Thread: Status of MSIH IHM Electives?

This one's going out to anyone more in the know than I am...

Do you know if MSIH is still fighting the decision by the US Dept of Education to disallow anyone receiving govt loans to take part in the IHM electives outside the country (i.e Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, etc.)?

From the disclaimer on the website, it sounds like they've given up trying to fight it and are now looking into options within Israel and back in the US for students taking out federal loans. If I get accepted for 2011, I'll definitely need federal loans. While working with the Druze or in East Jerusalem still sound like great experiences, I'd love to be able to work in Uganda or Ethiopia. Obviously, this won't sway my decision to attend MSIH, but it'd be nice to have the opportunity.

If anyone has any info on this, it'd be much appreciated!

Cheers

Ok, shameless bump... if any MSIH-ers know what the future of the international electives are looking like for US students on federal aid, any info would be great. Cheers

Hey Oddball,

There hasn't been any updates at the school recently. The school is always arranging alternative solutions and they are very committed to trying to solve this problem. I don't think they've given up fighting it though. However, the school does realize that it's possible nothing will come of their fight, so I know they are looking at many alternative solutions.

Thanks PufferFish,

Hopefully the US Dept of Education will ease up on the restrictions, but it sounds like the school has been really proactive in setting up decent alternatives. I know one school probably doesn't have a whole lot of sway with the US govt, but it's nice to hear they're trying to fight it nonetheless.

Cheers

hi, still trying to make up my mind....

how has this us dept of education issue affected your American rotations, the free electives in the states?

I can't answer from direct experience, but according to the MSIH website, students on federal aid are allowed to study in both the US and in the country their school is located (i.e. Israel), so theoretically rotations and electives in the US shouldn't be affected by the decision.

That's really interesting...

Supposedly, the administration has worked out the international clerkships in India, so that we are now able to complete some of our internships abroad. They are continuing to work to get other locations approved. This is the last thing they told us, and supposedly the class of 2012 will be the first ones to benefit from this change.

MSIHstudent is correct. We've been informed within the last few months that our two sites in India are approved. ALL MSIH students can go on these international electives. I think it's just a matter of time before more international sites are approved. As for our US electives (at Columbia and other places), this was never affected. We have a great relationship with Columbia which allows all of us to do several electives at Columbia hospitals.

One good thing that has come of this international elective problem with the Dept. of Education is that the school was able to expand it's connections in the US. Last year, the students needed to do their electives at an underserved location either in the US or Israel, so the school was able to find great rotations for the students all over the US.