The Exchange Program

Benefits
Some of the benefits of participating in the Professional Exchange Program within SCOPE include:

• SCOPE exposes students to foreign cultures and meeting various profiles.

• Through a professional exchange program, students are able to learn and gain personal experience in medical practice in a foreign country.

• The students, with the help of this newly gained experience abroad, may be able to improve their own health system in their native country.

In summary, whether the goal of the young traveler and physician-to-be is to work on foreign ground in the future or simply to gain exposure to patient care in an international setting, the value of exchange is undisputable.

Requirements

• The Exchangee should present the Card of Acceptance or a copy of it to the person in charge upon arrival to the host country.

• The Exchangee is obliged to attend the clerkship for its whole duration.

• The Exchangee must strictly follow all the instructions given by the department and the Local Committee. Failure to do so may result in cancellation of the remaining clerkship and lose of all his/her rights without compensating for any of the extra expenses that the exchangee might have had.

• The Exchangee should arrive on the first day of the clerkship or no later than 3 days. Failure to do so without informing the Local Committee, will result in cancellation of the clerkship. The dates are defined on the Card of Acceptance.

• Upon accepting the clerkship, the Exchangee writes an E-mail to his assigned contact person in the Local Committee of the hosting organization confirming the date and time of arrival. Any change or delay must be reported and agreed upon by the Local Committee of the hosting organisation.

• The Exchangee is responsible for his/her own health/liability insurance. The insurance has to be arranged by the Exchangee before leaving his/her country. The Exchangee is responsible for paying any costs in case of illness or accident.

• The Exchangee shall be responsible for any financial loss caused by any breach of his/her contract.

• The Exchangee must have either an adequate knowledge of the English language,   the native language of the host country or the language agreed upon in order to carry out the clerkship. If not, he/she can be refused in the host country and be excluded from the exchange program.

• The Exchangee must confirm his arrival no later than one month before the beginning of the clerkship. If not, the NMO (National Member Organization) has the right to cancel his/her clerkship.

• In case the hosting NMO is not fulfilling its obligations towards the Exchangee, the student is urged to disuss the problem with the Local Committee first, and to inform his/her own Local/National Exchange Officer immediately.

 

• No additional costs can be requested from the Exchangee in the host country unless indicated in the Exchange Conditions.

• The Exchnagee must abide by the SCOPE regulations otherwise he/she will be rejected upon arrival or during the course of the Professional Exchange Program.

• There are special exchange conditions for each country. Please consult it with your Local/National Exchange Officer.

The Clinical Clerkship:

It is defined as the stay of a student in the clinical department of a hospital or clinic. Clerkships are offered in basically all clinical and pre-clinical fields of medicine. The duration of a clerkship is four weeks and it's given in English or in the country's native language. Contracts among the various organizations may be signed on either a bilateral or unilateral basis.

Bilateral Contract:

• SCOPE, being a member of the IFMSA, hosts students from different organizations free of charge.

• The Bilateral exchanges are the basis of the IFMSA exchange program and involve TWO countries

• We receive a student for everyone we send

• Food, Housing and sometimes a social program are provided by the hosting country for FREE

• We charge a small fee on outgoing students

 

Unilateral Contract:

• Only the students from one organization take part in the program.

• Special conditions may be specified in the contract form
  (refer to exchange conditions)

• Involve ONE country

• The student should pay all expenses to the host organization
  (Maximum of 300-350$ for housing and food for a period of one month)

 

For both bilateral and unilateral exchanges, the exchangees should cover the insurance and travel expenses and any additional pocket money themselves. At the end of the clerkship after fulfilling all exchange programs' conditions, the student will obtain the SCOPE Certificate.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)