Christian Medical College Ludhiana

PERSONAL DETAILS

Name

Chloe Ey

ELECTIVE DETAILS

Country	India	City	Ludhiana – Punjab region (northern)
Setting	Urban (but can go out to one of their rural centres for 1 week if desired); developing
Local languages spoken	Hindi, Punjabi
Dates of elective	January – February 2008
Year level during elective	5	Expected level of knowledge	Barrier exams

DETAILS OF INSTITUTION

Name	Christian Medical College Ludhiana	Population served
Size
Departments/specialties available	O & G, general surgery, general medicine, paediatrics, community medicine.
Further description	Private hospital (still basic) – everyone speaks English, but doctors speak local language.
Student responsibilities	Working week includes Saturday 8.30am – 12.30pm.
Teaching availability	Lots of teaching
Elective contact	Dr Abraham – principal of CMC.
Application process	Send in application letter. I think you’re pretty much guaranteed a position.
Donations brought/grants

TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION, FOOD, LEISURE AND EXPECTED COSTS

Accommodation options	Student accommodation	AUD$60 for 4 weeks
Accommodation details	Arranged by the university. Very basic. Private room with bed, cupboard, desk. Shared bathroom – heat the water in buckets. Power failures ALL the time. If their winter = freezing‼! I found out in the last week that you can apply to stay in the consultant cottage/”the lodge” – something like this. It has more facilities (TV etc) and a proper shower. Not sure of $$$ – don’t think actually that much, maybe $300 for 4 weeks? I would definitely recommend this.
Travel to location (including necessary documentation)	Train from Delhi – 1st class, 3 hours.	AUD$200 return, much cheaper for lesser class
Transport within location	Minimal required. Student accommodation is located literally across the road from the hospital and thus students are given a break to go back for lunch. Very easy to get around Ludhiana – has big shopping centres about 20 minutes away by tuk tuk (couple of dollars). Tuk tuk $1 (if that) to the local market.	AUD$20
Food allowances		AUD$60 for all meals
Social activities
Recommended vaccinations	Typhoid, malaria, hepatitis A, rabies	AUD$300

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

The good	Got to scrub in on awesome surgery and lots of good community projects.
The bad	Language barrier
Further descriptions, comments or advice	Go in group/couple. I recommend travelling around India prior to placement in order to understand local customs/what is acceptable – will minimise the culture shock of the placement.
For more information