WELCOME TO THE EXCHANGES SECTION!

 With hands wide open, we'd like to welcome all the IFMSA Exchange Students!

This section of the website will give a basic overview of the exchange experience in Malta, what it entails, what it requires and also gives you information about how to make the best out of your time in the Maltese Islands. 

Most of your questions will be answered in our Frequently Asked Questions section, so don't forget to check it out! For more information, please do not hesitate to contact our National Exchange Officer and National Officer on Research Exchange on neo.nore@mmsa.org.mt

BASIC INFORMATION

Accommodation

Students are accommodated in self-catering flats situated close to Mater Dei Hospital in Msida, Swatar, Sliema and San Gwann. Most flats are within 15 minutes walking distance from the hospital. The flats can accommodate between 4 and 7 students each and most bedrooms are shared. Males and females may share the same bedroom. The flats have showers, toilets, washing machine and a living/kitchen area but not all have internet access. Students will have to bring their own bed sheets, pillow cases and towels. Water and electricity are free but gas tanks for the cooker must be bought by the students.

Students will not be able to stay at the flat before or after the month they are assigned due to the other incoming students. However, we might be able to arrange a day or two.

Students are picked up from the airport by one of our contact people and taken to their flat free-of-charge. Students must find their own way back to the airport on their departure, either by bus or taxi.

Each student will have a set of keys for the flat in exchange for a €15 non-refundable deposit on your arrival. Any breakages in the flat will need to be paid for by the students in the flat. Unfortunately, things are always broken each year and since there are a lot of students in a flat, it is impossible for us to know who broke what and once students are gone we cannot ask, so we make it a rule that all students pay a €15 non-refundable deposit for any breakages that may occur in the flat. If there are any big breakages students will have to pay extra for this.

Hospital

Mater Dei Hospital is Malta’s new general hospital, which opened in November 2007. It is situated next to the University of Malta. All various specialities are offered at this hospital except dermatology and oncology (Sir Paul Boffa Hospital) and geriatrics (Zammit Clapp and Karen Grech Hospital).

The clerkship is from Monday to Friday from 8am till 2pm, these times vary according to the schedule of the consultant you are assigned to.

Students on their first day will need to go to Administration to receive an access card which allows them to enter most areas in the hospital and enter the staff canteen. The card must be displayed at all times and returned to the NEO/NORE at the end of the exchange.

There is a dress code at the hospital. Students cannot wear shorts, jeans or sandals but please wear a shirt, trousers and closed shoes. You do not need to wear a tie. Women cannot wear short skirts or low cut tops. Piercings and long items of jewellery should be removed before entering hospital. Tattoos shall be appropriately covered so as not to be visible.

Please attend your ward rounds, even if you go out the night before and you go home late. We cannot have any complaints from consultants because we will need to cancel your exchange.

 To check out how the Hospital is set up, click on the following link for a detailed plan - http://mmsa.org.mt/Mater_Dei_Plan.pdf

Social Program

The Social Program includes several places and activities around the Maltese islands. The Social Program is only for students who come in the summer months. You will need to take money for transport, boat trips and food. For certain places such as Museums and the Temples, students who carry an international students card such as ISIC (www.isic.org ) or EURO<26(www.euro26.org ) get a discount, usually half-price.

Your contact person or persons will accompany you to most of these places and will book any transport necessary for you. There are plenty of places you may wish to visit at your own leisure, especially Valletta and the various beaches around the island. Public transport bus tickets range from €0.47 to €1.20.

A list of places and activities we do:

Welcome BBQ

Wine and Beer festivals

Tour of Gozo

Comino

Traditional Maltese meal at a restaurant

Hypogeum and other Temples

Birgu (Vittoriosa) by night

Valletta

Mdina

Blue Grotto

Marsaxlokk fish market

Village Festa

International Food and Drinks Night

A very good interactive Map of Malta and Gozo, showing the airport, hospital location and all places of interest can be seen on http://www.visitmalta.com

Food

Bilateral students will be given 20 food tokens, one for each working day of the month, to use at a restaurant close to Mater Dei Hospital at lunch time.

Unilateral students do not get any free meals.

Food for other meals must be bought by students at local supermarkets or food stores at students’ expense.

