Medical Students Electives (MSE) program

Introduction

Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) has a vast experience of over 22 years in working with the tribal and rural communities of Karnataka. Health is one of SVYM's core program focus areas and includes both institution-based and community-based interventions. Initially conceived as Rural Oriented Health Initiative (ROHINI), SVYM's health programs have grown and expanded to reach out to the urban poor as well. The Vivekananda Memorial Hospital at Saragur in H.D.Kote Taluk of Mysore District is the nucleus of all health activities of SVYM. This is a multi-specialty hospital, situated in a rural area and offering secondary-level health care at highly affordable costs. It is also the hub of all training activities where doctors, nurses, paramedics, healthcare personnel and the community at-large get trained, round the year. Interns from Government Medical College and JSS Medical College in Mysore get posted here for training and orientation in rural medical work. Students from medical schools in the US and UK also choose to get trained here as a part of their Medical Electives Program.

The program per se is an intense 4-week training and orientation in rural healthcare, encompassing preventive, promotive and curative aspects. The components of the program have been enlisted later in this write-up.

Prerequisites

• Must have completed 2 years of medical school
• Must be free from any form of acute/chronic communicable diseases
• Must be fluent with English (read, write and speak)
• Must be willing to adapt to rural Indian living conditions
• Must get their own laptops in case they need any computer support for their work/project

When can you apply?

12 such programs (each of 4 weeks duration) are conducted every year. 2 students (preferably 2 men or 2 women) are enrolled into each program. Applications are accepted and scrutinized round the year and selected candidates are placed in the waiting list, from where 2 of them are picked as per their seniority.

Features

The MSE program is rigorous and intensive and exposes the students to various facets of rural health care. They shall get to do the following things.

• Participate in the daily hospital rounds
• Case discussion with consultants in the Out-patient Dept
• Assist the consultants in conducting deliveries and in surgeries
• Accompany the mobile medical team to the most interior locales of the project area
• Attend some of the field-based thematic health camps
• Participate in other community based health programs of SVYM, like the Reproductive & Child Healthcare program, Water-Sanitation & Hygiene Education program, etc
• Visit tribal colonies and get to know the tribal way of life
• Visit the Anti Retroviral Treatment Center run by SVYM at Mysore and learn about treatment of HIV in a resource-limited setting
• Get to know more about Ayurveda, the popular Indian System of Medicine at our separate Ayurvedic treatment facility at Kenchanahalli
• Interact with the Govt. health machinery of the Taluk
• Participate in the periodic clinical meetings & seminars and do case presentations
• Participate in ongoing research projects (if any) or take up short-term research projects of their own choice
• Teach the nursing and paramedical students (about basic health sciences)

Students are given a customized training schedule at the start of the program. A typical day starts at 8 am and runs till 6 pm, with an hour's break in between. Sundays are generally off-days. The students are required to submit a detailed training report to the coordinator by the end of the program, before collecting their certificates.

Living

The students shall be based at Vivekananda Memorial Hospital, Saragur (Located just outside Saragur town, at a distance of about 60 km from Mysore City). They shall be given simple living quarters (separate for men and women) on a twin-sharing basis. The rooms contain an attached bath with western toilet, cots with mattresses and mosquito nets. The trainees are encouraged to bring their own linen. South Indian vegetarian food is served in the canteen or at other suitable places when taken on exposure trips. UV-treated water is available at select points. Smoking and consumption of alcohol are banned in all campuses of SVYM. For more information, please go through the 'Volunteers' page of this website.

Costs

• The fee for actual 4-week training program
• Food charges (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
• Lodging charges
• Travel within the project area

Students from the United Kingdom should apply through Charities Advisory Trust. Their address is

Charities Advisory Trust
Radius Works, Back Lane
Hampstead, London NW3 1HL
Tel: 020 7433 3636
Fax: 020 7431 3739
Mob: 07708 500157
Email: electives@charitiesadvisorytrust.org.uk
Web: www.medicalstudentelectives.org

Administration charges

The fee should be paid (in full) at the time of arrival and registration. It can be paid either in Indian Rupees, American Dollars or UK Pounds by Cash or Cheque. All other costs (extra food, medical care, telephone, internet, laundry, travel beyond the project area including to-and-from Mysore, etc) have to be paid by cash at actual rates. Upon request, SVYM can make arrangements for a spot-pay taxi for your personal travel.

How to apply?

Please download the application form, fill it up, attach your resume, at least two references and a statement of purpose and email it to svym@svym.net with a copy to padmajatj@gmail.com. You shall be informed about the status of your application by email in about two weeks from the date of its receipt.

The SVYM-MSE program is coordinated by Dr.Padmaja.T.J, who is a resident Obstetrician & Gynecologist at the Vivekananda Memorial Hospital, Saragur.

Download application form (MS Word) here ---- APPLICATION