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| Professional Exchange : Exchange Conditions of IFMSA-Panama(Panama) | |
| Level of studies | Students MUST have started CLINICAL courses in order to apply for a clerkship |
| Type of Clerkship | Clinical clerkship only. |
| Languages | Students MUST know Spanish; not as their first language but at least be able to comunicate with doctors, patients, and the people in general (nurses, hosts, taxi drivers, etc) |
| Duration of Clerkship | 4 weeks |
| Working Conditions | 07:00 to 15:00 from Monday to Friday. IT VARIES DEPENDING ON THE PRECEPTOR: Some rotations can be at nights, weekends, and sometimes more than twelve hours.
You will be presented to an Attending Physician ("Medico Funcionario") who in turn might assign you a Tutor ("Preceptor"). - All procedures you might perform must be under supervision of your Tutor. - You must report to your assigned Tutor every morning on time at 07:00. - You might work together with other Panamanian Medical Students and Interns. They all wear white uniforms. - Tip: please visit www.ifmsapanama.org/exchange for more details. |
| Disciplines | These rotations are available for the season of 2010-2011:
- Internal Medicine - Pediatrics - Obstetrics* - Surgery-General - Family medicine - Ophthalmology - Cardiology - Neumology - Pathology - Orthopedics Do not waste your options asking for: - Tropical Medicine: we do not have such a department. You will be seeing tropical diseases in all specialities, so do not worry. - Emergency Medicine: depending on your tutor, you might be working in the Emergency Department some days. This applies to all specialities also. *In Panama, the obstetrics rotation is separate of the gynecology rotation. If Ob/Gyn is chosen in the eAF, it will be considered as obstetrics. We do not offer the gynecology rotation. |
| Periods & Towns | There are 3 LC's:
1. Universidad de Panama; (National University) 2. Universidad Latina de Panama 3. Columbus University: not available at this moment. All Hospitals are in Panama City. The 3 universities use the same hospitals for teaching. Regardless of what you choose, we will assign you the university. So do not take into regard which option you choose. They are all the same. PERIODS: Please choose between one of these: Period 1: 05.01.2011 - 30.01.2011 Period 2: 02.02.2011 - 27.02.2011 Period 3: 02.03.2011 - 27.03.2011 Period 4: 30.03.2011 - 24.04.2011 Period 5: 04.05.2011 - 29.05.2011 Period 6: 01.06.2011 - 26.01.2011 Period 7: 06.07.2011 - 31.07.2011 Period 8: 03.08.2010 - 28.28.2010 Period 9: 31.08.2010 - 25.09.2010 Period 10: 05.10.2010 - 30.10.2010 |
| Application documents & deadline | Please send these through the database:
- eAF - Motivation letters Only send a SCANNED copy of the following documents to NEO's email: - you MUST have a Health and travel Insurance for the period of Clerkship - Immunization form: HBV, MMR, DPT. - Passport (the page with your name and photo) - Recommendation letter SIGNED and STAMPED by the DEAN OF YOUR MED. FACULTY. Must be in English or Spanish. - Academic Record from the School Authority SIGNED and STAMPED (to confirm that the student has passed the required courses in his/her Medical School) - Three (3) passport photographs Documents needed for the hospital rotation: - Vaccine card - ID-size photo - Curriculum Vitae |
| Digital documents required | |
| Card of Acceptance deadline (weeks in advance) |
8 |
| Card of Confirmation deadline (weeks in advance) |
2 |
| Insurance | A Health and Travel Insurance is required for the period of Clerkship. You MUST bring a copy when you come to Panama. You may use Swisscare. |
| Pocket Money | NO |
| Board & Lodging | Bilateral contract: free
Unilateral contract: 350.00 EUR. Must be paid cash upon arrival. - Accommodation: you will be staying with a Panamanian Family or a Rent Apartment. University dorms are non-existent ( not every person will have the same kind of housing) . If two or more students come from the same country, they would not necessarily live together. - The contact person takes you from the airport to your accommodation. They do not necessarily know the person you will be staying with. - In some situations your host will provide you with transportation daily, otherwise, we DO NOT PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION in general (P.S.taxis in Panama are around 3USD each trip -Meals: 1 per day |
| Social Program | All LCs are in Panama City. We usually organize a welcome lunch or dinner and a farewell dinner. Check our website www.ifmsapanama.org/exchange for updates on the social program. |
| Substitutions | Please contact NEO. |
| Cancellations | Minimum 4 weeks (1 month) in advance. Please always try to avoid cancellation of clerkship. |
| Visas | - Do NOT need Visa NOR Tourist Card: Brazil, Schengen Countries.
- If you are visiting certain South American or African countries before coming to Panama: must have Yellow Fever vaccination, or you may have trouble boarding aircraft or going through customs & quarantine. - People from most other countries can easily purchase a Tourist Card upon arrival at the Airport or with the Airline Company during your check-in. Please ask your Airline Company/Travel Agent. More info: http://www.migracion.gob.pa/eng/servicio.php?cont=paisvisa |
| Special remarks | 1. Uniforms:
- All departments: MUST BE WHITE (coat, shirt, pants, shoes or sneakers/trainers/runners/tennis shoes) - Surgery or Obstetrics: additional to your white uniform, bring surgical scrubs (white, green) - Paediatrics: uniform with animals or any other designs for children are allowed. SUGGESTION: bring at least 5 different sets of uniform, they will get dirty easily and you might not have time to wash every day. 2. Stethoscope. Your own reflex hammer, sphygmomanometer, lamp will be useful too. 3. An identity card (In form of a badge or plate) 4. Pets, family or friends are not allowed to come along with the student. 5. THE HOSPITAL WILL NOT ACCEPT PARTIAL ROTATIONS. YOU HAVE TO COMPLETE THE SCHEDULE, OTHERWISE THE HOSPITAL WILL NOT PROVIDE THE CERTIFICATION LETTER. |
| More info Link | www.ifmsapanama.org/exchange |
| These Exchange Conditions are valid until: |
31-03-2011 |
| Last update of data (GMT) | 30/07/2010 |