Electives / Selectives

Policy Statement

All over the world, there is a multitude of reforms under consideration in steering and innovating undergraduate medical education, the shortened preclinical curricula, integration of research into medical curriculum and early clinical exposures, as some of the paradigm shifts from traditional to integrated medical curriculum. This shift has further increased the fundamental importance of elective courses chosen by students based on their personal interests in the pursuit of their professional and personal development. The curriculum of the medical education program must include elective opportunities to supplement required course and clinical rotations.

Northwest School of Medicine (NWSM) is one of the pioneering medical institutes in KPK to have introduced, for the first time, an integrated medical curriculum in view of the rapidly advancing horizons of undergraduate medical education, and the increasing importance of national and international collaborations. NWSM will provide multiple electives/selectives opportunities for medical students locally, nationally and internationally.

Purpose

We, at NWSM, aim that our institution plays a guiding and leading role among private as well as public sector medical institutes to inculcate and promote critical thinking, scientific research activities and creativity among our graduates to further their innovative and leadership skills in clinical medicine as well as biomedical research, particularly in global health perspective.

Our commitment to and investment in national and international collaborations to acquire excellence across scientific and medical disciplines will strengthen the very foundation of medical careers of our future doctors.

We aim to provide a unique academic and clinical environment for our students to experience and practice healthcare in an unfamiliar and challenging clinical settings to broaden their horizons.

The institute aims to cultivate excellent clinical skills in students and to prepare them for successful achievement of their career goals in the clinical or biomedical field of their interest.

In addition, the school aims to expose the students to the fast-paced clinical environment both locally and abroad to observe advanced and diverse array of clinical practices to challenge their clinical knowledge and an insight into how diverse sociocultural dynamics influences healthcare.

 We are taking a pragmatic approach to this effort and have successfully started collaborating with institutions and organizations at national as well as international level for formal elective and observership programs, as a unique effort to sensitize our students to the practice of medicine in an open, integrated, diverse and at world-class level.

Scope

This policy covers all the undergraduate MBBS students of NWSM.

Specialities offering Electives/Selectives at NWSM/NWGH/NWTH

Medicine & Allied

  1. Cardiology
  2. Clinical Hematology
  3. Dermatology
  4. Diabetes & Endocrinology
  5. Gastroenterology
  6. General Medicine
  7. Medical Aesthetics
  8. Medical Oncology
  9. Nephrology
  10. Neurology
  11. Obstetrics and Gynecology
  12. Ophthalmology
  13. Paediatrics
  14. Psychiatry
  15. Pulmonology
  16. Radiation Oncology
  17. Rheumatology

Surgery and Allied

  1. Anesthesia
  2. Cardiac Surgery
  3. Cardiothoracic Surgery
  4. ENT
  5. Neurosurgery
  6. Orthopedics
  7. Pediatric Surgery
  8. Plastic Surgery
  9. Urology

Policy

  1. Starting form 3rd year MBBS, students will be prepared and required to complete 12 weeks of electives/selectives to be granted an Elective/Selectives Completion Certificate
  2. Medical students will be required to complete a total of 8 weeks of clinical/patient contact (non-research) elective/selective time in their 3rd, 4th and 5th year of medical school.
  3. Medical students may spend a maximum of 8 weeks taking electives/selectives at another institution that is not part of the medical school’s health system or affiliated with the medical school. This can be a local rural health setting, another tertiary care hospital in another city or an international health setting
  4. Students will be provided with a list of electives/selectives offered locally, nationally and internationally after MOUs are signed with prospective partnering elective sites

 

A. Suggested Local/National level elective program

  1. Tertiary care teaching hospitals
  2. Rural health settings/BHUs/RHCs, primary care settings
  3. Family Medicine Electives
  4. Other provinces

 

B. International Elective Program

Students will go for electives abroad, preferably in the summer holidays. The dates will be specified after mutual agreement with the partnering hospital abroad.

The elective will be arranged by NWSM after mutual understanding with collaborating organizations. The host hospital will help organize accommodation; however, the students will be responsible for the different aspects of electives, including choice of placement and travel and living costs. In addition, the administrative facilitation will be provided by NWSM.

The electives will be 4-12 weeks long depending on the choice of placement by student and the time limit offered by the placement site.

 

C. FORMS

  1. Electives/Selectives Application Form (Students apply for elective/selective through NWSM website. Click Here to apply)
  1. Electives/selectives worksheets/logs completed by students (submitted with DMER after completion)
  1. Summative Assessment Report Form (SARF) filled by elective/selective supervisor at chosen elective site (submitted with DMER after completion) (Download Here)
  1. Elective/Selectives Completion Certificate (Issued by DMER NWSM)

 

D. LEARNING & ASSESSMENT FOR ELECTIVES

  1. Students define their professional and personal objectives to further their individual progress
  2. During the elective/selective the students will use the framework of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) to achieve their elective/selective objectives – Checklist Attached
  3. The supervisor will assess the students on 7-roles of a doctor (Medical Expert, Communicator, Collaborator, Leader/Manager, Health Advocate, Scholar, Professional) at the end of elective/selective rotation using the Summative Assessment Report Form (SARF)
  1. Attend the orientation session for electives/selectives
  2. Define your professional and personal objectives for the elective/selective rotation
  3. Actively participate in all clinical learning activities happening in the chosen department/specialty
  4. Conduct yourself professionally as per NWSM Student Code of Conduct
  5. Keep a log of all your clinical encounters during elective/selective rotation
  6. Make sure your elective/selective supervisor completes your Summative Assessment Report Form (SARF)
  1. Complete and submit the Summative Assessment Report Form (SARF) of the student

Downloads

Students Testimonials

To help students plan their medical career with best possible options, NWSM has a mandatory electives policy. Our students
have the option to plan their electives at different medical placement sites at local, national and international level.

Every undergraduate medical student has a dream to be part of an American healthcare system. I was fortunate enough to have this opportunity in my 4th year of medical studies as a student from NWSM. In March of 2020, I had the privilege to go for a clinical elective at Broward Health, in Florida, which is a chain of medical group, one of the 10 largest public health systems in the US. This elective made me more passionate about the medical field and made me realize the strengths that could be implemented in our healthcare setup, like showing empathy to a patient during consultation and their extensive medical history being stored in an online database.
Faizan Qadir
Faizan QadirClass of 2021
A wonderful learning experience and a great opportunity to gain insight into the practice of primary healthcare in the US through NWSM. I had the opportunity to work and grow my medical knowledge during my 2-week period at Inova Alexandria Hospital in Alexandria, West Virginia. I had the opportunity to work with a very dedicated and qualified physician, which I was very grateful for, spending most of my time in the MS/CV ICU. My supervisor took time in teaching and familiarizing me with the US healthcare system. I would recommend this opportunity to all students who are seeking additional experience to improve their resume or aspire to do residency in the US.
Hira Zahid
Hira ZahidClass of 2021
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