Welcome to Med‘oPolo International Medical internship Elective Programs
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain
MedoPolo International Medical Elective Programs
MedoPolo International elective Programs offer students from across the globe to apply for a clinical internships at our partner university hospitals in Shanghai, China, and Botucatu, Brazil. We tailor every and each rotation individually and exactly to your needs. Consequently, we offer our medical students application abroad for your exact desired duration, clinical departments and subjects needed.
Electives we offer
Med’oPolo International Programs offer our students Final Year rotations (also called ‘Practical Year’ ‘Praktisches Jahr’ or ‘PJ’) for a duration of 2 – 4 months, as well as clinical rotations for students within their clinical education years prior to their final year electives (also called ‘Famulatur’) for a duration of up to 1 month.
Apply for your individual clinical elective is possible for our locations at the Shanghai East Hospital, China and at the Botucatu FMB Hospital, Brasil.
We are currently in close contact with our partners for a medical internship in Africa. We hope to bring you this offer as soon as the international travel limitations due to the COVID crisis are lifted and more information will be coming as soon as new locations are becoming available! If you are interested specifically in an elective in Africa, please write us to inquire already.
Through MedoPolo, your application to our internship is independent from existing university cooperations, which often limit student mobility during their education abroad. Thus, all international medical students within their clinical education, enrolled at any medical faculty outside of mainland China, are eligible to apply to our medical elective / rotation program.
What we do
Through Med’oPolo Elective Programs, you can apply to the location(s) of your choice. If you wish, you can also to apply to several of the locations offered with only handing in one application! After we receive your application documents, we will help you through the entire process from there:
We are always there for you when needed and will offer our help regarding any questions or difficulties in the preparation of your journey. We will help you with advice regarding VISA issues, we will facilitate solving any problems, which may arise during your time abroad. Also, we will be at your side until the final acceptance of your rotation and help with any accreditation issues that may arise at your home university. However, accreditation issues are extremely rare.
A brief history of Med’oPolo medical internship Program
The beginnings:
Since the foundation of the Shanghai East Hospital Education Office in 2001 by Prof. Liu Zhong Min, the Education Office has become a central part of student education at the Shanghai East Hospital.
Initially founded for the education of domestic medical students of Tongji University only, the successor of Prof. Liu Zhong Min – Prof. Zhongxin Zhao – established an international internship program in 2007 open only to medical students from Germany at first.
To establish this new international exchange program, Prof. Zhao soon began to work with us on curriculum development and program setup. The first online appearance of the ‘Shanghai East Hospital Education Office’ launched 2009. This website was realized through the support of what later became the ‘Med‘oPolo Program’. This website enabled international medical students to access elective information easier.
The first professionalized medical elective program in mainland China took shape:
As a next step, we thoroughly revised and remodeled the entire medical rotation program just over one decade ago – in 2010. We developed a ‘Final Year Program’ (‘Praktisches Jahr’ – ‘PJ’), ‘Famulatur’ Program, and an ‘International Chinese Program’. Ever since, we constantly revise the program to adjust to the needs of modern practical medical education.
During the establishment of the new elective program, Prof Zhao worked closely together with German physicians and medical faculties in Germany, Europe and the USA. This cooperation ensured the implementation of very high international education standards. Certainly we especially focused on the standards of German medical universities.
Initial developments
These beginnings led to the development of an international teaching lecture series. Renown professors and consultant doctors teach in the lecture series at the Shanghai East Hospital. Following those additions, international student tutorial classes, taught in English language, were established soon. As the program evolved, we have founded the Med’o Polo International Medical Elective Program on site in Shanghai in 2010 as a cooperation project with the Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji Unversity School of medicine and all MedoPolo experts.
The first years of the international medical exchange
Med’o Polo administrated and managed the program from internally within the Education Office of the Shanghai East Hospital. We renovated the rooms in the dormitory building on Rushan Road to offer suitable housing for international students. From that time on, we provided more comfortable student apartments to our students. After seven successful years, the dormitory closed for international medical students due to changes in local housing legislations in 2017.
Changing medical electives in China
The overall quality of the internship improved further through recruitment of affiliate tutors throughout all departments over the following years. The one-year-long ‘International Chinese Program’ discontinued due to legislative changes in 2017. It was once open for international students studying at other Chinese faculties.
