Electives

Protection during your electives

Undertaking your elective is an exciting time during your student journey, allowing you to put your skills and knowledge into practice. While on your clinical placements, you may come across medicolegal and clinical challenges. Rest assured, Medical Protection are here to support and protect you.

As a Medical Protection member, you have access to the full benefits of membership, including emergency telephone advice to help you through any medicolegal or ethical dilemmas you may encounter while you are away.

Taking your elective outside of South Africa?

Medical Protection offers you access to free elective protection in most locations that medical students choose to spend their electives, including the USA and Canada. We have local membership schemes in South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the Caribbean, where we have a significant number of practising members.

If you choose to undertake clinical placement electives outside of South Africa, there may be laws and regulations that you have to comply with to work in that country. These could include:

The need to gain a work permit or visa
Additional professional obligations including registration or licensing
Minimum qualifications or training
Specific rules about the type of indemnity cover you can hold.

It’s important that you check that you comply with all the requirements to practise in the country.

Electives in Australia

If you are planning to travel to Australia for your elective, please contact us to obtain the correct elective protection.

The Australian Government stipulates that indemnity for claims of clinical negligence can only be provided by a regulated insurer. As Medical Protection is not an Australian regulated insurance company, we have arrangements with MIPS (Medical Indemnity Protection Society), to protect Medical Protection members' undertaking their electives in Australia. We can arrange free insurance through our partner organisation in Australia and of course you have access to the full benefits of MPS membership if you choose to undertake your elective in the UK.

Conditions of elective protection

To qualify for free elective protection:

Your elective must be authorised by the Dean of your university
Your elective work must be supervised by a qualified medical practitioner and must not exceed the level of your own qualifications or competence
You must be a student member of Medical Protection in one of the following countries: