Electives In Mexico

The hospitals we’re partnered with in Merida offer a range of opportunities for nursing students. The first being a modern government institution. The patients are the real differentiating factor here in that most are from poorer backgrounds. The patients typically present advanced cases, requiring treatments like neurosurgery and complex gastrointestinal procedures. In another hospital — this one underfunded — you can work with patients with tropical diseases like chagas, chikungunya and dengue fever. Here, you’ll learn how local staff cope with limited resources. Please note that we cater to all branches of nursing.

In Merida, you can get experience in live surgeries running the gamut from cataract removal to open-heart surgery. You will even have access to a high-tech theatre simulation room. In the nephrology and urology department, you can learn how local staff treat conditions like nephritis. There are also opportunities in oncology, haematology, high-specialty internal medicine, paediatrics and critical care (to name but a few). If you are interested in understanding tropical diseases, there may be opportunities for you to see patients with chikungunya, chagas and West Nile virus.

One of our busy partner hospitals in Merida deals exclusively with young paediatric cases and expectant mothers. With upwards of 150 beds, the wards are uncommonly busy. This means you’ll be able to get a breadth of experience unlike anywhere else. Despite high patient numbers, infant mortality rates have more than halved in the past 20 years — you’ll see the resourcefulness and techniques that helped achieve this. You will, however, still see a number of intrapartum complications such as breech births.

The physiotherapy department in our partner hospital admits a variety of cases, from everyday strains to severe burns. Alongside a team of local professionals, you’ll help to rehabilitate patients with neurological disorders like stroke and Bell’s palsy, and work-related injuries. In another, more modern partner hospital, you could get experience working with post-surgical patients and those needing respiratory therapy.

The hospital you’ll undertake your placement in was first established in 1550, making it the oldest in the city. Most of the city’s emergencies are routed to the A&E department here, so expect it to be busy. Most patients in the adult A&E are economically disadvantaged, and with that comes a lot of trauma resulting from manual labour. The paediatric A&E is less busy, but you will see a range of cases rushed into the stabilisation room before being referred to other specialist departments.

It might surprise you to learn that a radiography placement at our partner hospital in Merida involves working with some of the most up-to-date machines and practises found anywhere. The majority of patients here are economically disadvantaged and present conditions far more advanced than you’re used to at home. This makes detecting and diagnosing cases all the more interesting. It’s also possible to get involved in radiotherapy, working with technologies like cobalt therapy and brachytherapy.

Under the supervision of specialists in our partner hospital, you’ll observe and in some cases treat patients with all manner of conditions. Around 60% of people in the country show signs of periodontal disease, reflecting the general state of oral and dental health in the country. Many standard procedures like restorations and fillings are carried out here, however, due to a lack of information around oral hygiene, many patients present late. This means some cases will be far more severe than you’ve seen at home.