The SMHS offers formal electives abroad for fourth-year medical students. Opportunities are available in Austria, Brazil, China, Egypt, Japan, ZAE and Vietnam, to name a few. For example, under GW’s agreement with the Mission Interuniversitaire de Coordination des Echanges Franco-Américan (MICEFA), a consortium of 14 Paris universities, fourth-year GW medical students and sixth-year French medical students can participate in elective rotations at one another’s institutions. Students’ choices have included cardiology, radiology, pediatrics and plastic/reconstructive surgery. Elective rotations last from four to eight weeks, during which students receive an immersion experience in the host country’s healthcare system and personal attention from faculty. Students can also participate in an Operation Smile Mission.

Students can also plan rotations on their own. Faculty members and the Office of International Medicine Programs are available to assist in finding locations through our partner institutions, as well as identifying sources of funding. For more information about GWUMC’s international student programs, visit the website at www.gwumc.edu/imp.