Year 4 (Electives)

Electives in Family Medicine provides students with the opportunity to study an area of interest in greater depth and fill in personal knowledge gaps through a self-directed program in London or one of our surrounding rural regional communities.

Electives are open to Western medical students as well as Visiting students from Canada and International schools. Preference is given to Canadian medical schools from September to December each year.

Request Process

Process for Requesting an Elective – Western Students

Electives in Family Medicine can be 2 - 4 weeks long, taking place in London or one of the surrounding communities. Students are given the option to arrange their own Family Medicine electives directly with the preceptor, or they can contact the Program Coordinator to assist in finding an appropriate physician.

Please note requests can be made to the Program Coordinator starting on March 1 for the Fall time period. Electives are booked on a first come first serve basis.

Electives can be arranged for London or surrounding rural sites. Travel and accommodation expenses will be reimbursed for travel outside of London (see the expenses page for more information). Our Department is independent from electives through the SWOMEN program.

Communities Available: Preceptors can be selected from the Community Sites page or can be arranged with a family physician who is: A certificant of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CCFP) OR a member of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). The Canadian Medical Directory is a good resource for CCFP information. Unfortunately, information on CFPC membership is not published.

Request through Department: After you review the community sites available, send an email to the Program Coordinator indicating your request, including dates requested (more than one date range if applicable) and your preferences for a preceptor. Your request will be sent to the physician, and once confirmed, the Program Coordinator will contact you by email. Please allow 4-6 weeks for confirmation of an elective. You may also contact the preceptors directly to arrange an elective.

Request through preceptor: If you arrange an elective in Family Medicine, please report your preceptor and dates to Kari McLennan. This is for Windsor, ERMEP, NOSM, ROMP electives or electives with non-faculty members. It is very important that Family Medicine is aware of your elective so that forms can be sent to the preceptors prior to the start of the elective for award nomination purposes and other Department requirements.

Malpractice/Liability Insurance: Students with unapproved or informal elective arrangements are not covered. This puts the student and preceptor at risk and will not be registered as an official elective with Schulich School of Medicine.

Process for Requesting an Elective - Visiting Student Electives (Non-Western Students)

If you are a non-Western student, looking to do an elective in Family Medicine, you will need to apply to the Visiting Student Elective Program for approval and confirmation. Please see Visiting Students section below for more information.

Available Electives

Community Sites

For a list of available practices in London and Rural areas, please see the Community Sites page. Only those sites labelled as 'electives' are available. Please note our rural locations commutable to London fill up fast, as well as our academic centres.

Public Health Elective Opportunity

Objectives:
1. To increase the student's knowledge of public health (i.e. health protection, disease prevention,
health promotion, population health, and determinants of health).
2. To increase the student's knowledge of the role of public health units.
3. To raise awareness of how physicians can work effectively with public health units.

Marginalized Communities Selective

This selective can be viewed as an opportunity for those who are interested in exploring global health Issues outside the realm of an international experience. It is also a great opportunity to prepare students for future international experiences as this will provide them with a sound foundation and allow them to apply common practices in global health (e.g. cultural competencies, language competencies, ethics, work in low resource settings etc).

Visiting Students

If you are a non-Western student interested in a Family Medicine elective, please apply through the Schulich Visiting Student Elective office directly (first step). We cannot accept electives that have been set-up outside of this process. Please see the following website for more information: Visiting Student Electives Program. Once your application is approved, our Department will be sent the official request at which time you will be sent an email with an outline of the process and your available choices. Please note that you may not receive final confirmation until up to 6 weeks before your start date. Any electives that are booked by the student directly with a faculty member, may not be approved or funded. Visiting students can be placed in London or any of our rural communities listed on the community sites page under 'electives'. However, if you need guidance as to what the process will be or what types of opportunities Family Medicine has, please contact Kari McLennan .

Preference is given to Canadian medical schools from September to December of each year. International students are encouraged to apply between January and August. The Department also has a limit as to how many electives can be requested and confirmed, so it is best to apply at least 6 months before your elective.

Expenses

Mileage:

Year 1 & 2

You will not be reimbursed for any mileage incurred for your electives.

Year 4 - Western students only

You will be reimbursed for mileage at the end of your rotation. Expense cheques will be placed in your Western mail boxes for pick-up with an email notification. Mileage is paid automatically according to a mileage chart supplied by Western, and therefore you are not required to submit gas receipts.

London Placement: Those students who will be in London for their Family Medicine elective, will not be reimbursed for mileage incurred.

Community Placement: Students are expected to commute to their elective if it is less than 50km outside of London. Mileage will be paid $0.40 per kilometre and is processed according to a standard mileage chart.

If your elective is more than 50km outside of London, you will be paid mileage for one round trip from London to your elective. If accommodation is required, please see below section for more information.

Accommodation: If your elective is more than 50km from London, then accommodations can be arranged for you. The Department of Family Medicine will arrange and pay the supplier directly for your accommodation. You are not expected to pay for your accommodation upon your departure. Accommodations need to be requested at least 8 weeks before elective start date to guarantee a confirmation. Department accommodations may not be able to be found in all communities. Please contact the Program Coordinator for more information.

Visiting Students: The Department of Family Medicine does not pay for mileage incurred or accommodations while doing a Family Medicine elective for visiting students. If placed at a rural site, visiting students are required to have their own personal transportation.