Documents we need and their links and Items to bring to Malta

The application should include:

- 3 passport size photos

- A copy of Health Insurance

- The English Language Certificate

[ Download Link :: ]

- Proof of university enrolment

- Immunisation form

[Download Link :: ]

This includes Hepatitis B, TB, rubella, MRSA and varicella. This must be received by NEO 5 weeks before start of exchange or may be subject to cancellation.

- Towels, bed sheets and pillow cases

- Lab-coat

- Stethoscope

- Shoes for operating and endoscopy theatres (only to be worn in the operating theatres)

Extra documents for research students:

- A Motivation letter: for each of the three projects chosen, stating why they want to take part in a particular research program. The motivation letter should include only the reasons the student chosen the project, the aim for wanting to choose this project, and their knowledge in the particular field.

- Motivation letter should not have any cultural interest or any other interest of the student for coming here in Malta. A good Motivation letter would determine if the student is accepted or not in a particular project. Please note that certain projects require that you already have had lab experience.

- Letter of recommendation

RULES

1.     Students are allowed to come to Malta only during one calendar month, no mid-months accepted. There are no clerkships available in May or June.

2.     The card of confirmation and the flight details should be send to the NEO-NORE with their date and time of arrival and departure 4 weeks before the start of the exchange or else they will not be picked up from the airport on arrival.

3.     On arrival, there would be a pick up person that would take each student to their accommodation. On departure it is up to the student to arrive to the airport, student can either get a taxi or go by bus.

4.     Students need to be able to speak and understand English and provide proof of their fluency in English.

5.     Students must attend hospital Monday to Friday. If student is going to take a day off, he/she must inform the tutor beforehand. However, to receive your certificate at the end of the exchange, he/she must have attended 80% of the clerkship/ research exchange.

6.     Students will be assigned to a consultant and his firm for the exchange and the student cannot change the department once the exchange has begun.

7.     Students are requested to bring their own white coat, stethoscope and shoes for the operating theatre with them.

8.     Students clothes must be smart and respectable when in the hospital.

9.     Students must have health insurance and provide the NEO-NORE with the immunisation form 5 weeks before start of exchange or may be subject to cancellation.

10.   The NEO-NORE should be notified of cancellations at least 5 weeks before start of exchange.

11.   Friends or family may visit students in Malta but they cannot stay at students’ accommodation and it must not interfere with the students’ clerkship at hospital.

12.   Accommodation given can not be changed during clerkship.

13.   Bilaterals must pay a non-refundable fee of €15 on arrival.

14.   Unilaterals pay €400 for July and August, €300 for September and €250 for the other months. Unilaterals must pay their fee at least 4 weeks before their exchange, otherwise the exchange will be cancelled. Unilateral students that do not pay before they come here to Malta, on arrival they would be asked to return home. We can not accept anyone who did not pay. We apologize for any inconvenience.

15.   Cancellations after payment are not refundable if the cancellation is made by the student

16.   The NEO-NORE reserves the right to cancel any clerkship if it receives any complaints of misconduct or unethical practice both in hospital as well as at the lodgings. The students responsible for such acts are held liable for any damage incurred during the clerkship.

17.   The Malta Medical Students’ Association (MMSA) is not liable for the loss or damage of any student’s property or person.

18.   Flat keys must be returned at the end of the exchange.

19.   Access cards must be returned to the NEO/NORE at the end of the exchange.

20.   Students must fill in their IFMSA Evaluation Form before receiving their certificate.

21.   Students who need a VISA to enter Malta can apply at any Maltese, Italian or Austrian embassy since Malta is now part of Schengen. However, if a students’ VISA is denied there is nothing MMSA can do. Check VISA requirements at this address: http://www.foreign.gov.mt/pages/main.asp?sec=83 and request Invitation Letters from MMSA in advance.

22.   Because of the swine flu pandemic (virus A H1N1), all students are requested to start their clerkship at the hospital not earlier than 72 hours after arriving in Malta. On arrival at the airport, the students will be given a document titled ‘Influenza Rules & Regulations Sheet’. This contains some information about influenza A(H1N1), the protocol which students must follow, should they develop symptoms of influenza or have prolonged contact with a confirmed case of influenza A(H1N1), as well as some additional information. After reading this document, they will sign another document, titled ‘Student Declaration on Arrival’, by which they declare that they have read the ‘Influenza Rules & Regulations Sheet’ document, that they have no symptoms of influenza on arrival, that they will begin their clerkship at Mater Dei Hospital not earlier than 72 hours after arriving in Malta, and that they will follow the protocol on the ‘Influenza Rules & Regulations Sheet’ should they develop symptoms of influenza during their stay in Malta. The ‘Influenza Rules & Regulations Sheet’ should be kept by the student throughout his/her stay, while the signed ‘Student Declaration on Arrival’ should be returned to the pickup person.

