If you are on, or have completed the first year of your healthcare degree, you can travel with us.
In other words, if the clinical course you’re on allows you to practise in a hospital once qualified, you’re almost certainly eligible.
Remember: you have to be on a clinical degree. We cannot accept pre-medical, pre-nursing, etc. students at this time.
There’s no application process and no interview—as long as you’re on or have completed your first year of your clinical degree, you’re eligible to travel.
If you haven’t yet spoken to a member of our team, complete the short form at the bottom of this page, or call us on +1 (617) 315 1412.
Your registration fee secures your internship, allowing us to confirm your spot within 24 hours of receiving payment.
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.
Placements start from two weeks, but the longer you stay the more you will gain from the experience.
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.
You can travel whenever suits you. Our placements run 365 days a year, so all you have to do is get in touch to find out if we have availability on the dates you want to travel. You can do so using the short form at the bottom of this page.
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.
Operating in lots of different countries means our programs are not formulated to fit any particular accreditation or awarding body.
However, your university may offer credits for participating in an overseas internship. With that in mind we are happy to provide any information required by your faculty if it helps you gain credits.
All 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.
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 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 written language guides and accompanying videos for the destination you’re travelling to.
To give you an even deeper practical understanding of the local language and customs, a language teacher will provide language lessons—twice-weekly—in the Work the World house.
With the exception of Peru (where we ask that all students display an intermediate level of Spanish) you don’t need to speak the local language. 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, are 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:
