We run an elective programme for medical students in their penultimate or final year of study interested in a clinical placement at St George's Hospital. These placements give you the opportunity to explore a particular medical specialty in a different healthcare environment as part of your degree.
Our elective placements are four weeks long and start on the first Monday of the month.
Applying
Unfortunately, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we have cancelled all elective placements for the 2021/22 academic year. We will update this page with more information if this situation changes so please check back here later in the year.
For further information about the impact of Covid-19 on the application process, please look at our applicant Covid-19 FAQ page.
General information for applicants
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We are unable to consider multiple requests for placement dates. You can only submit one application form at a time.
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You can specify up to two specialty requests on the application form. If we are unable to allocate you to your first choice of placement, we will also look into placing you in your second choice.
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Placements will be issued on a first come first served basis. Once all available placements have been allocated, the elective scheme will close and a notification will be posted on our web pages to confirm this.
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Due to the large number of applications we receive, if you do not provide all the required documents with your application form, we will be unable to process your application.
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If you are from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, and do not already hold immigration permission which permits study in the UK, you should apply for the Short Term Study Visa to undertake the elective placement at St George's. Read more information on visas.
How to apply
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Once applications have re-opened, view the list of available specialties on this page and complete an application form (Word).
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Ensure you have copies of the below documents.
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Current photographic identification and any relevant visa pages.
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A letter of recommendation from your medical school to verify that you are studying on a medicine programme. This letter should confirm that you are a current medical student, your year of study and the duration of your programme (start and end dates). We do not require a character reference.
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A home country police check (if applying from outside of the UK).
All copies of the above must be stamped and signed by your home university along with a Medical Elective Verification Form (Word).
If you are applying from a non-majority English speaking country you will need to meet our English language requirements as set out below.
English language entry criteria
| International English Language Testing System (IELTS) |
Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic)
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Minimum scores of 6.5 overall and in each of the four sub-test components
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Minimum scores of 62 overall and in each of the four sub-test components
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NB Your English language test certificate must have been issued within the last two years to be considered valid.
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Send your completed application form and supporting documents to the electives team.
Applying from outside of the UK
If you are applying from outside of the UK and secure a placement, you will be required to provide:
Cost
The elective fee is £300 and this sum is non-refundable. Information about how to pay will be sent to you with your provisional offer. Payment will need to be made within five working days of your provisional offer.
Questions
If you have any questions about applying for an elective placement, please contact the electives team.
Please also refer to our COVID-19 FAQ page for applicants.