From vivid cultural history to tasty local cuisine, Kathmandu in Nepal checks all the boxes. From the city you can visit the holy primates of Monkey Temple, go trekking in the Himalayas, and take a break from the bustle of the city in the Garden of Dreams. When you’re rested, you can head out for drinks in Thamel to see how the locals have fun.

Work The World House

Our house acts as the central point of your experiences in Kathmandu. Your housemates will be fellow healthcare students and graduates from all over the world. You can think of it as your home from home and a hub of activity throughout your elective in Nepal.

The Kathmandu house is located a short distance from Thamel - a bustling maze of winding lanes with more bars, restaurants and shops than you’ll have time to visit.

Set in a relaxed residential area, the Work the World house itself is a calm space and an escape from the city’s bustle. From the rooftop terrace, you’ll enjoy breathtaking panoramas of Kathmandu Valley and the city itself.

What’s more, this area is a fantastic jumping-off point for adventure opportunities like trekking and paragliding.

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View from house rooftop terrace

View from house rooftop terrace

In-Country Team

Management team: Based in the house, they oversee your entire Work the World experience — 24/7 — from the moment you land to the moment you leaveCatering team: Cook a variety of both local cuisine and familiar home comforts, accommodating all dietary requirementsHousekeeper: Keeps the house clean and tidy from top to bottom, making sure you're comfortableLanguage teacher: Visits the house twice per-week. During their lessons, you’ll learn everyday phrases and clinical terminology to help you get more from your placementSecurity team: Monitor the house 24/7 for your peace of mind

Electives in Kathmandu

Nursing electives in Nepal

Nursing Electives

On a placement in Kathmandu, you’ll see patients with conditions like Japanese encephalitis, dengue fever, malnutrition, and snake, monkey and dog bites (and the resulting cases of rabies). You can even accompany nursing teams on community outreach programmes if you choose to. Kathmandu is also a great choice if you’re interested in specialising in areas like ENT, dermatology, psychiatry, forensic medicine and cardiothoracics. You'll see that nursing in Nepal depends on the level of resources local staff have access to at any one time. So even in familiar departments like A&E, surgery, general medicine and paediatrics, you can expect to see significant differences in local nursing practises.

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Medical electives in Nepal

Medical Electives

On a medical elective in Nepal, you'll get experience in departments like surgery, A&E, and paediatrics. You’ll encounter patients with unfamiliar conditions like Japanese encephalitis, malnutrition, and even the odd monkey bite. General medicine is fascinating in Kathmandu — some estimates suggest 70% of all conditions are attributable to infectious disease. This includes malnutrition, which is often the result of intestinal parasitic infection. Kathmandu also has particularly interesting options if you want to specialise — dermatology, psychiatry, ophthalmology and cardiothoracics are all available. If you're thinking about doing your medical elective in Asia, you should shortlist Kathmandu.

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Midwifery electives in Nepal

Midwifery Electives

If you want to understand midwifery in Kathmandu, spend time in our partner hospital. You can spend time in the new birthing centre, a busy outpatient department for antenatal checks, and the gynae clinics. You’ll see deliveries, C-sections surgeries, and birthing complications like preeclampsia. You can also get (observational) experience in a teaching hospital. The hospital has a broad range of services — antenatal clinics, a labour room, a birthing centre, two theatres, a sick baby unit, a maternal and neonatal ICUs, postnatal facilities and an OBG ward.

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Dentistry electives in Nepal

Dentistry Electives

The dentistry department at our partner hospital here is split into four units: maxillofacial, prosthodontics, endodontics, and orthodontics. Whichever unit you decide to spend time in (you might choose all of them if you have time) you’ll see that dentistry in Nepal hasn’t advanced at the same rate as in countries with more resources, like the UK. Even things like routine check-ups are quicker and more basic than you’re used to. You’ll learn how local dentists approach things like abscess surgeries, restorations, and pulpectomies. The department offers maxillofacial surgery too, so if you’re interested there are available opportunities. If you’re looking for an elective in Asia, Kathmandu is a good bet.

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Biomedical Science Electives

During your biomedical science elective in Nepal, you can gain experience in the A&E department of the country’s main teaching hospital, which offers primary, tertiary, and specialist care. You will also have the chance to explore various fields, such as microbiology — focusing on immunology, virology, bacteriology, and parasitology — as well as pathology, covering histopathology, cytopathology, haematology, and blood bank. Additionally, you can get experience in biochemistry, encountering unique regional cases throughout your placement.

