As long as you are enrolled or have been accepted on a professional healthcare degree you are eligible to travel with us.
You can also travel if you are qualified, but please note that our placements are educational in their nature and designed to give you experience in a low resource hospital setting under the supervision of local qualified professionals.
Remember: you have to be on a clinical degree. We cannot accept pre-medical, pre-nursing, etc. students.
STEP 1. SUBMIT AN INQUIRY
First, submit an inquiry using the form at the bottom of the page. Tell us where, when and why you want to travel as well as your current level of study.
STEP 2. WE'LL GET IN TOUCH
Next, a member of our consultation team will review your inquiry then call you to discuss your eligibility. They will also answer any questions you may have.
STEP 3. APPROVAL AND CONFIRMATION
Once we have confirmed your eligibility, you need to submit your application form and pay your registration fee. We will then confirm your placement and availability within 24 hours.
Once we have confirmed your eligibility, you need to submit your application form and pay your registration fee. We will then confirm your placement and availability within 24 hours.
You will receive a welcome call from a member of our team, confirming your dates and running through how we plan your internship.
You will also get access to MyTrip — our online internship planner. The planner has everything you need such as a step-by-step timeline, full details of your itinerary, and access to your Information Pack, which contains everything you’ll need to know before your trip; packing lists, language guides, visa requirements and a lot more.
Yes! Having the flexibility to choose the departments you’re most interested in is one of the great reasons to travel with us.
You will have in-depth conversations with our team about your clinical interests, and we’ll confirm and secure everything well in advance of your trip.
As long as you are enrolled or have been accepted on a professional healthcare degree you are eligible to travel. We do not accept anyone on a pre-degree course such as undergraduate medical students etc.
Yes, however it is worth noting that our placements are educational in their nature and designed to give you experience in a low resource hospital setting under the supervision of local qualified professionals.
This may be your first time on a placement in the developing world and you therefore will need to be supervised due to your lack of low resource hospital experience and lack of cultutal awareness.
Depending on the nature of your course, it is highly likely you're elgible to travel with us. Fill out the short inquiry form and our team will be in touch as soon as possible.
Placements start from one week and there's no maximum.
You may also be able to split your internship between two hospitals or undertake one of our add-on experiences like the Village Healthcare Experience, Ayurvedic Medicine Experience or Intensive Spanish Course, all of which will broaden your understanding of healthcare overseas.
Placements run all year round!
Hospital placements are typically Monday to Friday (with weekends to explore the country you're living in) so we ask that students arrive on a Sunday so that we can do a hospital and city orientation on the Monday morning.
All the countries we work in are safe for travel. We follow advice from the US State Department when it comes to the countries we work in and the countries that border them.
We also have overseas teams—based out of our private accommodation—in all our destinations. The teams are there to support you 24/7 with anything and everything.
You can, yes. We work with hundreds of schools, colleges and universities worldwide whereby their students go abroad on a healthcare placement to gain credit. Speak to our team for further information.
No, our placements are educational learning experiences.
Internships start from $1590 USD and you can secure your place from $400 USD. Once you are registered your internship will be confirmed within 24 hours. We'll then start collaborating with you to build your internship.
You can also make flexible payments to spread the cost of your internship. More information on this can be found on our pricing page.
Included in your placement cost is: A dedicated internship coordinator, exclusive access to Mytrip, your personlized placement planner, online a supervised and customized hospital placement for the duration of your time in country, private and fully catered accommodation, airport pickup, twice weekly local language lessons and 24/7 support by our in-country teams. Further information regarding pricing and inclusions can be found on our pricing page.
There are many ways you can fund your internship.
There are plenty of bursaries and grants available, and you can raise money through sponsorship—lots of companies and organisations are willing to invest in future clinical professionals.
Register with us and we will give you exclusive access to our fundraising hub, which contains all the information you’ll need to start getting the funds together.
Our internship consultants have extensive knowledge of all our programmes—both inside the hospital and out. They will help you discover which of our destinations best suit your areas of clinical and personal interest.
We recommend about $200 for every week you are overseas. This will cover travel to and from your internship hospital, any weekend trips you might choose to go on, and any meals and drinks you have during the week (if you decide to not eat at the Work the World house).
Full and specific details are available in your online placement planner. You will gain access to this once you have registered.
In all our destinations, there are limited numbers of places available. Booking as early as possible is advised.
Yes. However, as there are a maximum number of internships available in each of our programs, we advise you to book as early as possible to secure your internship. This is especially true if you are travelling as a group.
