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.
For Schulich students, please see the below on how to request or report an elecitve and what expense reimbursements you are entitled to.
For Visiting students, please see below on how to submit an application for an elective in our Department. Please note, applications have to be received to our school at least 4 months in advance of the elective. Please see the
Schulich Visiting Student Electives Program site for more information.
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 eacy year 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 (best to submit a list of 3-4 choices). 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.
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 and Dentistry.
Process for Requesting an Elective - Visiting Students (Canadian or International Schools)
If you are a visiting 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
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.
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.
Visiting Students
If you are a visiting student interested in a Family Medicine elective:
PROCESS:
1) Apply to the Schulich Visiting Student Electives program directly.
Applications have to be received at least 4 months before the start date. We will not accept electives that have been set-up outside of this process or confirmed directly by the student with a faculty member.
2) The Schulich Visiting Student Electives Program will send an official request to the Family Medicine
Program Coordinator once the application has been approved.
3) You will be sent an email from the Program Coordinator with an outline of the process and your available community choices. Visiting Students can choose from any of our communities listed on our
Community Sites page. This includes London, rural/regional or our academic centres.
4) Reply to email with your preferences as soon as possible, so you don't lose your spot in priority sequence. The Program Coordinator will send requests to our faculty on your behalf for your elective. Please note you may not receive a final confirmation until up to 4 weeks before your start date. Each request normally takes 2-4 weeks to process. Any electives that are booked by the student directly with a faculty member, may not be approved or funded.
5) The Program Coordinator will send you a tenative confirmation email that you will need to review and reply to within 10 days. At that time, the elective will be confirmed and students will be asked to follow-up with the
Visiting Student Electives office for further requirements to make the elective official.
Please note:
*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 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 or submit an application.
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. 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.
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 or submit an application.
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.
*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.
Awards
Please see the
Awards
page for a listing.