The weekly question – What is the public transport like?

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011
028 150x150 The weekly question What is the public transport like?

Safari

The majority of our students use public transport to get into town or to travel to their placement. In fact joining the hoards on a busy bus can sometimes be the best way to integrate yourself into local life. Trips to work can also provide some of the funniest travel experiences of your time away. We asked our students “ what is the public transport like in your area” in the hope we might hear about some of these funny and typical travel experiences. We had some fantastic responses from each of our destinations, with real insight into each country.

Starting in Africa;

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The Weekly Question – What has been your clinical highlight this week?

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

Often students tell us of rare and tropical diseases that they’ve only read about in the past. Whether it be differences in the treatment of patients, unseen diseases or progressed pathologies, an overseas placement can provide a fascinating learning environment. We have asked this question a few times but we always get some really interesting answers… What has been your clinical highlight this week?

Alison July 10 33 150x150 The Weekly Question What has been your clinical highlight this week?

On the ward in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka after three weeks on the surgical ward Julie’s really built up the trust between herself and her local colleagues “I’m treated as a team member.  I had my own patients for wound care management and contributed to a burns victim dressing. This was a new approach, which had a good effect on the staff and patient as dressing time became less dramatic.”

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The weekly question – Why did you choose to do your placement in the destination you’re in?

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

We think that one of the hardest parts of organising an elective is actually deciding where to go. Whether you’re tempted by the tribes of Africa; the mountains of Asia or the flavour of South America, wherever you decide to go, your elective overseas will no doubt enrich both your professional and personal development in a safe, supported environment.

We currently work in seven locations around the world and like to talk to students in depth about each destination before they make a decision – this way they can work out which placement is most suited to them. So the question we chose to ask the houses this week is “Why did you choose to do your placement in the destination you’re in?”

Abby 2011 2 150x150 The weekly question Why did you choose to do your placement in the destination you’re in?

A Sri Lankan beach

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The Weekly Question – Were you nervous about travelling overseas for your placement? How did you conquer your fears and what advice can you give to future students?

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

Students are often slightly anxious about travelling overseas for their placements, particularly on their own.  So this week we’re asking the students in Africa, Asia and South America, “Were you nervous about travelling overseas for your placement? How did you conquer your fears and what advice can you give to future students?”

drinking blood1 150x150 The Weekly Question Were you nervous about travelling overseas for your placement? How did you conquer your fears and what advice can you give to future students?

Preparing the goat!

Arryl travelled to Arusha all the way from Canada “Before leaving for my elective, my circulating thoughts covered every emotion: excitement, fear, concern, and yearning. I was about to travel eighteen hours to the continent Africa. Needless to say, I settled in so quickly! The only advice I wish to leave you with is to go with an open (and un-judgemental mind) and literally jump, leap, and bound to these amazing opportunities that await you. This is more than a medical placement; this is a life changing opportunity and one that can forever impact your future. Do anything and everything you can, from climbing a mountain, to eating raw goat kidney. Your Tanzanian life awaits you. Have fun, play safe. And remember, this is Africa.”

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The weekly question – What tips can you give for making the most out of your clinical experience?

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

We always try to prepare students as much as possible before they head overseas for their placement. Past experience has shown us that the more committed, enthusiastic and pro-active they are, the more likely it is that they will get some fantastic hands-on experience.  This week we have decided to ask the students in each destination “What tips can you give for making the most out of your clinical experience?”

SDC14889 150x150 The weekly question What tips can you give for making the most out of your clinical experience?

Paediatrics in Argentina

When we asked the students in Mendoza they all agreed on one thing: don’t be afraid to ask questions! “Even if you don’t master the language, leave your shyness at home and ask everything you need to know” also, “make sure that you explain from the very beginning what you are capable of doing, what you want to do and the things that you are interested in seeing” said Kimberly.

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Tanzania: A Medical Elective by Ben Casey

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

For my elective I decided to travel to Tanzania. It is a country I’ve visited before as a tourist and I loved it so much I wanted to go back and see it from another perspective. I arranged a placement with Work the World as they promised to take all of the hassle out of arranging it. It paid off.

Mount Meru Regional Hospital 150x150 Tanzania: A Medical Elective by Ben Casey

Mount Meru Regional Hospital

My elective was based at Mount Meru Regional Hospital in Arusha. The hospital has some 450 in-patient beds (although this might better represent the number of patients rather than actual beds as described later) and sees 600 out-patients daily. It serves a large population and provides a wide variety of services: A&E, obstetrics and gynaecology, TB and leprosy wards, general surgery including orthopaedics, psychiatry, and physiotherapy among some other departments. It was and is a very busy hospital and is staffed by very few doctors who are assisted by over 180 nurses.

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The weekly question – How has tourism affected your destination?

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
Katherine Parsons 30 150x150 The weekly question How has tourism affected your destination?

Piled into a daladala

Some of our destinations (such as Arusha) are quite touristy and some (like Mwanza) are a bit more off-the-beaten-track.  This week we asked how tourism has affected the destination in which our students work and how do they ensure that they still have an authentic cultural experience?

Emily in Arusha found that “the tourism adds to the variety of people I have met. People travel for many reasons and it’s interesting to hear their stories. I try to eat as much local food, take the daladala and ask as many questions as possible. I have also found that not travelling in a large group leads to more meaningful and interesting interactions.”

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Back in the office!

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

Well it’s official – I have returned to my desk . My 9 months of maternity leave is over and I am back on the blog! Omar threw me straight in at the deep end and having only been back 2 weeks we have already relaunched our website – check it out www.worktheworld.co.uk. It looks bright, fresh and full of exciting ideas for new placements.

Abura Clinic Staff 2 150x150 Back in the office!

Amy and the Abura staff in Ghana

Looking around there has been lots of changes. The office appears to have doubled in size, with Simon, Amy, Rob and Chris all well ensconced at their desks. Overseas has had the same influx of new faces, with a host of new staff joining the Work the World family in Africa, Asia and South America.

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The Weekly Question – what has been your clinical highlight this week?

Wednesday, May 4th, 2011
Arusha Jasmine Koh 8 150x150 The Weekly Question – what has been your clinical highlight this week?

Newborn in Arusha

Whether it be the treatment of patients, rare and tropical diseases or progressed pathologies, an overseas placement is both fascinating and a great learning environment where students are often exposed to things that they have only read about in the past. Although we have asked this question a couple of times we always get different answers.

James in Arusha examined a patient with a hepatonegaly larger than any that he had seen in Hong Kong. “Another close second would be a multiple casualty car accident that caused 9 deaths.”

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The weekly question – Have you noticed any similarities either on your placement or locally?

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
Danielle Papouchodo On placement at Mount Meru 150x150 The weekly question – Have you noticed any similarities either on your placement or locally?

On placement in Mount Meru

We are quick to talk about the cultural differences but students always find that there are some surprising similarities too. The question for this week was “Have you noticed any similarities either on placement or locally?”

Lucy in Arusha noticed that “although the hospital is very different in terms of condition and illnesses, I noticed some similar investigations and treatment – similar drugs are used but there is not as great a variety as at home.”

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