Administrator, Visiting Electives
1151 Richmond Street
London, Ontario, N6A 3K7
The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University offers wonderful clinical and research elective opportunities. We are comprised of 14 clinical departments and 7 basic science departments. We offer elective experiences at our two campuses in London and Windsor and in over 60 communities throughout Southwestern Ontario. We welcome visiting medical students from both Canadian and non-Canadian schools. Please join us!
Please review the AFMC application window schedule for when to apply. Our London and Windsor sites will be offering international student electives during the summer months (May-August, 2026), with application windows running January-April, 2026. Our Rural/Regional sites are now open year-round for international student applications.
Submission of an application indicates an understanding and acceptance of all information on this page and on the tabs – please review prior to submitting an application.
Canadian student type = students registered in a full-time undergraduate MD program at a Canadian medical school within Canada.
With the exception to the Synergy Consent Form, Western University does not require you to upload documentation with your initial application. If an elective offer is extended and accepted, you will then have your documents reviewed through Synergy Verified. Please see the Synergy tab for more information.
The following documents are reviewed during your Synergy Verified Electronic Requirements Verification (ERV) appointment:
With exception to the Synergy Consent Form, Western University does not require you to upload documentation with your initial application. If an elective offer is extended and accepted, you will then have your documents reviewed through Synergy Verified. Please see the Synergy tab for more information.
The following documents are reviewed during your Synergy Verified Electronic Requirements Verification (ERV) appointment:
Western University does not require an affiliation agreement for electives processed through the AFMC Portal. However, if your home institution mandates an International Home School Single Elective Agreement, please promptly submit the document to the Visiting Electives Office at electives@schulich.uwo.ca once your elective is confirmed in the portal. Our legal team will review the agreement to assess its terms, which requires an extended processing time.
Pre-Placement Requirement Clearance in Partnership with Synergy Verified
Western University has partnered with Synergy Verified to provide support and clearance for pre-placement requirements. You will not be required to upload prerequisite documents into the AFMC portal with your initial application. Once you have applied, and if a visiting elective placement offer is made and accepted, you will then undergo prerequisite verification through Synergy Verified.
To have your documents validated, you must book an ERV appointment through Verified, a proprietary platform used by students across Ontario for the purpose of digitally collecting placement requirements and documentation for verification.
As part of your visiting elective application, you will need to complete and upload a Synergy Consent Form providing consent for your personal information to be shared with Synergy for the purpose of pre-placement clearance. This form must be completed in its entirety, including MINC or student number and alternate email address.
Your ERV Appointment
After you have accepted a visiting elective offer, your information will be turned over to Synergy. Once Synergy has added you to their system, you will receive login credentials to access your Verified account. Please monitor your primary and secondary email addresses for your activation email, including spam folders. If you do not receive your activation email, please contact the Visiting Electives Office. You will use Verified to:
It is recommended that you complete your Synergy Verified clearance appointment within 3 weeks of accepting your visiting elective offer. You are encouraged to book your review early as appointment times will fill and follow-up reviews may be required. The final deadline by which you need to have passed your review appointment is one week prior to your elective start date. Failure to do so will result in your elective being cancelled.
Ensure all pre-placement documents are uploaded to your account by 9:00am on the day of your appointment. If documents are missing or a requirement is not complete, you will not be cleared for placement and will need to book a follow-up appointment for an additional fee.
You do not need to be “present” on the day of your appointment – this is the date that staff at Synergy Verified retrieve your documents for review. Your Verified account status will be updated (pass/fail/pending) once your documents have been reviewed and verified by Synergy staff. There is a two-business day turnaround for your status to update following your review appointment.
Please review the Synergy package linked below, based on your student type for process and required documents. Also linked below is the Synergy Consent Form, that must be uploaded with your AFMC application.
Synergy Pre-Placement Requirement Clearance Information – Canadian Students
Synergy Pre-Placement Requirement Clearance Information – International Students
École | Frais de demande d’admission des étudiants canadiens | Frais d’acceptation des étudiants canadiens | Frais de demande d’admission des étudiants International | Frais d’acceptation des étudiants International | Frais supplémentaires en dehors du portail |
Western University | $0 | $100 | $500 | $445 |
No Elective in any Department/Division/location of learning for a Schulich Medicine faculty will be approved if it limits or restricts the opportunity for MD Program students undergoing Year 3 Clerkship or Year 4.
No clinical electives for AFMC School students in senior years will be undertaken unless formally registered through the AFMC Portal. Lack of registration results in no insurance for students and breach of College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario policies.
Observerships have no Western University (academic) status. Medical learners who wish to arrange an observership must do so by contacting the hospital where they wish to have observer status.
If any documents are found to have been signed by a parent or a relative, you will be removed from our electives list and your money will not be refunded. Your home school will be notified as this is a breach of professionalism. Upload only the requested and required documentation into one pdf file. Do not upload extraneous health information.
Decisions of the Schulich MD Program are final and cannot be appealed.
Western University, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, is located in London, Ontario. The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry has hospital and partner training sites all over Southwestern Ontario covering a geographical area of approximately 400 km2. Sites stretch as far south as Windsor to as far north as Goderich, and as far west as Sarnia to as far east as St. Thomas.
