Global Health Learning Opportunities (GHLO): A new era for foreign electives’ aspirants
Global Health Learning Opportunities (GHLO): A new era
for foreign electives’ aspirants
By Muhammad Asad Hanif
Final Year MBBS
KE’s participation in the GHLO collaborative has
proved to be a milestone in aiding students to secure electives abroad.
Nevertheless, there is still a lack of awareness among Kemcolians about this
amazing opportunity which is at their disposal. So I am writing this blog with
the hope of rectifying this issue.
GHLO is the AAMC's (American Association of Medical
Colleges) service that makes it easier for medical students to pursue clinical
and research electives outside their home countries. GHLO's international
network of institutions offers nearly 2,000 clinical, public health, and
research opportunities in more than 36 countries. So what this basically means
for most of us at KEMU is a more convenient and effective method of applying
for and securing clinical electives in the USA to strengthen our chances of
acquiring a residency there. So that will be the main focus here.
Creating an account:
The first step is to create a user account
on the GHLO application service. For this you’ll have to approach Rashid Bhai
(Kamcaana Lab) with your student ID (or any other ID to prove that you are an enrolled
student, like anatomy card etc.). He will make your account right away and send
a link on your email ID for you to complete the process.
Searching and Applying for
Electives:
Once your account
has been created it is very simple to search and apply for electives as the
GHLO Application Service is very user friendly. Still, in case of any ambiguity
refer to the GHLO Student Handbook via the following link:
Important Information and
Tips:
·
PLAN
EARLY! Keep the required documents (transcripts, CV, titers etc.) ready right
after you enter fourth year officially (i.e. right after your third year prof.
result is out) so that you can pounce at any elective opportunity available on
GHLO just as it starts accepting applications. And believe me when I say this
‘Time is Money!’ It is in my opinion the single most important factor in
getting an elective and especially a free one (like the Wayne State University-
Internal Medicine – Urban Medicine clinical elective).
·
Electives
via GHLO can be done during fourth year and final year.
·
Always CONSULT your trusted seniors in person
before doing things like getting your transcripts issued, or your titers done
etc. as they may give you some extremely useful advice that will save you a lot
of time and money.
·
When
you write a letter of intent or anything of that sort (a requirement for many
elective programs), avoid making any spelling or grammatical mistakes and get
it all checked by some trusted senior once.
·
Check the GHLO Application Service regularly
(once a week or so) for new elective offerings and opening of applications. You
can also save an elective profile to make it easy to review and keep a check on
when it starts accepting applications.
·
The
required documents for the various elective programs are clearly mentioned on
their respective profile pages and all these are to be uploaded on the GHLO
Application Service, which is very convenient as compared to the usual methods
of sending documents via courier service etc.
·
GHLO
charges a mere $45 application fee. The application and tuition fee for each
elective is separately charged by the Host Institution (the institution
offering the elective), it is free for only a few electives (like Wayne State
University- Internal Medicine – Urban Medicine clinical elective).All this is
mentioned on the respective elective profiles and the payment is to be made
online via credit card which is again much more convenient than the usual bank
drafts, cashier cheques etc.
·
Also
help and guide your fellow students undergoing this process to the best of your
knowledge! Your competition is with the world and not your own friends and
class fellows so don’t ‘hesitate’ in giving them good advice and sharing useful
information.
That’s all from my side.I hope this blog serves its
purpose and a greater number of Kemcolians acquire good electives via GHLO each
year. Best of luck!
Note:
For GHLO, one of the most important things is to apply to different universities. It increases your chances to bag yourself an elective.
Note:
For GHLO, one of the most important things is to apply to different universities. It increases your chances to bag yourself an elective.
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