Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences

Elective places are limited, so application forms must be received by 1 June.

We are unable to place elective students with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), because of the high volume of UWA and scholarship students who seek attachments with the RFDS. In general, no rural attachments are available. Exceptions are made only after special requests are received from consultants.

• Applications
• Application checklist
• Costs
• Visas from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship
• English testing
• MRSA testing
• Malpractice insurance
• Accommodation

Applications

• No applications will be accepted after 1 June 2009.  Applications for next years elective period will be accepted from January 2010.
• Elective placement is from 1 November to 28 February. This means you can only nominate dates for your elective placement between 1 November and 28 February each year.
• Applications with nominated dates outside this timeframe will not be accepted.
• The maximum term offered is eight weeks. You may spend that time attached to different departments, or request a full term in one area only.
• The minimum time you can spend in one department is two weeks.
• No exception is made to this policy. UWA does not offer longer electives because of the high number of UWA students in the teaching hospitals.

We accept applications for elective placements in metropolitan teaching hospitals from medical undergraduates who have completed clinical rotations and who are in their final or penultimate year. An elective in Perth is an opportunity to broaden your clinical experience and no formal credit is available.

Application form

Please fill out the form carefully to ensure that your application can be processed as soon as it is received.

Friends

If you are co-ordinating an elective with friends, please be aware that even though you can apply to be in the same hospital, all departments only accept one elective student at any one time. However, you and your friends can split the elective so that you can spend time in the same department but you will be following each other and will not be together at the same time.

When applying, specify who you are travelling with and if you want to be in the same hospital. Please also be aware that you and your friends will not necessarily receive offers at the same time, because each consultant makes offers at different times. Do not panic if your friends receive a placement before you.

Elective preferences

Every attempt is made to place students in a preferred area but this is not always possible.

Complete the list on the application form, with your other choices, and indicate the periods of time you would like to spend at each preference.

It is very important that you state whether you want to split your elective, so do not forget to fill out this section of the application form.

If an elective place cannot be found from your first five preferences, you will be contacted about other departments you might like to be placed in.

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Application checklist

Post originals of all the documents listed below to the Faculty office:

• a fully completed application form
• $440 (Australian dollars) bank cheque/draft or credit card payment
• a letter from your Faculty confirming that you are an enrolled medical student in good standing, the year of your course and your expected date of graduation
• a passport-size photograph endorsed on the reverse by your Faculty representative, and
• either IELTS or TOEFL certified test scores or other proof (if applicable).

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Costs

All costs incurred, including travel and accommodation, are wholly your responsibility. 

Overseas students are required to pay a fee of $440 (Australian dollars, including GST) by bank cheque/draft or credit card payment to The University of Western Australia.

Please make sure that your bank has a reciprocal relationship with a bank in Western Australia.

Your bank cheque/draft or credit card payment form should be enclosed with the completed application form and other documents required by the Faculty.

Students who cancel will receive a $240 refund if the cancellation occurs at least two months before the elective starts. $200 is retained as a non-refundable placement fee. Students who do not cancel and do not take up a placement, forfeit the entire fee.

Complete the form that gives us the authority to debit your credit card, if this is your preferred method of payment. We do not accept Diners Club or American Express cards.

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Visas from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship

All students visiting Australia for electives require a visa.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has advised that you will be able to come to WA on one of the following three-month visas:

• Business (Short Stay) visa (Subclass 456)
• Tourist Visa (Subclass 676)

Before completing and returning your elective application, contact the Australian Government representative in your country to confirm which visa you will require.

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English testing

If English is not your first language, the Faculty requires proof of your proficiency in written and spoken English in the form of either the IELTS or TOEFL English tests.

If you speak/learn English at University (or other) proof of this will be sufficient.

You must be able to understand, write and speak English to carry out an elective in Perth.

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MRSA testing

You are required to conform to our screening program for Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), by having hand and nasal swabs.

MRSA testing takes four, full working days to process and requires a negative result prior to entering the hospitals.

Testing must be carried out in Perth when you arrive. It cannot be done in your home country before you leave for your elective.

Testing can be done at either the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital or the Royal Perth Hospital and an MRSA test costs $37.40.

You will need to arrive at least four working days before the start of your elective, or you will have to forfeit the first week of your elective.

Take this extra time into consideration when planning your elective dates and when completing the application form. 

If your tests come back positive, you will be required to carry out a 10-day course of antibiotics and you may not have patient contact during that time.

Your elective will not be re-scheduled and you will not be able to make up the 10 days. However, you will be able to complete the elective after the quarantine period.

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Malpractice insurance

It is your responsibility to have adequate malpractice insurance cover.

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Accommodation

The University does not provide any accommodation, so it is your responsibility to organise accommodation and transport while doing your elective in Western Australia.

Information about accommodation on and off campus.

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