London, Ontario
London Family Medicine
Distributed Education (Rural/Regional Community Site Placement)
Windsor-Essex County, Ontario
Hospital Onboarding Requirements/eLearning
You will receive an email from support@nirvsystem.com approximately 4 to 6 weeks prior to your start date. This email will provide you with the specific hospital requirements. If you do not receive it please check your SPAM folder.
Please do not make any travel arrangements unless you have a confirmed elective.
There is no funding for transportation or accommodation provided for visiting student electives. Transportation and accommodation need to be arranged by the student, at the student’s expense.
Helpful Links
The Formulaire d’immunisation et de tests de dépistage du Portail des étudiants de l’AFMC 2024 is now available.
All students entering the AFMC Student Portal process for the first time must use the 2024 form.
Note that applicants from Canadian medical schools should not upload actual proof of immunizations unless required. Only upload the fully completed immunization (plus completed addenda as and where required).
Note that applicants from International medical schools must also upload proof of the information completed on the immunization form (i.e., childhood immunization records (yellow card), titers, lab reports, physician letters together with the fully completed immunization form).
The AFMC Immunization Form must be fully completed and reviewed during your Synergy Verified ERV appointment, after an elective placement is offered and accepted.
Proof of Influenza immunization is only required from students who will complete an elective between October and March of each year.
Clarification Regarding Special Requirements for Western Applicants
Relevant Policies
It is the sole responsibility of every visiting student to ensure that their home school assessment form (maybe known as an elective evaluation form) has been completed by their preceptor and returned to their home school.
Schulich administration will not be responsible for tracking down any assessment forms after the student has returned to their home school.
Should a homeschool require a completed elective assessment/evaluation, then the student must provide such directly to the preceptor at the time of the elective.
The supervising physician or resident is responsible for assessing students while on an elective. Electronic requests prior to or after completion of the elective will not be completed.
Western does not require or keep a copy of any of the completed forms.
Preceptors are Western appointed physicians/residents and can duly complete and sign these assessment/evaluation forms on behalf of the Western Visiting Student Electives Office.
If you are experiencing difficulty getting your home school assessment completed, please reach out to electives@schulich.uwo.ca.
Western does not arrange observerships as it is not for academic credit. For information, please visit the individual clinical department’s website for full information on how to apply for an observership.
No. Fees are non-refundable. For this reason, we strongly encourage students to read all of our requirements before submitting their application.
Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, Anesthesia, and Surgery.
Prerequisite documentation is not required during the application process. If an elective placement is offered and accepted, visiting elective students will then have their documentation reviewed through a third-party organization, Synergy Verified. See the Synergy tab for more information.
No. This ensures that all students have appropriate coverage.
All schools require a baseline TB assessment upon entry into medical school, as outlined on the AFMC Form. In addition, Western University requires a repeat TST for students who answered “Yes” to any of the three TB exposure questions found in Section F. Tuberculosis (TB) of the AFMC Form. Quantiferon is NOT the gold standard when being used for the purposes of health care screening.
Here are the Canadian TB standards:
Repeat Chest X-ray: All schools require students with a positive TST documented or any other positive TB history to have a chest X-ray dated subsequent to the positive TST or other positive TB history. A routine repeat or recent chest X-ray is not required unless there is a medical indication (e.g., symptoms of possible TB disease), Attach the report (or letter from a TB physician specialist or TB clinic report describing the film). This requirement does not apply to the following situations:
Situations in which TST is recommended for testing but an IGRA is NOT acceptable:
And the Ontario Hospital Standards:
No. Students are not to contact a preceptor or department directly to arrange an elective. Failure to comply may result in a Letter of Professionalism and/or cancellation of your application.
No. We will only discuss your application with you.
While we appreciate your enthusiasm, giving a gift of monetary value is discouraged as it can put the preceptor in an awkward position. Please feel free to show your appreciation with a hand-written letter or card expressing your thanks.
If requested – some departments may request that elective students complete an evaluation of the staff they have spent time with.
You may bring an evaluation form from your school and have the preceptor complete the form during the rotation. Please return the fully completed home school evaluation form to your home school as Western does not require a copy.
Le Portail des étudiants de l’AFMC pour les stages à option pour étudiants visiteurs est actuellement fermé. Les stages à option pour étudiants visiteurs pour la classe de 2022 ont été suspendus à l’issue de la réunion du Conseil d’administration de l’AFMC qui s’est tenue le 18 avril 2021. Cette mesure englobe les stages à option pour les étudiants canadiens et pour les étudiants internationaux. Les doyens des Études prédoctorales des facultés de médecine canadiennes se réunissent régulièrement pour discuter des enjeux et la décision de rouvrir le Portail sera prise de manière collaborative et uniforme dans tout le pays en tenant compte des occasions d’apprentissage, des restrictions provinciales en matière de Covid et d’autres préoccupations de santé publique.
Nous travaillons avec notre nouveau fournisseur de services à la création du nouveau Portail. Il sera prêt lorsque les stages à option pour étudiants visiteurs seront à nouveau offerts.
Le portail des étudiants de l’AFMC sera hors ligne à partir du 23 décembre 2021. Le portail amélioré sera accessible à la fin du mois de février 2022.
Les candidats au programme d’aide financière du MCAT® pourront vérifier leur admissibilité et soumettre leur demande sur notre site web de l'AFMC.
Nous vous prions de nous excuser pour ce désagrément et vous remercions de votre patience.
Si vous avez des questions, veuillez contacter le service d’assistance à l’adresse suivante : service@afmcstudentportal.ca