23.   Students who have been vaccinated against the virus A(H1N1) will not be requested to stay away from the hospital for the first 72 hours of arrival in Malta. However, copy of certificate as evidence of the vaccination is to be presented.

Extra Rules for Research students

1.     The projects are given to the student according to availability and according to their motivation letter. Motivation letters determine if the student is accepted or not. All projects require that students already have had experience in the field of their choice.

2.     Since the tutors do not sign any contracts to take students, they can decide not to take students; therefore the projects might vary at the last moment. The student is immediately notified and another project is found which is as much as possible similar to that the student had chosen. If unfortunately no project is found, the student would be asked to postpone his/her exchange for the following month or year. Tutors are not paid here in Malta to carry out such month sessions, and take students under their own good will.

3.     If a particular month is full up, the student is asked whether he/she can change the month they had chosen, if they can not change the month of their research exchange, there can be substitutions with other students that can come on the month that is available or else postpone the research for the following year.

4.     Project title may vary a little, since this depends on the research the tutor is undergoing at that particular time. Usually the research of the tutor is on the same basis. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

      1.       What do I need to bring with me?

A stethoscope, white coat, bed sheets and a towel.

2.       Will someone pick me up from the airport?

Yes. Please send your flight details as soon as possible so we can organise pick-ups. A medical student will be waiting for you at the airport; do not panic if they are a few minutes late.

3.       Do I have internet access?

Yes, there are computers with internet/ Wi-Fi at the Medical School Library as well as the computer lab in the Institute of Health Care (IHC) above medical school. For 2 weeks during August the Library is closed but the computer lab upstairs remains open during office hours. There is no internet at the flats.

4.       Where will I be staying?

MMSA rents out self catering apartments for the exchange students. You will be around 6 students to a flat, roughly two in each room. You may possibly share a room with someone of the opposite gender. Most of the flats are within walking distance from the university and the hospital. They are roughly about a 10 or 15 minute walk.

5.       What facilities are there in the flat?

The kitchen is fully equipped so you can very easily cook there and there is also a washing machine available in most flats. If your flat does not have a washing machine, you’ll have to arrange to use one in another flat.

6.       Will someone take me back to the airport?

No, you will need to find your own way back. There are either buses or taxis available.

7.       Will I be accompanied to the hospital on my first day?

No, usually not. We will give you all the information before you arrive. You will need to go to the Administration Block at Mater Dei Hospital and collect your hospital card. You will then need to page your consultant (you will have his/her name beforehand) and they will either come for you or give you directions to where they are.

8.       Will I have a language problem?

Most of the Maltese population speaks English so if your English is good (which is obligatory if you are coming to Malta) you will have no problems at all. We normally speak to the patients at the hospital in Maltese, a Semitic-based language similar to Arabic with some Italian, but most will be ok with you speaking English to them. Most junior doctors in the firm will be happy to translate for you.

9.       Do I have a social program?

In July and August there is a social program and in September some students do offer to show you around, although this is not obligatory. The contact person will give you the time table with the social program activities in the first week so you are free to choose which activities you would like to attend and plan your stay accordingly.

10.     Do I have to pay for the social program activities?

You will need to pay for things like the bus/coach/ferry fares and other entrance fees to museums. Certain places that you visit give students a discount therefore it is advisable to get an ISIC or EURO<26 card.

11.     Do I have food included?

Bilateral students will be given 20 food tokens, one for each working day of the month, to use at a restaurant close to Mater Dei Hospital at lunch time. Unilateral students do not get any free meals. Food for other meals must be bought by students at local supermarkets or food stores at students’ expense.

12.     What are my hospital hours?

Most of the time, you are required to be at hospital from 8am till around 2.00pm from Monday to Friday. This varies with consultants so please ask your consultant on your first day.

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