Boost your career on a Biomedical Science internship abroad

Go on a once-in-a-lifetime biomedical science internship abroad with Work the World and you’ll get career-boosting clinical experience in an overseas hospital. Then in your free time, you’ll have life-changing travel experiences with new friends.

You are in total control — you tell us what you want to experience and we'll tailor your overseas internship to your specific interests. You choose everything from the destination right down to the individual departments you want to get experience in.

You’ll find your biomedical science internship to be life-changing. And that’s true whether you’re undertaking an internship for biomedical science students or graduates.

Why go on a biomedical science internship abroad?

Unique experience that puts you ahead of your peers
Stand out to employers
Strengthen your academic profile
Build a network to tap into during your career
Gain perspective that reframes your view of the NHS
Boost confidence by stepping out of your comfort zone

"I got a breadth of experience across anatomical pathology, general surgery, emergency medicine, and plastic and reconstructive surgery." - Shane, University of Newcastle
Read more reviews here

Eye-opening clinical Placement

On your overseas biomedical science placement, you could get a breadth of course-relevant experience in low-resource hospital laboratory settings.

You can get experience in areas including hematology, immunology, microbiology, pathology, biochemistry, pharmacology, virology, immunology...

You could see how infectious and tropical diseases are diagnosed and treated, and gain an understanding of parasitology, all while liaising with related clinical departments to see how conditions are handled at multiple levels.

Things you might see on placement:

Different cultural attitudes towards care
Religious beliefs affecting practice
Patients who can’t afford even the most basic treatment
Extremely late presentations and advanced conditions

You also have flexibility when it comes to your shift patterns during your biomedical science internship. As the majority of our partner hospitals are open 24/7, so you can undertake day shifts, night shifts, or both.

Go beyond biomedical science

You can certainly choose to focus purely on biomedical science, but you don't have to. You can broaden your experience by spending time in multiple hospital departments and specialties. This might be of particular interest if you're thinking about undertaking graduate medicine after a biomed degree.

You can choose from relevant departments including:

General medicine
Internal medicine
Emergency
Oncology
Infectious diseases
+ More

Tap into our hospital partnerships

Our long-established international hospital partnerships let us tailor your placement down to a level of detail that would be impossible if you were trying to organize your trip independently.

The partnerships also allow us to guarantee things like your hospital placement, supervision, and your choice of departments. You'll get detailed information on all of the above long before you travel.

You also get an exceptional level of flexibility should you want to amend your biomedical science internship choices while you're abroad. All of this means you can create a placement suited perfectly to you, without the risk of your internship plans falling through.

Once-in-a-lifetime travel

As a biomedical science student or graduate, your biomedical science internship abroad is the focus of your trip. But your free time in the afternoons and weekends will be packed full of experiences like:

Relaxing on palm-lined, white-sand beaches
Getting close to elephants, lions, and giraffes on safari
Swimming with curious sea turtles on warm tropical reefs
Hiking (or paragliding!) through the Himalayas
Spending a weekend hopping between paradise islands

But it's the people you share it with that make your Work the World trip memorable. You'll live with other healthcare students and graduates in a big private house.

Learn about accommodation

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What's included?

The service you get with us is end-to-end. That means we will support you before, during, and even after your trip.

You'll get:

Fully tailored biomedical science placement
English-speaking supervision
Private, catered accommodation
24/7 in-country team
Airport pick up and drop off
+ more

Arrivals are every Sunday, 52 weeks of the year — travel on your biomedical science internship when it suits you. The duration of placements starts from one week.

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DESTINATIONS

Ghana - Takoradi

On a biomedical science internship in Ghana, you can spend time in a district-level hospital, a maternity clinic, or the best-equipped city hospital. However, don't assume 'best-equipped' means well-equipped – medical practices in Ghana differ from what you're used to, with limited resources making this biomedical science internship uniquely eye-opening. Despite the challenges, you'll observe local staff creatively overcoming barriers to provide quality care.

