Indian Medical Work Experience

Our medical placements in India are based at 2 large modern hospitals in Trivandrum, one being a medical college and a number of smaller specialist clinics. We have chosen these hospitals because it gives you the opportunity to spend time in a variety of different departments and gain experience in a number of medical fields. The placement at the medical college is ideal for pre-university medical or nursing students as it also gives them an opportunity to attend lectures and practical sessions with Indian medical students.

Areas of medicine that you can get involved with are varied and include:

• Cardiovascular
• Orthopaedics
• ENT
• Neurosurgery
• Neurology
• Ophthalmology
• Anaesthesiology
• Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Neonatal
• Paediatrics
• Nephrology
• Urology and others

Your supervisor on the programme will organise for you to spend time shadowing doctors, nurses and medical professionals in various departments at the hospital. They will organise a programme that will give you a broad range of experience, but if you have specified a particular area of interest your placement supervisor will do their best to organise your practical programme in those areas. However, please be aware that it is not always possible to guarantee a placement in a specific department.

Like most countries in the world, you have to pay for medical care in India. This means that many people don't take themselves to the doctor until their condition becomes so bad that something must be done, sadly it's often too late. Additionally, the unique social hierarchy in India means that many people who are lower down on the social ladder (the caste system) feel uncomfortable visiting the doctors. This means that during your time with us in India you will see highly advanced medical conditions that you are unlikely to ever see at home.

Throughout the programme you will be encouraged to ask questions and produce a report. You will be expected to make a note of the conditions and treatments that you see though the day and research these further during your free time in the afternoons. Therefore, a medical dictionary would be a useful thing to take with you. This report will come in incredibly useful when applying for medical school and is a good record of what you achieved on the medical programme with us.

This project is not just for budding medical students, this programme may also be suitable for those about to study:

• Nursing
• Physiotherapy
• Dentistry

• Accommodation
• UK support (including predeparture information on your placement and accommodation)
• Airport pick-up
• Local induction
• Culture and language course (where applicable)
• Local overseas support
• Food (in project accommodation)

During your time with us in India you will be staying in accommodation that we rent from the local people. This house is quite spacious and clean and volunteers share a dormitory style room with 3 other people.

Occasionally, we place volunteers with local families. This is usually during off-peak times when only a handful of volunteers are with us in India. If this is the case we will send you full details of your family accommodation before your departure.

Whether you are teaching, on the journalism placement or working in hospitals, all the volunteers stay together in the same area which means that you are never far away from someone to socialise with in the evenings or travel with at weekends. Even if you're based a little further away, most of the volunteers come to Trivandrum to begin their weekend travels or activities.

Usually, two to four people will share a room. The standard of the accommodation will basic and not be what you are used to at home so please don’t expect all mod cons, but it will be clean and tidy.

The house has running water and electricity, but please be aware that the water is delivered and stored in a tank above the house so there may be times when it runs out, and the electricity supply is unreliable and may often fail. India often has problems with it's electricity supply and will be cut off at times with no warning.

Even breakfasts in India have an element of curry spices to them. There will be someone there to look after the house and they will cook your meals which means that if you can't quite get used to Indian food then they can cook something similar to what you are used to at home.

Weekends are usually free and volunteers usually use this time to meet and go travelling. Our location in Kerala means that you are well placed to see some of the most interesting sites in india.

The beaches of Kerala are reputed to be some of the best in the world. Not far away is the palm fringed Kovalam, perfect for just chilling out and relaxing by the sea after a hectic week in India. Further afield the coastal port of Cochin once centre to the spice trade from India. Travel further inland and travel down the famous backwaters of Kerala or journey up into the Western Ghat mountains and the wildlife reserve at Periyar roamed by herds of mud-caked elephants.

If exhausted by constant travelling, take a weekend off and take time to appreciate the various theatre and dance styles that abound in Kerala. Mohiniattam ("dance of the enchantress") and the martial art influenced Kathakali dance drama are well worth experiencing if you have the chance during you time with us in India.