ABSTRACT
This chapter details a study that describes and categorises international health electives (IHEs) offered at all 14 English-speaking Canadian medical schools in 2012-13. It wants to understand how IHE initiatives developed at English-speaking medical schools in Canada, what types of international opportunities were available to trainees, and how partnerships were formed between Canadian schools and the international medical facilities that hosted their students. All schools had a process to ensure student supervision during IHEs in place, although it varied within and among schools, depending on the nature of the partnership, the level of faculty involvement and the timing of student elective periods. The types of international elective experiences available to Canadian undergraduate medical trainees vary significantly between, and sometimes within, schools with respect to location, objectives and evaluation, as well as the nature of partnerships, preparation, curricula and faculty supervision.
