| Summary: | Abdullah Fouda Neel,1 Leena Saad AlAhmari,2 Reema Ayed Alanazi,3 Kamran Sattar,4 Tauseef Ahmad,4 Elizabeth Feeley,4 Mahmoud Salah Khalil,4 Mona Soliman4 1College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Family Medicine and Polyclinics, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Background: International health electives prepare medical students during their student years of medical education in choosing, matching, and succeeding in the residency of their choice. They serve as a unique educational experience prior to residency training.Objective: This study was conducted to explore 4th- and 5th-year medical students’ perspective about international health electives and to evaluate their educational effects.Methods: An anonymous online survey with 22 items concerning perceptions about the electives with a 5-point Likert scale was administered to medical students at the College of Medicine, King Saud University.Results: For the majority of the students (81.6%) the elective course was arranged by the university and only 18.4% of students individually arranged their own. Most of the students (65.7%) agreed that the objective of the elective course was clear to them in advance. A total of 71.1% of students agreed that the program (elective) was responsive to their needs (both academically and socially).Conclusion: This is the first study looking at international electives in the context of the undergraduate medical curriculum in Saudi Arabia. The study showed that the international electives are a useful and unique experience for medical students (both academically and socially). Keywords: medical students, perception, international electives, experience, Saudi Arabia
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