Elective (medical)

This article is about elective educational placements. For elective medical procedures, see Elective surgery.
Students assisting surgery in a hospital affiliated with Hebei North University.

An elective[note 1][1] is a placement undertaken as part of a medical degree. The content and setting of the placement are largely decided by the student undertaking it,[2] with some students choosing to spend it in a different country.

Elective placements are not exclusive to medical degrees; many other degree programmes within the field of healthcare also incorporate electives (such as nursing, dentistry and physiotherapy) and the format is often the same.


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  1. ^ "Electives at medical school". NHS Health Careers. Archived from the original on 2020-10-24. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  2. ^ Broad, Mike (3 February 2010). "Going on medical elective: a guide for students". Hospital Dr. Retrieved 2012-05-23.