IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS

See the Immunizations Requirements tab for details. For immunization enquiries, contact the Health Screening Office at 905-525-9140 ext. 22249, hrsadmin@mcmaster.ca.

CRIMINAL RECORD REQUIREMENTS

Please see the Documents Requirements tab for details.

LANGUAGE

Must be fluent in English.

International Students must provide proof of English proficiency.  Students that do not meet the minimum requirements will not be permitted to conduct their elective

Valid Proof consists of one of the following:

1. Letter from your home school indicating that the language of instruction and examination is in English
2. IELTS with a minimum overall score of 6.5
3. TOEFL with a minimum overall score of 86

N95 MASK FIT TESTING

Students must provide proof of valid N95 Mask Fit or will need to indicate they will schedule testing upon arrival.

Requirements:

-Must be one of these mask types:  3M1870+, 1860, 1860s, 1804, 1804s.

-Mask Fit test cannot be more than 2 years old.

If either of the above criteria is not met you will need to book a new mask fit session.

A PAPR unit and training is available to students who require it.  The student must notify our office once the elective is confirmed and we will connect you with the Health Record Screening (HRS) office for assistance.  HRS will confirm with the student but, estimated costs are $800 CAD ($400 deposit and $400 for consumables).

COMMUNICATION

Visiting students are strictly prohibited from contacting preceptors, faculty, or department administrators to arrange elective requests outside of the AFMC Student Portal. Any attempts to do so are considered unprofessional, and a Letter of Unprofessionalism may be sent to your home school. All elective requests must be handled by the UGME Elective Office. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that all applicants will secure an elective.

To protect applicant privacy and comply with provincial privacy legislation, all communication regarding elective applications will be conducted directly with the applicant only. We are unable to discuss application details with parents, guardians, or third parties.

CONFIRMATION

Once an elective has been confirmed, there will be no changes permitted. Please refer to the cancellations and change requests tab for further information.

TEACHING SITES

Electives are available in Hamilton, Niagara, Waterloo campuses and our Mac-CARE regions listed in the table below.

Important notice for visiting elective students

McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine does not provide housing, travel, and preceptor funding for visiting elective placements in any of the regions.

Please click here to view a map of any of our McMaster regions.

MAC-CARE ELECTIVE PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Campus & Communities within Campus:

• Burlington Clinical Education Campus
  Burlington
• Grand Erie Six Nations Clinical Education Campus
  Brantford
  Caledonia
  Delhi
  Dunnville
  Hagersville
  Ohsweken
  Paris
  Simcoe
• Halton Clinical Education Campus
  Halton Hills
  Milton
  Oakville
• Niagara Regional Campus
  Beamsville
  Fort Erie
  Grimsby
  Niagara Falls
  Niagara-on-the-Lake
  Port Colborne
  St. Catharines
  Smithville
  Welland
• Waterloo Regional Campus
  Cambridge
  Fergus/Elora
  Guelph
  Kitchener-Waterloo
  Mount Forest
  Palmerston

OBSERVERSHIP AND SHADOWING

• Only requests for clerkship electives are processed by the Visiting Electives office at McMaster University.
• Requests for pre-clerkship electives, observerships, and job shadowing of physicians is not permitted at any of our hospital teaching sites.

Travel &
Accommodation

Students are advised to make arrangements for accommodation before arrival. All communications and arrangements are the sole responsibility of the student. The Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University assumes no responsibility. It is recommended not to make binding arrangements until written confirmation of an elective placement is received from the Visiting Electives Office.

The following resources are available:

• Hamilton Region
• McMaster University Off-Campus Housing
• Hamilton Tourism or Tourism@hamilton.ca
• MedsHousing or Airbnb

Cancellation &
Change Requests

Canadian Students

Cancellation policy and professionalism

1. Elective changes are not permitted once you have accepted an elective offer. This applies to dates, duration, and specialties.  There are no exceptions to this policy.
2. Once an elective is confirmed and accepted, there will be no refund for cancelled placements.
3. Students are only allowed to cancel an elective if they have a mitigating circumstance. In order to cancel you must receive approval from your home school and they must notify us.
4. Please note a career change is not considered a mitigating circumstance and is not considered an acceptable reason for cancellation.
5. If the above polices are not followed, students may be cited for a breach of professionalism.
6. Students are expected to follow the code of conduct for McMaster University and its affiliated sites

International Medical Students and CSAs

Cancellation policy and professionalism

1. Elective changes are not permitted once you have accepted an elective offer. This applies to dates, duration, and specialties.  There are no exceptions to this policy.
2. Once an elective is confirmed and accepted, there will be no refund for cancelled placements.
3. Should a student decide to cancel an elective once it is confirmed, they are required to notify the Visiting Electives office at least six (6) weeks prior to the commencement of the elective start date.
4. If a student cancels an elective less than six (6) weeks prior to the start date, the home school will need to be notified in writing. Cancelling an elective at this point is deemed unprofessional.
5. Students are expected to follow the code of conduct for McMaster University and its affiliated sites

Evaluations and Assessment

Students are responsible for providing their preceptor with an elective assessment form from their home university.

