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

Thanks a lot Faizan. I personally want to do it in the States, but just recently I've had seniors discouraging me that its going to be a burden financially. Yes, money isn't a problem but as long as its not some ridiculous amount that I wasn't aware of. I want to do my post-graduate in USA, and so I believe a research elective in USA (Perhaps John Hopkins where I plan on applying) would be helpful too. And how is a University or State going to affect my cost? Though if I still can't help it, I would settle for the one thats costly anyway since I really want to go ahead with it.
Plus, you said I could make 'valuable' contacts there. Could you elaborate it a little. And one more thing. I've also been hearing this a lot lately that I shouldn't go for the Elective alone to US or Sydney because it becomes difficult there if you don't go with friends etc. Since most of my friends are applying to other countries/hospitals, I am pretty sure I'll have to be on my own. Though I don't personally think its a problem, but do you think it'll be difficult considering I haven't been to either States or Australia before.
Thanks.

Hey sorry for another quote but I just read in another thread what your wrote about the cost:

Originally Posted by Aurasatreya
Hello, Rehan
I was interested in applying for Johns Hopkins for a clerkship...
Wanted to know if the clerkship as such is free or paid and other costs involved..just a rough estimate would do
Thank you in anticipation of your response.

Auras
For 5 weeks of research elective, this is the least that you have to bear

Registration Fee: 250$
Health Insurance: 210$
Airfare: 1300-1500$
Accomodation: 500$
Other expeses: 300$

total:2700-3000$


Does these costs still hold true, I mean even today? So what do other expenses mean? Does it include food? I'm a little concerned about the whole Haram/Halal issue too. I honestly just want to make up my mind so I can concentrate on what disciple I want to take for the research amongst other things. I just feel really excited about it, just hope I get accepted somewhere within US. Research is something I really want to do!

Would anyone happen to know what the difference is between "research" and a "research elective"? I know that research elective implies getting some sort of school credit for the time you spend on the job, but lets say you're doing research with a certain faculty member at a university -- is that the same thing as doing a research elective or is there maybe an important difference between the two?

No difference. I only call it a 'research elective' in Pakistan. In the US it's just research.

Clinical electives are usually just called 'away rotations' over there.

So, if you do an elective in second or third year, and you get a letter of recommendation from the doctor you were under, that's still valid or whatever when you apply for residency right? I mean, it could be quite a substantial amount of time between doing an elective and applying for residency. I was just wondering if that makes a difference, whether such things expire or something...There's not some sort of limit on how old letters of recommendation can be, is there?

I am in first year M.B.B.S and want to do research elective in Pakistan in summer 2009. I can find no place where i can do that in Pakistan. PIMS do have research electives but thats only for PostGrduates and not for M.B.B.S students. I really want to do research electives in General or Neuro Surgery. Even shifa does not allow the Students to do research electives untill they graduate. Shifa is offering me research electives only in Community Medicine. Should i do that or try for residency in surgery as i want to become a General or Neuro Surgeon in future INSHALLAH.I want especially Rehan or MastahRiz to answer.Thankyou

Is going to another city or going abroad an option for you? AKU might let students participate in research electives, though I'm not 100% sure about that. If you don't mind spending your summer break abroad, then you can easily get a research elective at a number of places. If going abroad is not an option however, then I would recommend that you go ahead and participate in the community medicine project, as some sort of research is still better than nothing.

Hello Rizwan, If have a query. If i go to USA in my third year in summer vacations for electives, is it possible to do both clinical and research electives simultaneously in the 5 to 6 weeks period? This will save time and money and i can also get both the clinical and research electives in my hand at the same time.