Explore Takoradi

Nepal - Kathmandu

During your biomedical science internship in Nepal, you'll have the opportunity to gain experience and encounter unique regional cases across various fields, such as microbiology — including immunology, virology, bacteriology, and parasitology. You'll also engage in pathology, covering histopathology/surgical pathology, cytopathology, hematology, blood bank, and biochemistry. Additionally, you can gain hands-on experience in the ER department of the country's leading teaching hospital, which provides primary, tertiary, and specialist care. During your internship, you'll encounter a diverse range of conditions, including infectious diseases, malnutrition, chronic kidney and liver diseases, poisonings, and more.

Explore Kathmandu

The Philippines - Iloilo

Your biomedical science internship in Panay Island involves the largest government tertiary referral hospital and a tertiary teaching hospital. While the Philippines does have a national health insurance service, its coverage is restricted, especially in government hospitals. To put it in context, local doctors must consider patients' financial means when delivering treatments and prescribing medication rather than focusing solely on their medical needs. Given that many patients come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, this dynamic significantly influences how care is provided. You could see the above and more on your biomedical science internship in Iloilo.

Explore Iloilo

Sri Lanka - Kandy

On a biomedical science internship in Kandy, you can get eye-opening clinical experience in areas that broaden your understanding of diagnostics and patient care in a low-resource setting. In hematology, you might diagnose blood disorders using tests like CBC and bone marrow studies with advanced analyzers. You can observe viral diagnostics via PCR and ELISA in Virology, joining ICU and ward rounds. In biochemistry, you might get experience with fluid analysis, hormones, and tumor markers using analyzers like the Vitros 3600. Spending time in pathology could include tissue diagnostics, histology, and immunohistochemistry with automated tools.

Explore Kandy

Vietnam - Hue

Your biomedical science internship in Hue unfolds within a 600-bed university teaching hospital. Approximately half of the hospital's patients hail from Vietnam's rural and economically disadvantaged areas. While healthcare is free for many patients, getting to the hospital entails a costly journey and sacrificing days of paid work during admission. Consequently, patients often postpone seeking medical attention, leading to exceptionally late presentations and the manifestation of severely advanced conditions. The medical practices you'll witness on your biomedical science internship here will significantly differ from what you're accustomed to.

Explore Hue

"It was definitely an incredible experience! The healthcare system I observed during my placement in Sri Lanka differed significantly from my experiences in the UK. I am really thankful to the Work the World team and the staff at the hospital".

Saarah Nomani, Cardiff University, 2026

"To anyone considering doing a Work the World placement, I cannot recommend it enough"

George Hart, University of Sheffield, 2026

"The staff are so warm and welcoming, the food was amazing, and the whole house felt very cosy."

Amber Rollier, Ghent University, 2026

"All of the in-country team are so supportive and kind... you can talk to them about anything."

Rachael Jamieson, Edinburgh Napier University, 2026

"It was amazing to spend time with such lovely people and we created many memories together"

Anya Willsea, University of Brighton, 2026

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What do our biomedical science electives offer?

A Work the World biomedical science elective gives you the chance to undertake a clinical placement in the developing world. You will spend time in a low-resource hospital and see unfamiliar practices and advanced conditions. You can even choose the departments you want to rotate through. Learn more here.

What are the benefits of a Work the World biomedical science elective?

The benefits of our biomedical science electives include:

Expanding your clinical knowledge and skill set
Becoming more confident, independent and resourceful
Making yourself more attractive to employers
Doing some proper travelling
Building your personal and professional network
Sharpening your language and communication skills
Renewing your perspective on the NHS

What kind of cases will I see on a Work the World biomedical science elective?

You will see cases like:

Tropical infectious diseases like malaria, dengue fever, and chikungunya
Advanced conditions that have been left untreated
A high number of cases of HIV, sickle cell and other haematological diseases
Much higher numbers of RTAs than you’re used to at home
Conditions arising from socioeconomic issues, like pesticide-induced renal failure (at epidemic levels)

How long is a Work the World biomedical science elective?

A biomedical science elective is as long as you want it to be. Our minimum placement duration is one week, but biomedical science students typically travel on their biomedical science electives for 4 - 6 weeks. There is no upper limit to how long you can travel.

What is a biomedical science elective?

A biomedical science elective is a clinical placement that biomedical science students undertake as part of their degree. Some sources suggest as many as 80% of biomedical science students in the UK choose to travel abroad for their electives. If you want to undertake your biomedical science elective overseas, get in touch with us today.