Exchange Conditions of FiMSIC

The student must be able to communicate in English in hospital environment. The student's English skills should meet at least the standard of CEFRL level B2 (upper intermediate) or equivalent, and this must be proved by

• An official language proficiency test endorsed by an Educational Testing Service (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge English)
• FiMSIC English Certificate filled in, signed and stamped by an English professor (you can find the certificate template in the “Necessary Documents” folder in the section Card of Documents and "Special Remarks"). The certificate must include the name of the student.
• An official (stamped) written affirmation, that the language of the student’s studies in Medicine, in the university, is English (educational media, lectures and exams). The document should also mention the name of the student.

The language certificate must be at least CEFRL B2 level or describe the student’s language skills as equivalent (upper intermediate), and appropriate in order to work in a hospital environment.

We don't accept high school certificates, certificates of language courses without mention of the CEFR level or certificates signed by NEO/other NMO member, or certificates without the students name.

The hosting NMO and the clinic withhold the right to request for additional documents, if deemed necessary to ensure the sufficient language capabilities of the student.

All students must bring the academic quality logbook of their own national member organisation. If a student does not have a logbook, they must inform the LC, and the local committee in Finland will provide a Finnish logbook at the cost of the student.

In order to get a certificate, the student must:

• attend minimum 80% of their clerkship
• fill in their logbooks as instructed and appropriate
• fill in the evaluation form

Students who do not meet these requirements, and/or do not follow the rules, instructions and guidance of their local officers, FiMSIC, university or their tutor will not receive the certificate.

• Stethoscope
• Indoor shoes
  
• Academic Quality Logbook

White coats and scrubs are provided by the hospital. Dress code is casual but you should have long trousers or a skirt (no shorts) and socks on (no bare feet). Usually Finnish doctors and medical students wear jeans and t-shirts, or scrubs under the white coat.

The indoor shoes should be clean and not worn outdoors but they can be sandals, crocs etc., practical shoes and in any colour.

VERY IMPORTANT: Patient confidentiality is of utmost importance! Students are not allowed to share of any patient related information with anyone not related to the the patients care, including family and friends. All incoming student must read the “FiMSIC Statement on Hospital Conduct”.

ANY VIOLATION OF PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY CAN LEAD TO IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF THE EXCHANGE.

Please, choose three different cities. The available cities for incoming students are Helsinki, Kuopio, Oulu, Tampere and Turku.

FiMSIC cannot guarantee the student to be placed in any of the 3 cities chosen in the AF, spots in certain cities are limited especially during July and August. Students with any other city than Helsinki as the number one city, and students who fill in their AF carefully and as instructed, will be placed first.

We accept student throughout the year. Please apply for a calendar month, from the first to the last day of the month. The duration of the exchange is 4 weeks, starting at the latest on the first Monday of the month and ending 4 weeks later, unless otherwise instructed. The exact dates will be confirmed with the CA.

In case you apply to Turku you must arrive some days earlier in order to have your required samples taken and investigated before the start of the clerkship (you will get more information with the CA).

The student should choose four different departments.

The student must have passed the clinical courses of the specialties that they apply for, before the beginning of the clerkship, and this must be proven with an official student record in English. Please see “special remarks” the section “Card of Documents” for more information on the requirements of the documents.

Students applying for surgical departments must have previous operating room experience, and must know operating room conduct.Departments may have additional requirements, such as proof of certain vaccinations, depending on the LC and the department. The student will be informed of these by the LC.

Availability of departments varies across the LCs and during the year. If there are no spots available in the four departments that the student has chosen, the student will be asked to choose an alternative department by email.

IF THERE IS ANY UNCLARITY WITH THE STUDENT RECORD AND THE NECESSARY CLINICAL COURSES, THE AF WILL BE REJECTED.

Each incoming student is matched with their own contact person (CP) throughout the year, who helps the student with regular issues.

In general our social program is more active during the summer when most of the incomings arrive. In July and August there is National Social Program Weekend organised by one of the LCs. During the weekend, all the incoming students from different cities gather and spend time together.
Outside the summer months the social program is not guaranteed and that time is best suited for students who are active and independent in organising their own program, or want to come with a friend. If you come outside the summer months, you will possibly get more involved with Finnish students and e.g. Erasmus students.

If the student has a disability, the NEO-out of the sending NMO must contact our NEO-in to find out, whether we will be able to host the particular student.

We are able to place two students in the same city but placement in the same department for both students or accommodation in the same flat for students can't be guaranteed. We try to place all the students into cities according to their wishes but in case of lack of resources in popular cities, the students wanting to be placed with another student may be positioned into some other LC. If wishing to be placed into the same city with someone else, it must be mentioned in the AF.

Incomings must not host friends or family members in their apartments.

If you need a visa, please contact our embassy in your country. A tourist visa should suffice.
You can find detailed information about visa requirements on the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

The NEO-in can provide Invitation Letters and other documents, if required. When deeded, we kindly ask you to send us a request for these as soon as possible.

The deadline for the AF is 4 months before the beginning of the desired exchange period.
As an exception, all applications for July, August and September must be submitted by the March Meeting.

Incomplete applications are rejected. Applications that turn out incomplete (e.g. dates not according to Calendar Remarks, the card of confirmation missing standard documents, all documents not meeting the standards that are set in the EC, the student hasn't studied and passed the course of the specialty he/she is applying for) will be rejected.

All the standard documents in the Card of Documents must have been uploaded when submitting the AF (unless discussed with the NEO-in beforehand,) or the AF will be sent back to the NEO-out. Please see “Special Remarks” regarding the Card of Documents.

