Visiting Medical Electives

Students may apply for a clinical elective in the specialties listed below. We are not in a position to confirm the number of elective places available in each department in advance of applying.

Department of Clinical Medicine:

• Cardiology
• Dermatology
• Emergency Medicine
• Endocrinology
• Gastroenterology / Hepatology
• General Medicine
• GUIDE (Genito Urinary Medicine and Infectious Diseases)
• Internal medicine & Clinical Pharmacology
• Medicine for the Elderly
• Neurology
• Nephrology
• Oncology
• Palliative Medicine
• Physical & Rehabilitation Medicine
• Respiratory
• Rheumatology

Department of Surgery:

• General Surgery
• Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
• Orthopaedics
• Radiology
• Plastic Surgery
• Urology
• Vascular & Endovascular Surgery
• Anaesthetics & Pain Medicine
• ENT
• Cardiothoracic

Other Departments:

• Gynaecology (limited places) - only open to students who have already completed this specialty as a core rotation in home university
• Psychiatry (limited places) - only open to students who have already completed this specialty as a core rotation in home university

NB.: It is not currently possible for visiting students to apply for electives in Paediatrics or Public Health & Primary Care

TCD students: Please use TCD elective application form available internally on Blackboard.

Visiting Students:
Applications for our visiting elective programme summer 2022 will be open from 1st March – 31st March 2022. Applications outside of these dates will not be processed.

Visiting Elective Application Form

1. Section C: to be completed by the Dean or Designate of your medical school
2. Checklist to be completed and signed by the applicant
3. Students submit Pages 1 & 2 of the Visiting Elective Application Form by e-mail to vismedel@tcd.ie along with all of the required documents listed in the Checklist (see Application Form & Required Documents Tab)
4. The hospital department will contact you directly to let you know the outcome of your application within 8 weeks from receipt of your application
5. If your application is successful, you must confirm your acceptance within 7 days and provide proof of Personal Health Insurance Cover for the duration of your stay in Ireland.
6. Successful applicants will then be sent the payment details to process payment of the non-refundable administrative fee of €150 in order to secure their place.
7. The hospital department hosting your elective will contact you by email before your starting date to confirm the arrangements for the first day of your elective.

It is not possible to provide a status update on the progress of your application during the application period. Please do not call to check on the status of your application. If you have a question, please review the information on our website before contacting our office.

All queries must be submitted by e-mail to vismedel@tcd.ie. Please do not contact hospital departments directly.

To apply for an elective, applicants must submit all of the documents listed below by email to: vismedel@tcd.ie Incomplete applications will not be processed.

1. Application Form (MS Word 92kB)  You must attach a passport sized photograph in the space provided on page 1.
2. Form 1B - Immunization record (MS Word 185kB)  must be completed in full by your doctor or university health centre. Please note that ALL sections of the form must be completed and laboratory reports dated within the previous 6 months must also be attached.
3. Police Clearance Report: Students working in a clinical setting are obliged to undergo police vetting procedures prior to applying for an elective - please contact the police in your home country/current country of residence. In the case of medical students registered in another Irish university, in lieu of a police certificate, we are happy to accept a Garda clearance letter from your medical school stating you were cleared for entry to the medicine programme.
4. Insurance: Proof of Liability and Malpractice Insurance provided by your home university. Proof of Personal Health Insurance which will cover you during your stay in Ireland must be submitted at time of acceptance of offer.
5. Proof of English language proficiency: If English is not your first language or if you are not undertaking your medical studies through English, then you must submit proof of competence in the English language. Details of the English language tests accepted by TCD are available here.
6. Brief Curriculum Vitae and a personal statement, outlining why you are applying to take part in the Elective programme and how this elective will contribute to your personal and professional development
7. Original Academic Transcript from your home university, showing the modules/subjects you have taken since year 1 and the grades obtained. This must be printed on the headed paper of your university and signed and stamped by the university.
8. Checklist (MS Word 58kB): Checklist must be printed off, signed by the applicant and returned as part of the required application documents.

Please note that all documentation must be in English or accompanied by certified translations into English.

Please scan all original documents and send them as PDF attachments* to vismedel@tcd.ie noting your Subject Heading as follows: "Visiting Elective Application Summer 2022 - (followed by your name)"

*If the scanned application documents are not grouped into one single attachment due to limited size capacity, please name each individual attachment according to the document type (eg. Application Form.pdf, Immunisation form.pdf, police cert.pdf, insurance.pdf, etc ). This should be sent in a single compressed (zipped) file where possible.

There is currently no fee charged for the elective placement and no application fee charged at the time of application. However, successful candidates who are offered a place will be charged a non-refundable administrative fee of €150. Students who are not offered an elective place will not be charged an administrative fee.

It is the responsibility of the visiting student to cover all costs in relation to their time in Dublin and to make their own arrangements for travel and accommodation. TCD does not provide any remuneration for electives at our affiliated teaching hospitals.

Accommodation is not provided by the teaching hospitals and cannot be arranged by the School of Medicine. Information about short-term accommodation in Dublin is available on: https://www.booking.com/ and http://www.daft.ie/

Finally, it is each student's responsibility to inform themselves about visa and immigration regulations. Students are advised to apply for visas as soon as possible after accepting an elective offer and to make sure to bring originals and photocopies of all visa and immigration documents in their hand-luggage when travelling to Dublin airport.