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Paramedic Science electives in Nepal

Paramedic Science Electives

In Kathmandu, you will see significant differences between the most fundamental aspects of care. For example, a lack of patient privacy, lack of cross-infection control, and even the way routine procedures are performed. One example would be manual intubation conducted without anaesthesia. In the busy A&E department, you will see how patients’ and families’ ability to pay for treatment has a significant bearing on the way conditions are diagnosed and treated.

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Physiotherapy electives in Nepal

Physiotherapy Placements

Your physiotherapy placement hospital in Kathmandu treats patients from all walks of life, both from the city and from the mountains surrounding it. This means you’ll see a range of conditions at different stages of advancement. You’ll see normal cases of back pain, shoulder pain, and the department serves as a rehabilitation centre for patients after accidents, falls, spinal injuries etc. But you’ll also see how local physiotherapists handle cases of congenital hemiplegia, down's syndrome, Guillain Barre syndrome, Erb's palsy, muscular dystrophy, encephalitis sequelae, meningitis, post-tuberculosis sequelae, and delayed milestones. The neurology, orthopaedics and ENT departments also refer lots of patients here for rehabilitation.

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Radiography electives in Nepal

Radiography Electives

The radiology and radiography department in our partner hospital offers USG, Helical CT, X-ray and MRI, X-ray being the most common. You’ll see a lot of emergency cases here too, as A&E refer a lot of their patients to the department for scans. The hospital also has a mammography unit if you want to get more specific experience. The unit uses an Allengers Digital Mammography System (FAIRY). This is a university teaching hospital, so it’s more than likely you’ll get the added benefit of spending some time with local students. This is a real opportunity for you to dig into the differences in practise between Nepal and the UK.

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Pharmacy placements in Nepal

Pharmacy Placements

Part of a pharmacist's role in our partner hospital is counselling patients on their medication. What are the side effects? Who can and can't take them? Shadowing doctors on ward rounds will give you great experience with this. Spending time in the dispensaries, you’ll get right into the specifics of local practice, learning how local pharmacists use traditional herbal medicines alongside modern drugs. Across the hospital, you’ll learn the broader role pharmacy plays in the ongoing development of healthcare in Nepal.

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VILLAGE HEALTHCARE WEEK

Deepen your understanding of Nepal and its healthcare system by spending a week in a riverside village in the Himalayan foothills. You'll live with a welcoming village family who will share their rural way of life with you.

Each morning, you will head to the local health post. The healthcare team delivers minor emergency services, checkups, and vaccination programmes. But resources here are even scarcer than in city hospitals, limiting care to the extreme.

In the afternoons, you'll cook local dishes, go on mountain hikes, and see how religion and rice farming are the heart of local culture. This experience will perfectly compliment your elective in Nepal.

VILLAGE EXPERIENCE

Medical electives in Nepal
Medical electives in Nepal
Medical electives in Nepal

"The doctors and nurses were always happy for me to get involved and ask questions, they gave me their time and were more than happy to discuss cases with me".

Bonnii Heber , University of Southern Queensland 2025

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"The infrastructure, funding and cultural perceptions of health were distinctly different."

Richard Liang, Charles Sturt University 2025

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"In the evenings, we went out into Thamel to explore the nightlife. We went to some fun clubs and nice bars. It was a nice change to spend time with people from the house outside of placement."

Isobel Heyes, Cardiff University 2024

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"Some of the most memorable cases I observed included open heart surgery for a valve replacement."

Catherine Noone, University of Manchester 2024

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"The experience will ultimately shape you into not only a better professional but also a better person!"

Jessica Rivers, Exeter University 2024

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What healthcare disciplines do Work the World cater for?

Work the World organises supervised healthcare electives in Asia and Africa for the following disciplines: - 1. Nursing (all branches) 2. Medical 3. Midwifery 4. Physiotherapy 5. Radiography 6. Pharmacy 7. Dentistry 8. Occupational Therapy 9. Paramedic Science 10. Biomedical Science

What is the Work the World house like in Kathmandu, Nepal?

Our house in Kathmandu will be the hub of your experience and your home away from home. You’ll be based only a short distance from Kathmandu’s famous Thamel district — a bustling maze of winding lanes with more bars, restaurants and shops than you’ll have time to visit.

What travelling opportunities are there for me whilst I’m in Nepal?

From vivid cultural history to tasty local cuisine, Kathmandu in Nepal checks all the boxes. From the city, you can visit the holy primates of Monkey Temple, trek in the Himalayas, and take a break from the bustle of the city in the Garden of Dreams. When you’re rested, you can head out for drinks in Thamel to see how the locals have fun.