Required immunization:

• Influenza (influenza vaccination) - mandatory during the influenza season
  
• Measles - mandatory (measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination)
  
• Chickenpox (varicella) - mandatory
  
• Whooping cough (pertussis vaccination) - mandatory for students working in close proximity of small children (e.g. gynaecology and obstetrics, paediatrics etc.)
  
• Hepatitis-B (vaccination) - recommended
  

Specific LCs and/or departments may demand additional immunization records, e.g. against polio. The student will be informed of these by the LC.

As NMO we require Health Insurance and Travel Insurance. However, these insurances cannot be arranged in our country and should be arranged in your home country.

Full Health Insurance covering the whole period of the clerkship is compulsory. It should cover expenses linked to health issues, e.g. if you have to see a doctor and buy drugs on prescription. For students from EU member countries the European Health Insurance Card is enough.

As a NMO, we do not require Malpractice Insurance.

NB! WHEN PLACING THE APPLICANTS IN THE CITIES AND CLINICS, PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN FOR THOSE WHO FILL THEIR AF AND COD CAREFULLY (FOLLOWING THE EXCHANGE CONDITIONS OF FiMSIC).

Requirements for application documents:

1. An official student record: showing all the courses studied in medicine. The record must be in English, it must be stamped by the university, it should not be more than 6 months old and it must show that the student has completed the clinical courses of those specialties that he/she is applying for.

IMPORTANT:

• If the student has studied the subject, but it is not clearly stated in the SR, the student must clarify this in the “additional notes” section of the AF. For example, if the student’s curriculum is based on organ systems, they must mention if certain course also includes both surgery as well as internal medicine if applying for those departments (eg. "cardiovascular system includes both cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery").
• If the student has not yet passed the course at the time the AF is sent, but will complete the course before the exchange, it must be mentioned in the student remarks section on the AF, and must include the information on when the updated SR will be sent. In this case the student must upload the updated SR in the CoD as soon as possible, and at minimum 8 weeks before the start of the exchange.

IF THE STUDENT HAS NOT SENT THE SR 8 WEEKS BEFORE THE EXCHANGE, THE CA WILL NOT BE SENT.

2. Language certificate (of Finnish, Swedish or English)

Accepted language certificates are as follows:

• An official language proficiency test endorsed by an Educational Testing Service (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge English)
• FiMSIC English Certificate filled in, signed and stamped by an English professor (you can find the certificate template in the “necessary documents” folder below). Must include the name of the student.
• An official (stamped) written affirmation, that the language of the student’s studies in Medicine, in the university, is English (educational media, lectures and exams). The document should also mention the name of the student.

The language certificate must show at least CEFR B2 level language capabilities or describe the student’s language skills as equivalent, and appropriate to work in a hospital environment.

We don't accept:

• high school certificates
• certificates of language courses without mention of the CEFR level / from which language skills cannot be evaluated
• certificates signed by NEO/other NMO member.

3. Regulations for FiMSIC exchange programs: All incoming students to Finland must accept the Regulations for FiMSIC Exchange Programs. The students are required to sign this form and upload it into the Card of Documents section named 'Other'. The form can be found in the “necessary documents” folder below.

4. IFMSA SCOPE Terms and Conditions: All incoming students to Finland are required to sign the newest form of  IFMSA SCOPE Terms and Conditions. The form can be found in the “necessary documents” folder below.

5. Motivation letters: to each of the departments applied for in the AF. Introducing yourself formally, your medical education (how many years so far etc.) and your interests in medicine in general, your special interest to the field, your previous experience in the field and associated fields, what you would like to learn during your clerkship.
   The motivational letter should be addressed to the head of the department, but not specify any LC.

6. Vaccination Card. All students must send a vaccination card as proof of immunisation, according to the section “Immunization requirements”. The vaccination card must be official (verified by a medical professional, e.g. stamped) and in English. Different LCs might also request other vaccinations and/or health certificates depending on the hospital and/or the clinic. The student will be informed of these by the LC. Vaccination Card doesn't have to be sent with the AF, but it is mandatory, and must be sent before the start of the exchange.
   

7. MRSA (Meticilline resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, nasal sample) negativity certificate: Depending on the hospital that the student is placed to there are different rules about the MRSA testing. The students will be provided with all the necessary information concerning possible MRSA requirements when receiving the CA. Some of the hospitals require that the test needs to be made in Finland but in general the student should, however, be prepared to get tested in their home country and provide the certificate upon arrival. The test taken in the home country should not be made more than one month before the exchange and the certificate must be in English.
   The students that are placed to Turku need to be prepared to arrive to Finland some days before the start of their clerkship in order to have their samples taken and investigated.

ALL THE APPLICATION DOCUMENTS MUST BE IN PDF FORM!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WqheKizxdRiEJUBj0p8C7LH8Y2gzfFYq?usp=sharing !

The CA will not be sent, if the student has not provided the required standard documents needed for the AF, including the Student Record as instructed.

Please note that the period stated in the CA is definite. The department stated on the CA might however change within the same LC.

Substitute student’s documents should be sent to NEO-in. Substitutes must be of the same sex, meet the requirements stated in the EC and must accept the same period, city and department as the original applicant.

The substitutes documents must be sent at minimum 4 weeks before the start of the exchange and no substitutions will be accepted less than 4 weeks before the beginning of the clerkship.

Students who have asked for an invitation letter, no substitutions will be made after the IL is sent.

Email address: The student should regularly check the email account they have given in the AF.

Lodging and key deposit:
Accommodation is offered only for the dates stated in the CA and in the LC that the student is accepted (in Turku there will be accommodation organized also for the time the samples are investigated for the MRSA testing).