If students do not receive the completed form within 2 weeks of the elective’s end, they must inform McMaster University’s Electives Office (electug@mcmaster.ca) who will follow-up with the preceptor and department to ensure completion of the assessment.

Students must also complete this form attesting that their evaluation form has been completed:  https://forms.ofice.com/r/jcYcPHSqJu

Some departments may request that elective students complete an evaluation of the staff they have spent time with.

Documents Requirements

IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS

See Immunization Requirements tab for details

 CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT FORM

• In order to obtain computer access at HHSC sites, you are required to complete and submit a Confidentiality Agreement Form (CAF) through the AFMC portal.

 Computer/IT/Patient File Access

Students will be contacted regarding mandatory computer access training session prior to the start of their elective.

POLICE RECORDS CHECK / VULNERABLE SECTOR SCREENING

Criminal Record Policy – Canadian Students ONLY

Students with a home school in Canada are required to accurately list all prior addresses they have resided for more than six months consecutively over the past five years on their Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) application.

When applying for a visiting elective, students must upload a pdf of their VSC with their application on the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) portal. Failure to upload this documentation may result in delayed processing of an elective application or a cancelled elective.

It is recognized that similar documentation may be a requirement of the student’s home university therefore, VSCs must be issued with McMaster University or the student’s home school listed as the requesting agency.

VSCs must be dated within 12 months of the end date of the elective. If a student’s current VSC will expire before or during the elective, the student may submit their current document with their application but must, at least 8 weeks prior to the elective start date, upload a new VSC that is valid until the end of the elective.

Visiting Elective students must make readily available the original copies of uploaded VSCs as they can be requested for verification by the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, the FHS Professionalism Office or the clinical site when attending an elective. Failure to produce original copies when requested may result in a cancelled elective

For Toronto Police Record Requests: once your elective is confirmed please email fhsprof@mcmaster.ca with your full name, AFMC application number and your Toronto home address so that an agency code can be provided which will allow you to request a VSC via their online process.  In the interim, a previous police check or letter stating your intent to obtain a Toronto VSC should be uploaded with your application.

If your police services require a personalized letter, please contact fhsprof@mcmaster.ca.

Criminal Record Policy – International Students ONLY (including CSAs)

1. International students (which includes Canadian citizens who are studying abroad-CSA) are required to provide a Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) or equivalent from each country or territory that they have resided for more than six months consecutively for the past five years.
2. VSCs must be dated within 12 months of the end date of the elective. If a student’s current VSC will expire before or during the elective, the student may submit their current document with their application but must, at least 8 weeks prior to the elective start date, upload a new VSC which is valid until the end of the elective.
3. Once the VSC is obtained, the document must be scanned and uploaded onto the AFMC portal.

Failure to submit the VSC will result in the AFMC application not being processed.

Visiting Elective students must make readily available the original copies of uploaded VSC as they can be requested for verification by the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, the FHS Professionalism Office or the clinical site when attending an elective. Failure to produce original copies when requested may result in a cancelled elective.

For Toronto Police Record Requests: once your elective is confirmed please email fhsprof@mcmaster.ca with your full name, AFMC application number and your Toronto home address so that an agency code can be provided which will allow you to request a VSC via their online process.  In the interim, a previous police check or letter stating your intent to obtain a Toronto VSC should be uploaded with your application.

McMaster University IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS

ALL students must be cleared by the Health Screening Office at least 4 weeks prior to their elective start date.

Health Screening Office contact:  hrsadmin@mcmaster.ca, 905-525-9140 ext. 22249

 AFMC Student Portal Immunization and Testing Form: 

https://afmcstudentportal.ca/immunization/

 COVID-19 vaccines: 

• Primary vaccination series according to NACI guidelines mandatory.  Copies of original records or government issued certificate required.   
• For more information see COVID-19 vaccine: Canadian Immunization Guide, https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/canadian-immunization-guide-part-4-active-vaccines/page-26-covid-19-vaccine.html
• Students must contact the Health Screening Office regarding requests for a medical or non-medical exemption; exemptions provided by the home school are not accepted.  

 Influenza vaccine:

• Current seasonal vaccine required for electives occurring between November and June.
• Provide proof of vaccination directly to the placement site when you arrive for your elective, OR provide a letter from a physician with your application if unable to receive the vaccine due to medical reasons. 

 Blood Borne Viruses (Hepatitis C, HIV):

• Serologic testing for blood borne viruses mandatory ONLY for confirmed electives in obstetrics, gynecology, emergency and all surgical specialties.

• Copies of lab reports for Hepatitis C and HIV serology required. Tests must be dated after March 1^st the year of medical school entry OR within 4 years of the elective start date, whichever is LATER.
• Students who have infection of blood borne viruses must SELF-REPORT their status to the McMaster Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education (905-525-9140 ext. 22141)