Dar es Salaam offers the perfect mix of opportunities that come from living in a cosmopolitan city, with the ultimate traveller’s paradise beckoning from across the water. Just an hour from the mainland, Zanzibar’s white sands and turquoise waters are a mecca for divers, backpackers and party-goers. Travel inland and you will find once-in-a-lifetime safari opportunities.

The Work The World House

Living in the Dar es Salaam house will be a highlight of your clinical internship in Tanzania. It will start to feel like home from day one. The house’s atmosphere is social - you’ll live with other healthcare students and graduates from different countries and disciplines.

You’ll find the house in the north of the city and just a stone’s throw from the Indian Ocean. The building is spacious and decorated with traditional African carvings.

You’ll enjoy both private and communal spaces, and there’s an outdoor pool on the grounds. In the evenings, walk for a few minutes and arrive at the seafront shops, bars and restaurants.

In the broader area, you can visit traditional craft markets and catch boats going on snorkelling and whale-watching trips.

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tanzania electives
tanzania electives

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 internship abroad Security team: Monitor the house 24/7 for extra peace of mind

Internships in Dar es Salaam

Medical Internship, Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

Medical Internships

On your medical internship in Tanzania, you can spend time in neurosurgery, oncology, and anesthesiology among others. If you choose less specific areas, you’ll observe and in some instances help to treat more advanced referrals. Whatever you choose, you’ll gain vital experience with everything from communicable diseases to advanced pathologies that you may have only come across in textbooks.

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Nursing Internship, Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

Nursing Internships

Clinical facilities in Dar es Salaam are among the best in Tanzania. As such you can choose to get a breadth of experience across multiple areas. This will give you a broad, interdepartmental understanding of how nursing is delivered in our partner hospital. Alternatively, you can focus on very specific areas of interest like pediatric HIV. The choice is yours entirely.

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Midwifery Internship, Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

Midwifery Internships

We have excellent relationships with our partner hospitals in Dar es Salaam. One such hospital is the largest tertiary referral hospital in the country. The maternity wards here are busy, offering you the chance to get experience with deliveries and in OBG. However, your internship is not limited to these areas. You can also get involved in more niche areas like neonatal intensive care, or learning how staff care for expectant mothers with HIV.

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Physical Therapy Internship, Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

Physical Therapy Internships

The biggest causes of serious and critical injury in Dar es Salaam are road traffic accidents (road safety standards and traffic etiquette are somewhat distinct from what you’re used to in the US). That said, you’ll still see a diverse range of injuries. For example, you might see patients who have been admitted as a result of mining accidents, or those who have suffered serious strokes, and more.

+ More Physical Therapy Internship

Paramedicine Internships

Tanzania’s healthcare system lacks funding, and so development progresses slowly. To give you some perspective, our partner hospital’s ED (still the only one of its kind in Tanzania) was only established in 2010. Needless to say, the department is busy all day every day. Emergency cases are referred from many miles away, but of course for some patients the distance is simply too far. Doctors and nurses here work irregular shifts, so you’ll learn from a variety of local staff. This adds to the breadth of experience you’ll get on an internship in Tanzania.

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Radiography Internship, Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

Radiology Internships

As a radiology student, you’ll quickly notice a lack of resource in Dar es Salaam. This is particularly true when it comes to both imaging and therapeutic equipment. For example, radiography is rarely offered in Dar es Salaam’s government hospitals, meaning patients have to travel far and wide to seek care in specialist centers. On an internship here you’ll not only see a range of cancers, but also fractures, trauma, RTAs, tuberculosis and HIV related cases. You’ll also observe the stark contrasts in practice. For example patients are often treated without immobilization.

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Dentistry Internship, Tanzania (Arusha)

Dentistry Internships

You’ll undertake your internship in our partner health centre in Dar es Salaam. You will spend time in the  dental department, focusing in on whatever interests you. Examples include oral surgery, oral pathology, oral medicine, preventative and community dentistry, prosthodontics, periodontology, and cariology. You’ll observe many cases that are typical in Tanzania. For example, many people suffer from dental fluorosis as a result of water contamination and poor diet.

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Occupational Therapy Internship, Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

Occupational Therapy Internships

The rehabilitative medicine department in our partner hospital is staffed by specialists from a range of disciplines. The department sees inpatients and outpatient, making up an average of around 20 patients each day. The OT team is also stationed in ICU, so you can spend with critical patients. You may even have the opportunity to conduct home visits. Typical cases include strokes, cerebral palsy, back pain, neuropathies, nerve injuries, contractures, arthritis, and post eclampsia.

+ More OT Internships

VILLAGE HEALTHCARE WEEK

To deepen your appreciation of Tanzanian culture and healthcare, you can choose to add an extra week to the end of your internship to live with a family in a rural fishing village in the northern region of the paradise island of Zanzibar, just off the coast of Dar es Salaam. Each morning, you’ll head to a busy district hospital. Here, you’ll gain insight into how local staff treat cases of everything from malaria to snake bites. The experience will perfectly complement your city-based internship on the mainland. In your free time, you’ll take part in many local activities. This includes cycling to the fish market and white-sand beaches, learning about rehabilitating turtles, visiting the local herbalist, and learning about the spice trade which is an intricate part of Zanzibarian life

"It was interesting to see what emergencies were prevalent in Tanzania compared to the UK..."

Charlotte Smith, Anglia Ruskin University 2024

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"Each weekend we would travel in small groups and go on some amazing excursions such as swimming with wild dolphins and relaxing on white sand beaches".

Chlöe Irvine , University of Central Lancashire 2024

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"During the three weeks I was there I was able to spend a weekend in Zanzibar and a weekend doing the safari. On my first weekend, me and the girls in my room all went to Zanzibar via the ferry".

Elle Anderson, Bradford University 2024

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"On placement, I learned how thermoplastic splints were made - they melted and moulded down PVC material to make splints which I thought was such an innovative idea".

Charlotte Eastick, University of Sunderland 2024

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"Patients in Tanzania have to pay for their hospital bills themselves. This means they present with much more advanced conditions than what I would see at home, it was eye-opening". 

Rhona Loxton , Queen's University Belfast 2024

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What healthcare disciplines do Work the World cater for?

Work the World organize short-term educational healthcare internships for the following disciplines: 1. Nursing and Midwifery 2. Medical 3. Physical Therapy 4. Radiology 5. Pharmacy 6. Dentistry 7. Occupational Therapy 8. Paramedicine 

WHAT IS THE WORK THE WORLD HOUSE LIKE IN TANZANIA?

The house Tanzania is located only a stone’s throw from the Indian Ocean. The building itself is spacious, decorated with traditional African carvings, has private and communal spaces, and an outdoor pool on the grounds. You’re also only a couple of minutes walk from seafront shops and restaurants.

WHAT TRAVELLING OPPORTUNITIES ARE THERE FOR ME WHILST I’M IN TANZANIA?

The house in Tanzania is located only a stone’s throw from the Indian Ocean. The building itself is spacious, decorated with traditional African carvings, has private and communal spaces, and an outdoor pool on the grounds. You’re also only a couple of minutes walk from seafront shops and restaurants.

How much does it cost to do a Work the World internship?

Costs vary depending on where you go and the duration. Details of inclusions and costs can be found here