Prof. Zhao has finally retired from the program organization in 2019. His successor, the current director of the Education Office, Ms. Yiwei Luo, has been taking over the organization of the Med’oPolo International Rotation Program within the Shanghai East Hospitals structures. The program is administrated together with her staff of the Education Office and select Tongji University medical students.
Times of transition
Due to organizational and educational developments of the medical internship over its first decade, the management of the program at the Shanghai East Hospital separated. This separation was sparked by the addition of other international locations in Brazil since 2013, and Prof. Zhao’s retirement.
The Med’oPolo International Medical Elective Programs externalized the student management. Now we work in close cooperation with the Shanghai East Hospital’s Education Office. Likewise, Med’oPolo works independently as external partner directly with Tongji University School of Medicine as well.
The International Student Program of Tongji University School of Medicine in cooperation with the Shanghai East Hospital, the Faculty of Medicine Botucatu (FMB) in Cooperation with the University Estadual Paulista and Med’oPolo Clinical Internship Programs manage the programs at current as closely related partners to ensure the best quality for our students.
Difficult times for international exchange: The COVID years
As international travel and life in most countries has become to a complete stop in 2019, we still firmly believe that international exchange will be an important step for medical education in the future. At current, we are working on all programs continuously.
Additional international elective programs
In addition to our work in China, Med’oPolo International Programs have started to work with University hospitals of ‘Universidade Estadual Paulista’ (UNESP) in Brazil. As a result of this cooperation, we have establieshed a second medical internship in South America.
‘Faculdade de Medicina – Câmpus of Botucatu’ (FMB) started to offer the international rotation program in 2013. Application through Med’oPolo is open to medical students from all countries. Without any limitations, medical students worldwide can experience hospital live and daily routine in a Brazilian university hospital.
The director of the international office of FMB, Prof. Silke Weber, involves actively in the development of the international medical curriculum in Botucatu. In addition, she is active in research about international medical education as well – together with us and the many university partners within our network.
Outlook: future medical electives
At the present time, developments include the addition of a third partner in Africa. Through this new cooperation MedoPolo Programs hopes to start offering the third clinical elective to our students, located in Malawi, in the near future. However, if you have any interest in a placement in Africa, please contact us already. As the COVID-19 crisis has moved the time schedule to a later point than initially planned, we exspect our new elective locations to start in the future. Meanwhile, stay tuned and recheck our webpage for more detailed information.
Welcome to Med’o Polo International Medical Elective Programs
Are you ready for an adventure into the medical routines and to experience daily life in our hospitals abroad? Experience of a different culture and lifestyle in interesting places abroad may be a cornerstone of your further career and may change your understanding of other continents.
in short, the entire team of MedoPolo and its many partners are extremely looking forward to your application. We are happy to help you organizing your Medical internship and unforgettable educational journey.
MedoPolo International Elective Programs offering free E-learning online course: COVID Updated
As possibilities for medical students to attend clinical electives abroad have diminished in 2020 worldwide, we have reacted and started to build additional online resources – designed for medical students and medical professionals alike. As response to the COVID-19 crisis, we offer you in cooperation with university partners from all over the world – our e-learning courses free of charge.
The most comprehensive e-learning available is COVID Updated: Corona Virus. Registration is free of charge to medical students and all medical professionals. The course is available in english language.
Learning Objectives:
- General information on SARS-CoV-2
- Relevant clinical information on COVID-19
- Basics on vaccine development
- Safe use of Personal Proctection Equipment (PPE)
- Airway Management principles on COVID-19 patients
- Basics of ventilation
- CPR guidelines in times of COVID
- Ethical considerations
- Teamworking and soft-skills
The course is free of charge after registration. This course is most suitable for medical students within their clinical years, MD’s and all nursing staff and medical professionals. All professionals interested in learning about practical clinical management of COVID-19 patients will benefit from this e-learning.
Learners should plan to dedicate 10 -15 hours to this course. You will receive your certificate upon successful completion.
University accreditations
The medical faculty of the LMU Munich, Germany, the Faculty of Medicine Botucatu (FMB) in Botucatu, Brazil, the UNESP university in São Paulo, Brazil and CEU UCH University, Spain grant credit for this e-learning course to their students. If you are a student of the above named institutions, please speak to your coordinators to receive your credits. To receive credit, you will need to present your MedoPolo e-learning course certificate.