FAQ

Application Process : What are the difficult aspects of the application process?
The Canadian elective requires a lot of documentation from you. Medics Away has a special application for students to complete once they have chosen to apply for this elective. Initially, students should apply through the normal Book Now page. The preliminary 'Confirmation of Elective Booking' email you recieve contains the complete Paper Application Form for the Canadian elective. It is this form that is the most comprehensive and will require a great deal of work to complete from you.

This document lists all of the required paper work that you need to complete in order to satisfy the Canadian institutions requirements. There are quite a lot of areas that you will need to complete, but please do not be overwhelmed by it all. Your university and clinical supervisors will be fully capable of providing you with much of the difficult documentation. You will also need to visit your GP to have the immunization aspect of the form completed. Hopefully you will already have a C.V. of your own, which you will also have to submit to us. If you do not, then it would not be bad idea composing one as this will be required for your first year as a qualified doctor anyway.

Once you have read this form and gathered all aspects of the requirements together, please post it all along with a cheque for £150.00 GBP (non-refundable application fee that will be deducted from your final invoice), Special Delivery to our head office in the UK. You can find our address on the Contact page.

Once we have received the documentation by post, we can then process the application with the Canadian Institution. Applications take up to 8 weeks to go through, so you will need to be patient. We will give you an immediate opinion from the Canadian administrators which will help convince you that your elective application will be successful. Once we have received an acceptance letter from Canada, we will then continue the process of preparing you for the elective. At this stage you will need to have a health check by a specifically certified clinician in the UK. We will organise this for you. You will also be in a position to purchase your flights, insurance, etc.

In the unlikely event of your application being unsuccessful, we have plenty of excellent alternative electives available for you to sign up to at a moment’s notice. We will deduct the application fee away from the cost of these elective so that you are not out of pocket.
Availability : I have only a few months until I travel on my elective, can I apply for Canada?
I am sorry to inform you that our Canadian elective requires at least six months prior booking to even have a chance for a successful application. The application process is very long-winded and arduous and there is no guarantee that students will receive a placement after all that work. We are currently in talks with the hospital and associated university to try and simplify the application process for Medics Away applicants, but this is still in the pipeline.
Hospital : How likely is it that I get my chosen specialty?
Each specialty is very competitive. Some are completely unavailable. The university has allowed our students to request ALL the specialties they would find acceptable to be placed in (this could be up to 20 or any number really). They would also like to know the specialties you do not want to do (hopefully this will be quite a few less). Adopting this method will help Medics Away secure a placement for you. This is still not guaranteed, but it definitely improves your chances.
Hospital : How often do students get rejected from the application process for this elective?
Medics Away cannot predict whether or not an application will be rejected. Applications are rejected if the paper work is not good or complete. Applications are also rejected if they are submitted late (i.e. less than 5 months in advance). It is our job here at Medics Away that neither of these things happens. We will keep you closely updated as to the progress of your application. We can also give you a guided chance of success of your application, as all applications are reviewed before official submission. This gives us good feedback and opportunities to fix any little niggles. Medics Away can of course guarantee that we will have plenty of other elective opportunities for you if your elective application is unsuccessful. All of Medics Away electives are fantastic, so whatever happens, you are guaranteed a brilliant experience.
Language : Will the language barrier pose a problem?
This part of Canada is obviously in the French speaking part, but all people speak English and consultations in the hospital take place in English. Therefore having a grasp of French will be helpful but not essential.
Vaccinations : Who should complete the Immunisation Form?
The immunisation form should be filled in by your Occupational Health Adviser at you university as they are most able to know your status. Perhaps you have it counter signed by your G.P. for added legitimacy. You do not need to use the 'Official UK doctors' at this stage of the application. This part of the application is in phase 2 of the health status form (i.e. once we receive your acceptance from Canada).