwk.nshealth.ca

• Psychiatry – All Subspecialties (Halifax and Dartmouth, NS)

Parisa Abdi Sabouhi – Psych.Undergrad@dal.ca

• Public Health and Preventative Medicine (Colchester/East Hants, NS)

Katherine Beaton – katherine.beaton@nshealth.ca

• Psychiatry (Colchester/East Hants, NS)

Katherine Beaton – katherine.beaton@nshealth.ca

• Radiation Oncology (Halifax, NS)

Karen Watts – KarenA.Watts@nshealth.ca

• Sports Medicine (Halifax, NS)

Felicia Licht – Felicia@stanishortho.com

• Surgery (Halifax, NS)

Sheila Reid — Sheila.Reid@Dal.Ca

Includes the following: Cardiac, General, Neurosurgery, Orthopedic, Pediatric General, Pediatric Neurosurgery, Pediatric Orthopedic, Plastic, Thoracic, and Vascular.

• Surgery – Otolaryngology (Halifax, NS)

Brenda Oake — Brenda.Oake@Dal.Ca

• Urology (Halifax, NS)

Paula Snow— Paula.Snow@nshealth.ca