Clerkship Guide
Clerkship Guide
Official website:
https://www.umb.edu.pl/en/.../Downloads_and_clerkship_forms ›
From first to fifth year, you must complete summer clerkships. You can start your summer clerkship as soon as you finish your last exam, and you have to complete it by September 15th.
Key figures:
Tutor: UMB staff member, oversees clerkships per year.
Supervisor: Manages daily tasks at your chosen clinic (i.e., the main doctor/nurse you follow).
Hours given in clock hours (60 mins/h). 90 h = 120 academic hours. 45 min = 1 academic hour.
1st Year: 90 hours in nursing during 20 days.
2nd Year: 68 hours with a family doctor during 15 days, 22 hours in emergency during 5 days.
3rd Year: 90 hours in internal medicine during 20 days.
4th Year: 45 hours in ICU, and 45 hours in surgery, 10 days each.
5th Year: 45 hours in gynecology/obstetrics, and 45 hours in pediatrics, 10 days each.
If you have to do Staz, please read the special section for consideration.
Minimum:
20 days, 4.5 hours/day
That adds up to 90 hours, or 120 academic hours in total.
1 academic hour = 45 minutes
Always use academic hours on the UMB documents.
20 individual workdays required.
Putting in extra hours per day doesn’t mean you can work fewer days.
Minimum 6 academic hours per day (= 4.5 h/day) during those 20 days.
However, more hours per day can be legitimately required by your clerkship place.
Rules:
Outside class hours
i.e., you can't have classes when you do your clerkship
Mondays to Fridays
no clerkship on public holidays, incl. Sundays allowed
You can have pauses in between
for example, you could split 4 weeks into 3 weeks in July and 1 week in September; if you want or need to do so (at the same place)
The biggest no-go is to skip on regular teaching in order to do clerkship.
Completion & submission deadline:
By September 15th.
Submission:
Email documents (scanned) to your Tutor by Sep 15th
Submit originals in a envelope as soon as possible (latest by early October) to the Dean's Office.
Extensions:
Granted in exceptional cases.
Ask for an extension always before September 15th and give good reason.
Duration of extension: The default extension granted is until October 1st. Longer ones are very difficult to obtain.
When you fail to submit until the deadline:
Treated as a failed course, requiring a retake
Mind that only 2 retakes/year are possible!
If you do not know what Staż is, and why you may need it, you can inform yourself about it here.
Following our inquiry, the Polish Ministry of Health has confirmed a third option for obtaining the staż podyplomowy (postgraduate internship) certificate, alongside the two previously known pathways at our university.
Medical students can fulfill the Staż by completing 12 months of clinical internships outside Poland but within the European Union. Switzerland and Norway may also be eligible. These internships must take place during the official period of study, i.e., between enrollment and graduation.
So, to reach the 12-month total, you will likely need to complete these internships across multiple summers, requiring you to prolong your regular clerkships abroad. The internships must follow the official curriculum (attached below). Most importantly: All internships must be properly documented and clearly fall within the official duration of your studies. Retroactively signed documents are accepted, provided they vouch for internships in that period, i.e., while you were still a registered student.
Further, all documents, when handed in, must be translated by a sworn translator to Polish. Certified copies of the originals must be made. We also heard that it speeds up the process when you attach a small sheet to the top of your pile that preemtively adds up the hours and already shows them from when to when you did what in what clinic.
Required Clinical Fields:
Internal Medicine (10 weeks) + Blood Donation Services (1 week)
Pediatrics (6 weeks) + Neonatology (2 weeks)
General Surgery (6 weeks) + Trauma Surgery (2 weeks)
Anesthesiology (2 weeks) + Emergency Medicine (3 weeks)
Obstetrics and Gynecology (7 weeks)
Family Medicine (6 weeks)
Elective/Personalized Internship (7 weeks) (the nursing clerkship may count here)
For further details or specific questions, you can contact the Polish Ministry of Health directly: kancelaria@mz.gov.pl
Before the clerkship:
Find a suitable clinic. Apply properly.
Reassure that the dates are in accordance with the rules and the deadline.
Involve help (Tutor) if in doubt.
First day of the clerkship:
Register daily schedule with your supervisor.
Ensure objectives from Program Outline can be covered while you are there.
If they can't, inform the Tutor.
Last day of the clerkship:
Ensure all documents are signed by proper authorities.
Scan all documents into one PDF.
Email that PDF to the Tutor.
Fill out the questionnaire in the virtual university.
When you return to Bialystok (around October 1st):
Submit the clerkship papers to the Dean's Office.
Tips
Use academic hours on UMB paperwork (1 academic hour = 45 minutes).
Confirm anything with your tutor if in doubt.
Follow latest regulations and guidelines.
Program Outline 🔵🔴🟣
Criteria for selection 🔵🟢
Self-assessment sheet 🔵🔴
The rest has to be acknowledged, but does not have to be attached, printed nor mailed back.
NOTA BENE: There's a mandatory questionnaire in the virtual university to be filled out after the clerkship!
FYI: Officially, clerkships cannot be done during the academic year without valid reasons.
Attention: The process is long and requires early organization, especially for non-Polish speakers. Spots are limited.
Steps:
Confirm availability in the department and create a provisional schedule that works with them.
Request a "Porozumienie" (agreement) from the Dean's Office, and specify the start and end dates from your provisional schedule. The Dean's Office may take a week to issue said agreement, depending on the Dean's availability.
Pick up the Porozumienie from the Dean’s Office and bring it to the department head. They may take a few days to sign it, too, depending on their office hours and holidays.
Meanwhile, prepare and attach the hospital GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation, RODO in Poland) and Polish insurance confirmation (ask your friends or your Tutor for help regarding the insurance).
Deliver said documents [Porozumienie, RODO, Insurance] to the hospital administration (Block C, 5th floor). Note: their office hours are posted on the bottom of the official website and in "The Rules on Doing Practical Training (Medical_Clerkship) at the University Teaching Hospital in Bialystok"
Return to the hospital administration after two weeks to pick up your permit and remember to complete the remaining (standard) paperwork for your clerkship (including the questionnaire in the virtual university).
Program Outline 🔵🔴🟣
Criteria for selection (not required!)
Self-assessment sheet (not required!)
The rest has to be acknowledged, but does not have to be attached, printed or mailed back.
NOTA BENE: There's a mandatory questionnaire in the virtual university to be filled out after the clerkship!
This page is edited by
Matthias Koch
Class of 2025Julius Clauberg
Class of 2026Dr. Ewa Żebrowska, PhD
Clerkship Tutor of the 2nd YearDr. Izabela Bialuk, PhD
Clerkship Tutor of the 3rd Year