English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Elective stu dy abroad duri ng a resid ency is unusual, although this is not un common for medical stu dents and fellows. T here may be several reasons fo r this. Resid ent training programs are str uc tured to last three or four years in North America and traditionall y are under th e auspices of specific university departments. This is a rela tively short period of training compared to European co untries, and consequently th ere tends to be less flexibility, and therefore less mobility, in training. Residencies also tend to be a co mbination of education , training and serv ice requirements, and as programs have a specific allocation of positions for each yea r during th e residency, absenteeism ma y well compromise deli very of health ca re. In addition , th ere are impor tant considerations for th e residents th emselves, who tend to be older, perhaps ma rried with a young family. Commitment to th e ir staffi ng positions and workload, coupled wit h financial obligat ions, may mak e travel abroad d ifficul t. Funding itself is a specific issue. U nfortunately, despi te several foundations th at finance medical student e lec t ives and fe llows hips, residents are often specifica lly disqualified fr om app lying to granting agencies. Furthe rmore , grants ma y exclude electi ves abroad (1) and ind ivid ua l sponsorship from insti tutions is unpredictable and difficult to obtain in times of financial restrain t. Nevertheless, th e training requirements o f th e Royal College of Psych iatr ists of Canada (2) allow for study abroad for a period of up to one year. My own experience as a resident with an el ecti ve abroad, illu strates man y of th e organizational difficulties in volved. The oppor tunity to study abroad appealed to me at the beginning of my residency training, as I felt th at this would be an opportunity to widen my horizons, supplement an area of specific interest and gain exposure to an alternative health care syste m and culture. My initial inquiries to my department were favorable and I was encouraged by faculty to "formulate an acceptable proposal. " However, se vera l d ifficul ties im med iately arose. Nobody from my program had undertak en such an endeavor before during re sidency, th erefore a suitable model and precedent were lacking. Furthermore, I found it hard to justify a foreign electi ve so lely o n th e basis th at it would provide an interesting clinical exper ience. T herefore, despite no formal

Brief Communication: A Resident Elective Abroad