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ME5017 Elective - Block 1, (2026 - 2027)

Schedule Comments Summary (optional)

What was the best thing about your elective?

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The clinical experience and opportunities gained during the elective - they were unique to the rest of the training that I have had so far. Completing the audit and writing it up also helped me to gain valuable experience and I would feel much more confident in the future if I had to undertake a project like this again.
I found that it was a really interesting experience and that doing it abroad in Africa was amazing. It should remain part of the medical school curriculum and I really enjoyed it.
Thank you for continuing to offer the opportunity for students to travel abroad for electives. It was eye opening to see a new part of the world, how medicine is practiced in different places and also continue to learn more about how to treat different conditions. This was a part of my medical training that I will remember for the rest of my career.
Improved my skills using trak care and learnt how to conduct an audit
I think the opportunity to travel abroad to gain clinical exposure in a different health system was a valuable experience.
Having time to go abroad for an extended amount of time during term time. The flexibility of choosing a project that interests you and gaining experience in that field.
Being able to get clinical experience
Experiencing another country and their healthcare. I enjoyed learning how to write a full report, I feel like I understand research better.

Is there anything you would like to change?

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I think that it needs more guidance when it comes to writing the report. I did an MSc as part of my intercalated year, and I found that the guidance writing the report was useful there, but I did need the ones from the year before. They were very helpful. I also found that there was more guidance needed on planning an elective, specifically contacts around the globe. It could be useful if supervisiors consented, if there was a document that could go around and had a list of specialities and countries. Then the University would know who was who, and allow people to go where they wanted to go. Finally, I think more support was needed from the University and from host supervisiors. My host supervisior wasnâ€™t supportive and I really struggled, and when things happened on placement ( assault, harrassment etc) I felt unsupported
No
If possible please put all resources in one place. There are currently documents on moodle that are not on the elective website. Please could these documents be added to the elective website OR could emails clearly communicate that there are resources in both places. I only found the documents including vital instructions about how to write the report (word count, font size etc) when I went to submit my report.
No
Less focus on the report Reduce the word count for the report as the 5000 word count resulted in sentences and paragraphs becoming longer, it should be about the quality of the works not the quantity. With threats of penalties being applied with word counts above or below the limit, it resulted in the report becoming long for the sake of being long.
The workbook. When writing the report, there isnâ€™t enough to go off of in the workbook. On the electives website, one source mentions that report length will depend of the project undertook and the amount of data collected, however the workbook mentions a word count of 5000 (+/- 10%). This was a very difficult word count to reach for many people.The lack of details regarding the requirements for the report. There was no mention of what is and is not included in the word count. Many people wrote an acknowledgment to reach the word count only to find out later that it is not included. There is more details regarding the reflective piece for extreme circumstances than the actual report itself.
A better handbook with up to date info and all the requirements of what is expected of the elective properly. I think the 5000 word limit is too much for a project and should be less.

Would you like to tell us more about the concern related to discrimination, bullying and harassment?

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It was in Malawi. I got harrassed by a member of staff on the ward, and I felt unsupported being far away from home. I also got accosted by a patient demanding money, and I couldnâ€™t get a response for three weeks from the University.

Any other comments?

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As a whole, I found the elective website confusing and in need of an update. There are also some parts where the information is different to that in the elective handbook.