BSMS graduate Dr Laetitia Mouly shares her experiences of her elective in Paris.
"Medical schools in the UK have a mandatory four to six weeks module called an elective. This is usually undertaken during the last year of medical school, after final exams. The purpose of a medical elective is to allow students to explore an area of medicine they didn't have much or no exposure too during medical school. Medical electives can be clinical or non-clinical. Clinical electives will involve being in a healthcare environment, or working in a laboratory. Non-clinical electives encompass a wide range of experiences such as internships at medical journals, medical charities, or even shadowing a member of parliament! Medical schools give you freedom to choose what you want to do, but you have to arrange it.
Going outside of the UK is an option as long as you can fund it yourself. I wanted to have the experience of a different healthcare system, and the chance to practice medicine in a different language. I had family around Paris, so I decided going to France could be a realistic option.
I'm also interested in Paediatrics and at BSMS we only had a couple of days on Neonatology, the specialty that looks after babies from their first days of life. Therefore, I decided to look for a Tertiary Neonate Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Paris.
My elective was free: which is rare for a clinical elective unless you know someone in the institution abroad. I started looking for an elective in September of final year. I found on the internet the contact details of all the Lead Consultants of the five NICU in Paris. I sent them my CV and a cover letter explaining the purpose of the elective. A few got back to me, but one in particular accepted my request from the get-go. That is how I ended up doing my medical elective at the University Hospital of Robert-Debre in Paris.
During my elective, I shadowed the junior doctors called “interns” there. Unlike in the UK where junior doctors are salaried doctors, interns in France are not yet qualified. They finished their six years of medical school, and are now interns in their specialty of choice. They take on the same role as junior doctors in the UK but are more supervised.
Each day started with a handover from the night team. Then the juniors would start preparing their ward round. Each junior doctor would prepare the notes for three-four babies they would look after during the day. Preparing the notes including reviewing the baby’s observations, prescribing their feeds (through the veins or through the mouth) and examining the baby. After their ward-round, the seniors would also undertake a ward round checking on the work of the juniors. After a quick lunch break, the interns had one-two hours of teaching every day. They then went back to the wards to finish up jobs and review their little patients. By the second half of the elective, I was assigned a patient to look after under supervision.
During the elective I was exposed to many fascinating neonatological pathologies and their management plan across different body systems. Some examples included:
- Omphalocele: where the intestines are found outside the abdomen at birth
- Necrotising enterocolitis: where intestines become so inflamed, they are at risk of perforating
- Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy: where the brain is deprived of oxygen during a prolonged period of time which can cause permanent brain damage
- Surfactant deficient lung disease: where premature infants cannot keep their lung’s alveoli open to breath properly
- Retinopathy of Prematurity: where blood vessels at the back of the eyes grow abnormally which can lead to blindness if left untreated
I found this experience abroad very enriching as I got access to a new specialty which increased my knowledge in Paediatrics. I also understood a different medical system which offered me perspective to the ongoing issues in the NHS. Finally, practicing medicine in French was challenging to start but incredibly rewarding.
I would definitely recommend trying to find a medical elective that will help you do something outside of your comfort zone. It’s one of the few times in your career where you will have dedicated time to explore any area of interest of your choice!"
Towards the end of Year 5, BSMS students undertake an elective period to gain clinical or non-clinical experience in another environment in the UK or abroad. Find out more about electives and the course below.
Find out more here >