About 60% of people travelling with us travel alone. On one of our placements you’ll live in a shared house with all the comforts of home. You will live with fellow students from different healthcare disciplines all over the world. You’ll get to know each other well. Most people travel to placement together, socialise in the house (or out and about) in the evenings, and organise weekend trips together.
Our aim is to continually build fair, sustainable, long-term partnerships with all of the hospitals and clinics with whom we're partnered. With both cultural and skills exchanges at the heart of what we do, we facilitate sustained and reliable communication at all times. All the relevant information about our hospital partnerships and our impact overseas can be found here.
We have agreements in place with each of our partner hospitals and clinics that guarantee supervision levels and support throughout your internship.
We also follow guidelines laid out by regulating bodies and professional associations to ensure the safety of both patient and student, making sure each internship is structured according to your level of skill.
Many universities and colleges have specific requirements regarding internships, and want a more formal agreement to guarantee standards. We have contracts in place with many institutions, and are happy to provide health and safety audits and risk assessments if required.
We are neither an NGO nor a charity.
We do, however, take our ethical and moral responsibility seriously, providing sustainable internships all over the world.
You can read more about our hospital partnerships and our impact in local communities, here.
Unfortunately not. To keep the Work the World houses secure they’re only accessible by Work the World staff and students undertaking an internship with us.
We will always try and recommend somewhere close to the Work the World house for partners or friends to stay in if they are visiting.
A member of the Work the World team will come to collect you.
The first thing you’ll see upon leaving the airport is a member of our staff in a blue Work the World t-shirt, waiting to take you back to the Work the World house.
We have spacious private houses in all our destinations. One of the Work the World houses will be your base for the duration of your internship. Students always tell us that after a busy day in the hospital, coming home to a comfortable, friendly environment where they can relax with a group of international peers is a crucial part of the experience.
Bedrooms are split into male and female dorms. If you are traveling with a friend of the same sex then we will try to place you together.
Bathrooms are shared, and your housekeeper will make sure they are meticulously cleaned and well maintained.
In the unlikely event that something goes wrong while you’re overseas with us, we have a team of trained staff in all of our destinations. The team are based in the Work the World house, and are there to support you 24 hours a day.
Whether you have an issue with the hospital you’re spending time in, the Work the World house, your housemates, or anything for that matter, the team will step in to resolve it.
Typical hours in the hospital are Monday to Friday from around 7am until 2pm. Note that this does vary with each of our hospital partnerships and based on the departments you are gaining experience in.
You can expect to spend, on average, around 35 hours per-week in the hospital. If you need to do a set number of hours based on your university requirements we can assist with this.
If you want to go to your placement hospital in the evenings or at weekends, you can. Extra shifts can be arranged with our overseas teams.
Normal shifts take place during the daytime, but it is possible to do night shifts. Again this can be arranged once you arrive.
Yes, but it will likely be expensive.
During one of your in-country orientations, our local team will take you to buy a local SIM card for your cell phone. This is a more cost effective way of keeping communication channels open with the local Work the World team and your housemates.
Yes (subject to availability).
With the exception of Mexico (where we ask that all students & professionals display a basic conversational level of Spanish and enthusiasm for learning the language), you don’t need to be able to speak the local language. However, learning a few everyday phrases can really help you build relationships with hospital staff and get the most from your internship!
With years of experience customizing overseas internships, we’ve developed the ultimate language support. Once you’ve registered with us, you’ll get access to comprehensive language guides and accompanying videos to help you find your feet.
To give you an even deeper understanding of the local language and customs, a language teacher will provide language lessons—twice-weekly—in the Work the World house. Designed with your clinical internship in mind, these language lessons are an added bonus to help you get to grips with clinical words and phrases. By making an effort with the local language you’ll demonstrate your commitment to your internship and earn the respect of your hospital supervisors. Which, in turn, will help open up new opportunities and experiences during your time overseas.
In the hospitals and clinics we partner with, most senior consultants are required to study in English-speaking countries as part of their learning. So, they’re likely to have a good level of English.
Staff in the Work the World houses, of course, speak English exceptionally well.
Yes, every Work the World house has Wifi.
You should not book your flights until we have officially confirmed your internship.
Once your internship has been confirmed, we suggest you book your flights no later than three months before your trip.
The airports we recommend for each destination are as follows:
Yes. We have an emergency number which is managed 24 hours a day. The number is +1 877 879 8811.
