research electives for second year students

hello guys!
this is a wonderfull forum. Does anyone here knows that you can get paid electives (accomodation, travel etc) in the USA? Anyone who does pls come up and tell us all about the experience.

Oh wow! Really? Yeah, I'd love to hear about that.... I would love to know what program offer it and where is it located and if its offered to everyone? Thanks for making us aware of this Najam87.

Najam87,

Unless you are a US citizen, a US permanent resident or hold a temporary work visa you will not be allowed to be employed and receive pay.

If you're a 2nd year student your best bet is to try and get a research elective where you will personally bear all the costs of travel, housing, etc. This will allow you to get some experience and make some contacts. After you have built up your CV, you can then try to get a paid research elective later on in your student career.

Oh ok. So I am a U.S. citizen so this would apply to me. Hey Rehan, do you know of any sites I can visit to gather some more information on this?

As far as I know, no one really hands out research electives. You can pay your way into a lot of clinical elective programs because most med schools expect you to do those as part of your basic requirements near you fourth or final year. Clinical electives are therefore openly offered throughout US hospitals and medical schools.

When it comes to research however, it's not required by anybody, and therefore you have to find them all on your own, and pay for all of your own costs. You may as well think of research electives as the same thing as "extracurriculars" on a college application. And since you're going to be doing research for someone on a very limited budget (as all research programs go), your chances of ever getting paid for a research elective are next to nil.

well....i have also heard that some students go frm pak to usa or england as clinical elcetives for a month or so...and they r also paid for it like stay and some stipement also(though travelling at ur own) .so if any body knows abt it,plz give me some websites or othr meanz to apply for that ...coz i dun know the procedure of how to apply for it.
Regards,

salamz people........hey i really need to know when i need to apply for an elective in the US...anyone with an experiance ...i wanna know about a good university hospital..which will except pakistani med students......i wanna go next summers as in july 2007....anyone out there..plz help....and one more thing...am a 4th year student but seemz...am tired of med all of a sudden...need new incentives.....suffering from mid medschool syndrome...hehe

hey, rehan, im in the middle of applying for a research elective at Hopkins, but their application form requires some kind of HIPAA compliance training programme or something, i just wanted to ask u, whether u did tht or not, when u applied, because it says that its compulsory that u complete this training, in order to get a spot.

Hey man, the HIPPA compliance training is something everyone does. First they give you a bit of reading material and at the end of it there's a short quiz to make sure you read it. It's really only about a 15 minute procedure and it's all done online. You don't have to worry about it until you get there. When you're going through your registration there on your first day, they'll even show you where you can take it right there in their office.

Nothing to worry about... Best of luck on the elective!

oh cool, i thought u had to give it online before u go there, in order to complete your application, coz thts what it says on the site, on the checklist of the application, but anyways thanx once again, cheers.

Hey guys. I am doing medicine from Karachi, Pakistan and I just recently passed my second year of MBBS. The thing is I really want to take an international elective in the Summer of 2009. But my seniors are divided on this, as they think its too early and a waste of money. Well I don't think finance is a problems long as I learn something relevant and useful. Plus, I'll be almost over with third year by June next year, so I will definitely have reached a significantly higher stage. So Rehan, and all you people, could you tell me when and where shall I apply. I am considering Concordia Hospital in Sydney and McGill. But I personally want to do perhaps a research elective from the US in the Summer of 2009. Could you guide me on this? And do you the fact that I have never travelled to US in the past is going to hinder my visa application or my application to the Hospital itself? And is the cost as high as my seniors make it sound to be?

I think going for research elective will not harm you as long as $ is not a problem for you! Infact it can do you a lot of good!! You have asked about going to Mcgill and Sydney universities, I think you should decide yourself where do you want to pursue you career because relevant experience either clinical or research in the field of your choice will best serve you if its done in the country where you want to do your post graduation.

Well most universities in the US do not have an official research elective program for international students unlike clinical electives. Most students arrange them by directly contacting the faculty in the US medical schools, you can do the same. Research elective does not only give you US research experience but also you make valuable contacts!! Some do manage to get some clinical exposure at the same time.

So definitely its worth going for. But it would be better if you first get some local research experience. Regarding your visa question, all of my friends got the visa for of electives, but it is always unpredictable sadly. Cost depends on several factors like state, university etc.

I hope this info is helpful