Recommendations for undergraduate medical electives: a UK consensus statement.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Global Health
• Student Well-being

Background:

• Medical electives are integral to global medical curricula, offering unique learning opportunities.
• A recognized need exists for standardized recommendations for designing and managing undergraduate elective programs.
• Elective placements present distinct risks to patient, public, and student well-being compared to home clinical placements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To share best practices and experiences from UK Medical Schools regarding elective programs.
• To inform and inspire international stakeholders involved in similar medical education initiatives.
• To address the identified gap in comprehensive recommendations for elective program development.

Main Methods:

• A sub-group formed to draft recommendations based on experiences from academic elective leads across UK schools.
• Incorporated input from the Medical Schools Council (MSC) and the student group Medsin to capture the learner perspective.
• A national consultative process involving four iterations ensured broad input and refinement of the recommendations.

Main Results:

• Consolidated experiences from 30 participating UK medical schools.
• Generated 17 pre-departure, 7 during-elective, and 11 post-elective recommendations.
• Developed 4 additional recommendations specifically addressing infectious disease risks.

Conclusions:

• Collective recommendations offer a framework for safer, more structured medical electives.
• The guidelines aim to preserve the unique and creative aspects valued by participants.
• Recommendations are designed to be transferable internationally, addressing common challenges in cross-contextual medical experiences.