Work Placements - Medicine and Healthcare
In the western world access to medical care is relatively easily available to all. However in many of the countries where we operate, the standard of medical care is heavily dependent on where you live and how much you can afford to pay. Hospitals and clinics have few of the facilities we are used to at home and poor basic healthcare, climate, culture and poverty contribute to medical conditions that you just wouldn’t see in a western hospital.
On daily ward rounds it will be common to see patients with advanced sepsis or suffering from tetanus simply because they could not afford to pay for antibiotics or the proper treatment. On the same ward visits you will witness how doctors use intuition when making diagnoses because x-ray and ultra-sound are simply not available or are unaffordable. Illnesses and facilities will vary depending on your chosen destination and whether you elect a hospital, clinic or outreach programme placement. For example, in Peru, the opportunity is available to visit a jungle clinic, where tropical diseases are treated. In Uganda, medics can work with patients suffering from HIV and AIDS.
The type of Volunteer Work Placement you will participate in will depend heavily on your interests and expertise. However, wherever you go overworked doctors and nurses will be grateful not only for you relieving some of the pressure on them but for the knowledge and experience you will be able to offer to them and their patients. Local doctors will also be keen to hear about new techniques and advances in medical practice in western medicine and use your experience to brush up on areas they have neglected or struggled with.
There is much opportunity for qualified and experienced nurses, doctors, surgeons, physiotherapists and other medical professionals to really share their skills, learn new skills in a completely new environment and reinvigorate and refresh their own sense of professional purpose.
The majority of Careerbreaker Medical and Healthcare Placements are in major urban areas where you will spend time in larger regional medical centres. However there will sometimes be opportunities to work in rural communities on outreach health programmes.
If you are currently studying for a professional qualification in medicine or healthcare we can also provide volunteer work placements relevant to your current experience, contact us to find out more.
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