I arranged this myself through a private contact and was supervised for three weeks by a doctor who had trained in South Africa.  I sat with each of the four general practitioners, and their trainee, all of whom spoke good English and were very friendly.  This itself was interesting as each had a different background and attracted different kinds of patients.  They were all keen to teach, happy for me to ask questions and encouraging to examine patients.  They would call me if they had a particularly interesting patient, and I took part in assessment for referral to hospital. Before I went, I was concerned that my limited Hebrew would be a problem. I was amazed how much I picked up and although it was sometimes a bit limiting, the majority of the patients knew English, even if not as a first language. By the end of the elective, I could understand the flow of the consultations.  The only limitation was that the building was small and there were never any rooms free for me to see patients and then present them. I  would be happy to pass on details to anyone else who is considering an elective in General Practice in Netanya.

Rachel Baigel
Final Year Medical Student – University College London