Planning a PJ
- Begin planning
ca. 1 year in advance. - Begin language preparation
passive 1 to 11/2 years in advance; active & intensive the semester before you plan to leave. - Choice of Country
This depends on the money available. Of course, the further away, the more costly it will be. Very few medical schools will offer you room and board free, so that you will have these costs together with travel expenses, which you will have to cover yourself. In Switzerland, almost the only place in the world at the moment, you receive a modest salary for your services in PJ.
If you can afford only 8 weeks or have responsibilities in Germany that do not allow you to perform a full 16 weeks of PJ in a foreign country, you can "split" your 16 week period in the following way: 8 weeks here Giessen in one certain field (ex. Internal Medicine) and the next 8 weeks in the foreign country in the same field. This offer is acceptable in the USA, Canada and the UK. You can apply to the Landesprüfungsamt for the same offer for other countries if you can prove that they ONLY offer a maximum of 8 weeks and a 16 week period is not possible.
The UK: This is closest and probably therefore the cheapest.- Problem: some medical school deans in England (but not Ireland, Scotland and Wales) have been refusing to sign the "equivalency" document stating that you have the same status as their final year students. This can result in BIG problems with the acceptance of your PJ by the Landesprüfungsamt. You may get around this problem by obtaining the signature from a liaisons person in the teaching hospital. Ask at the Landesprüfungsamt in Frankfurt first before you go!!
- Problem. In England they have started inflicting tuition on all their own students which means they will also require it from foreign students. It runs about two to three thousand pounds a year. Don't worry, if they require a tuition they will inform you about this and how much it will be for the 16 week period.
USA: Varies greatly from state to state and school to school. Some universities offer "elective" final year courses and require no tuition at all. At other universities, such as the famous Harvard Medical School, it will cost you a few thousand dollars to do one elective! Most electives are limited to 8 weeks. "Split" here. Some universities, in Virgina for example, offer 16 weeks.
Most of the Medical Schools in the USA are now available on line in the Internet. See below.
Canada: There are fewer universities here so it is more difficult. You can forget about British Columbia unless you have private contacts there. You can "split" here too. Nova Scotia is a possibility.
South Africa: This is one of the most popular countries at the present. It has taken over the lead from Australia. Witwaterand Medical School in Johannesberg is the most popular, but Durban and Pretoria are also available. Cape Town is more difficult and over run with applications.
Australia: Queensland offers PJ electives but for astronomical prices. It is centrally administered so don't apply to individual hospitals: they all go back to Brisbane to a central office. If you have done a Famulatur in Australia and want to go back it is a good idea to make contacts when you are there. Western Australia and Tasmania are less crowded.
New Zealand: Unfortunately this country is almost closed for PJ now. They just don't have the capacity and there are too many applications from Europeans, over 2.000 a year in Auckland from German students alone! You may get no answer whatsoever because it costs the university in Auckland over 2.000 Marks a year to send the rejection letters! The one place where you will certainly get an acceptance is in Wellington - but only if you are willing to pay up to 8.000 DM for 16 weeks!! A doctor there offers PJ in Internal Medicine specially for German students (!) - and he is almost booked out every year!! - Where and how do I apply?
You can either apply directly at the medical school itself or try and find out which hospitals are official teaching hospitals of the medical schools and apply directly there.
In some countries, notably the USA, you can get all the information you need from the internet. You save a lot of time and money and frustration by surfing on the different web sites. They even have application forms on line and some give email address so that you write and ask them what you need to send for the application. Try the internet first for all countries. You can really save a lot of time and money. Many times students have sent off a whole package with letters of recommendation, curriculum vitae, pictures etc, only to receive as answer an application form(!). But who knows, maybe they never would have sent an application form if you had not sent off the package. If possible ask first what they require for a formal and complete application. Sometimes it is surprisingly little. The big problem is the limited and predetermined time periods that are given for the PJ tertiary periods. Give alternatives when you write. Don't say: "I can only come from this time to that time". You will not get a positive reply. Give at least two time periods for selection!
Of course everyone has to do Surgery and Internal medicine, so you might have better chances of getting a place by requesting your third choice.
You can use the term "elective" here but be sure to say "final year elective"! For this PJ to be accredited by the Landesprüfungsamt you will require a statement from the dean of the medical school or registrar that you have an equivalent status to their final year students in addition to the usual description of what you have performed there.
Be well informed about what is required in Giessen for the same PJ. Your foreign elective should be as close to the Giessen one as posssible. Remember that there are differences, for example: here Surgery includes Casualty but in most AngloSaxon countries Casualty is part of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery!
There are a lot of pit falls. So be well informed well in advance of your going to the foreign country.
Robert.L.Snipes, former Faculty Member and Responsible for International Student Exchange (1998)