The Standing Committee on Professional Exchange (SCOPE) is one of the first standing committees within IFMSA. It started small, but since then it has grown into one of the largets student-run exchange program in the world. The SCOPE exchange program is a quality educational and cultural experience organized entirely by medical students with the help of their medical faculties.Professional Exchange program is the backbone of the Federation and constitutes its longest running project and it is one of the main fields of action in IFMSA.

Annually, around 13.000 students from more than 90 countries travel around the world to discover new health systems, new cultures and to enhance their global health and intercultural understanding.The Professional Exchange program is a full educational program offering clerkships to medical students abroad.The aim of SCOPE is to promote cultural understanding and co-operation amongst medical students and all health professionals, through the facilitation of international student exchanges. SCOPE aims to give all students the opportunity to learn about global health, and attains this partly by having its exchanges accredited by medical faculties across the world.

All medical students are entitled to participate in a four-week clerkship in a chosen clinical or pre-clinical field of medicine. The language of instruction is either English or the language of the host country. Clerkships are purely educational and students will not receive a salary. During the exchange, the student has the chance to observe a different health care system and learn from foreign tutors. All students are assigned to a physician supervisor, who acts as a tutor and mentor.In exchange of a participation fee, the incoming student is offered a one-month clerkship at the hospital and department of his or her choice, lodging at a student facility or with a host family, and at least one meal per day.

For more information about the Exchange conditions and SCOPE in general, visit www.ifmsa.org or ask your Local Exchange Officer!