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Professional Exchange : Exchange Conditions of FiMSIC(Finland)
Level of studies	Clinical students only. See below.
Type of Clerkship	Clinical clerkships only. STUDENTS MUST HAVE STUDIED THE FIELD OR SPECIALITY THEY ARE APPLYING FOR. No preclinical students are accepted. Medical students only; no dentistry students, physiotherapy students or students of other health or science related fields are accepted.
Languages	English, Swedish or Finnish.
Duration of Clerkship	One month's period, CALENDAR MONTHS ONLY(from the first day of the month to the last)
Working Conditions	6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week (national holidays excluded). Students need to bring their own stethoscope and comfortable shoes, preferably also a name tag . White coats are provided by the hospital. We expect the student to attend at least 80% of the duration of the clerkship in the clinic.
Disciplines	Most clinical fields except psychiatry in Helsinki, Kuopio, Oulu and Tampere. Not all the fields are available in every city, and the choice of a particular subspeciality within a clinical speciality cannot always be guaranteed. There are fields in the IFMSA application form that are not recognized in the Finnish university hospiltas, such as acupuncture and alternative medicine, and fields that are practiced elsewhere, such as occupational medicine and primary care. Physiotherapy and psychotherapy are not among fields we can offer as they primarily are the field of other professionals than doctors. Some of the very narrow diciplines named in the electronic application form are here practically a part of a broader dicipline. Incoming student must have AT LEAST THREE (3) CHOISES OF DEPARTMENT. More operative fields where patient communication is of less importance might be a better choice for a non-Finnish speaker. NO CHANGES in the choice of department can be implemented after the AF has been submitted to FiMSIC officers. To all clinics and all cities MRSA negativity certificate is needed upon arrival. Otherwise the beginning of the clerkship might be delayed. Read more at “Special Remarks".
Periods & Towns	Mainly June, July and August. Few places available around year. If coming outside summer months, we recommend to come along with a friend, otherwise you might be the only foreign student around. Helsinki, Kuopio, Oulu, Tampere, and Turku. 3 CHOISES OF DIFFERENT TOWNS MUST BE STATED IN THE AF. FiMSIC can NOT QUARENTEE the student to be placed in any of the 3 cities mentioned at the AF. The places in certain cities are limited especially during summer months. Choice of students to Helsinki is done based on the motivation letter, see instructions on Special remarks. NO CHANGES in the choise of the period OR town can be implemented after the AF has been submitted to FiMSIC. After the students have been placed in the different cities, no changes are made. More information about the different cities can be found on http://www.fimsic.org
Application documents & deadline	APPLICATION DEADLINE: At the MARCH MEETING OR 3 MONTHS BEFORE the beginning of the desired exchange period. All applications for the summer period (June-Aug) MUST be provided at the MM! APPLICATION DOCUMENTS REQUIRED IN THIS DATABASE BY THE DEADLINE OF THE APPLICATION: - electronic application form - letters of motivation to the professors of each of the departments applied in the eAF (More info at “Special Remarks”) APPLICATION DOCUMENTS REQUIRED IN DIGITITAL FORM (PDF) PER EMAIL BY THE DEADLINE OF THE APPLICATION: - passport type photo - an OFFICIAL STUDY RECORD IN ENGLISH SHOWING ALL THE COURSES studied in medicine (stamped by University) - a language certificate (of Finnish, Swedish or English) from University or a comparable institute The documents are preferably sent to fimsic.documents@gmail.com or brought to March Meeting burned on CDs. They have to be delivered at least 3 months prior to requested starting date of the clerckship. UNCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS ARE REFUSED unless agreed with the FiMSIC NEO. Refused applications can be send to us when completed through email to the adresse fimsic.documents@gmail.com 3 months before the beginning of the clerkship. DOCUMENTS REQUIRED IN ORIGINAL UPON ARRIVAL: - a copy of a valid insurance certificate - a MRSA-negativity certificate from nasal sample (More info at “Special Requirements”) - signed Regulations for FiMSIC Exchange Programs-form (More info at “Special Remarks") The students with uncomplete Applications are placed to the cities among the last ones and hence are most likely to be chosen to a city they have not applied to.
Digital documents required	- passport type photo - an OFFICIAL STUDY RECORD IN ENGLISH SHOWING ALL THE COURSES studied in medicine (stamped by University) - a language certificate (of Finnish, Swedish or English) from University or a comparable institute
Card of Acceptance deadline (weeks in advance)	8
Card of Confirmation deadline (weeks in advance)	4
Insurance	Full health insurance covering the whole period of the clerkship is compulsory. A copy of the insurance certificate in English issued by the insurance company's official is required with the AF or latest upon arrival.
Pocket Money	No pocket money is given.
Board & Lodging	BILATERAL: Free on bilateral agreement. Lodging is mostly arranged in student apartments in shared rooms. Accommodation is offered only for the month the student is accepted. FiMSIC cannot provide accommodation for friends and family. Students must pay a deposit of 50 EUR for the keys and fittings of the appartment. Board is mainly given by the hospital once a day (warm meal). Some LC:s might instead provide some food money in order to buy food at the hospitals canteen. UNILATERAL: Cost of 350 EUR per month for unilateral exchange to be paid on arrival. Bilateral rules and deadlines apply.
Social Program	Arranged by the local committees during the summer months (June - August). Outside summer months social program depends on the activity of the local contact persons. Other than summer months are best suited to students who are active and independent in organising their own program or otherwise it's recommend to come along with a friend.
Substitutions	Substitutes must be of same sex and accept the same period, city and department as the original applicant. No substitutions will be accepted less than 4 weeks before the beginning of the clerkship. For countries needing an IL, no substitutions will be made after the IL is sent.
Cancellations	We prefer substitutions to cancellations.
Visas	Finland is one of the Schengen countries. Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland: http://formin.finland.fi/english/
Special remarks	MOTIVATION LETTER: - addressed to the professor of the field - introducing yourself formally - your medical education (how many years so far, which courses done) and your interests in medicine in general - your special interest to the field - your previous experience in the field and associated fields - what you would like to learn during your clerkship REGULATIONS FOR FiMSIC EXCHANGE PROGRAMS: All incoming students to Finland must accept the Regulations for FiMSIC Exchange Programs. The form can be found on the FiMSIC web-page at www.fimsic.org/en. The students are required to sign this form upon arrival. MRSA (Meticilline resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, nasal sample) negativity certificate: Must be provided upon arrival. The test must not be made more than one month before the exchange. The certificate must be IN ENGLISH. The test can be done also in Finland, but it will delay the start of the clerkship by one week and the expenses of the test will be charged from the exchangee. ISSUING OF THE CERTIFICATE: Only students who have attended 80% of their clerkship are entitled to a certificate.
More info Link	www.fimsic.org/en
These Exchange Conditions are valid until:	30-03-2011
Last update of data (GMT)	27/07/2010