right, the website is www.i-to-.com.
it offers volunteer projects from 2weeks - 6months.
One of the things it offers is medical observation in bolivia, ghana, india, thailand and russia
This is what the brochure says "Shadow doctors while being an important member of a busy clinical team. You'll implement and refine skills learnt through medical education and rotate between different wards or community projects"
I also got a detailed e-mail about each place which i will just add on at the end here. I think it looks really good and it's not a requirement that you have to be a medical student to join SOME of the placements although it is preferred.
You should go have a look and get them to send you a brochure.
I was really considering going one summer.
love nicola x
this is the e-mail (it's quite long)
Bolivia
Bolivia is a country that is often forgotten by tourists; so the people,
attitudes, atmosphere, flavour and experience are authentically Latin
American. We selected it as a good country for our particular brand of
volunteer placements because:
1. It's a country not overrun by tourists, giving you the chance to immerse
yourself in a truly Latin American culture
2. It offers great travel opportunities because it's surrounded by Peru,
Chile, and Argentina; and you can do mountainbiking, trekking and hiking on
the weekends.
3. It offers you the chance to learn Spanish in a country where the
language is spoken SLOWLY.Thanks for your interest in the journalism project
that we operate in Bolivia. Below are some further details about them. You
are bound to have more questions, so at the end of this e-mail I will tell
you how you can get more information quickly.
> i-to-i is one of the few organizations sending volunteers into Bolivia,
> and we have a great infrastructure there, including an in-country
> co-ordinator in La Paz who can pick you up at the airport, give you a tour
> around your city, take you to your accommodation and your work project,
> set you up for your complimentary week of Spanish lessons and then be
> available if you have any problems or questions about travel, health, etc.
>
La Paz and Cochabamba themselves are great cities, with great museums,
cathedrals, witchcraft markets, and lots of hills to build up your calves.
Your project and your favourite internet cafe, ATM, bank, coffee shop will
all be on the high street.
When you arrive in Bolivia, you'll be picked up at the airport by our
co-ordinator and taken to your accommodation. You will have an orientation
tour to La Paz or Cochabamba, and then you'll then begin your complimentary
week of Spanish lessons and your work project shortly after (the lessons are
very flexible and i-Venturers often are able to take lessons in the morning
and head for the project in the afternoon).
> Below is some more information about the project. It's a Children's
> Hospital that has several different wards and handles areas such as
> intensive care, respiratory diseases, infectious diseases, etc. You have
> the opportunity to spend time in each of the various wards and return to
> those wards that you want to specialise in. Because it's a
> well-established hospital they would like their volunteers to be medical
> students or be degreed professionals and be moderately fluent in Spanish.
>
> I've also added a general table that gives more details about the project
> and about Bolivia.
>
<<PI Children's Hospital - GENERIC.doc>>
<<Bolivia Country Crib.doc>>
* * * * * * *
Ghana
Here's a bit more information about how your placement would start, and then
more about the work project.
Upon arrival in the capital city of Accra, you'd be picked up by our
Ghanaian co-ordinator, Adelaide, who would help you settle into your
accommodation. Adelaide - a native Ghanaian - has experience in travel and
marketing, has lived in Accra all her life, but has an excellent education
and is very Western in her thinking.
Your project would be based in Accra, and you'd have the opportunity to work
in a variety of health care settings. These are for volunteers with or
without experience. You can work in government-funded clinics, called
polyclinics, or hospitals (private & government funded) in Accra.
Polyclinics are run by the Ministry of Health, and would be a great way to
get hands-on experience for your first time. You'd have a busy schedule,
helping to see to the health needs of about 400 patients per day. You'd
assist patients with with minor emergencies, you'd make the rounds taking
vital signs from patients, help to spread awareness of health concepts
through the Public Health programme, and assist with research and basic
admin.
The hospitals are just like the ones you're familiar with, and for that
reason, would be better suited to a medical student or an experienced
professional. There you could pick your specialty: radiology, paediatrics,
maternity, lab. work, out-patient support, etc.
To set up your placement, we would need an application and a CV which we
would submit to Adelaide for final approval - this generally a matter of
formality, as the projects are so eager to receive help.
* * * * * * *
India
This is an extremely well-rounded medical project, where you can get an
amazing amount of hands-on work with patients, doctors, nurses - even
teaching health concepts to kids in the waiting room. It's based in
Bangalore, a great city that gives you 'India' but also some Western
conveniences. We have more details about this city and the service we
provide in our India FAQs on our website www.i-to-i.com
Here are some answers to questions you might have about the project...
What is the Medical project?
We are partnered with an NGO in Bangalore that has a 25-bed clinic and a
mobile unit that services the medical needs of 54 surrounding villages. They
handle medical issues such as casualty (emergency care), immunisations,
testing and screening programmes, family planning, obstetrics (they carry
out about two deliveries per day), dental and eye care. In addition to the
25-bed hospital in Bangalore there is a mobile clinic for village visits.
What does the mobile clinic do?
It is used as a vehicle to spread awareness of health issues to the
neighbouring communities. Many villagers are suspicious of doctors, and so
they deny themselves good health care. The hospital has learned that a
mobile clinic visit to a village with entertaining performances beside the
van is an effective and enticing way to introduce health care concepts.
These presentations are often done in the local language, but there are
always people on hand to translate.
What would volunteers do during the village visits?
Volunteers would go out with the unit and help spread awareness about
important issues like breast feeding, HIV, STD's, and safe food preparation.
What would volunteers do at the clinic?
You would work directly with doctors, nurses and patients. Those with more
experience will help with blood testing and newborn deliveries, as well as
assisting with the immunisation and testing programmes at the clinic. If
you're newer to the field, you'll stay busy as well, as there is a great
deal of leg-work to be done around the clinic, along with work in the
laboratory where testing takes place. You'll help with testing for
diabetes, help doctors with the eye care programme and assist in patient
transportation. You will also have a captive audience in the waiting room of
about 200 patients waiting for immunisations, so you'll have opportunities
to teach them about health care concepts using visual aids provided by the
hospital. Your creative input in developing these visual aids can help with
creating these visual aids for the awareness programmes and your creative
input for developing this programme and the film-shows would be appreciated.
You may even find yourself doing some informal English classes on the hoof!
What if I don't speak the local language?
The visual aids are written in English, and there will be plenty of other
workers who speak Kannada who can help translate.
What qualifications do I need?
Although medical students will be able to take a more assertive role,
university medical training is not necessary, and they welcome volunteers
who are willing to work hard and learn about the field. Enthusiasm,
initiative, and the desire to roll up your sleeves and get 'stuck in' are
essential.
* * * * * *
Russia
In St. Petersburg - the Russian city with European flavourings - you can get
experience in the Family Health and Behavioral Sciences at the Psychological
Health Research Department of the St. Petersburg State Medical Academy. The
staff would train you on how to assist with patient consultations and the
occasional office work that's required.
They'll also provide informational and methodological assistance during the
practical work.
For more information about what the project entails, please let us know.
Frances Moriarty
Office Administrator
i-to-i | One Cottage Road | Headingley | Leeds | LS6 4DD | England
T 0113 274 6641 | F 0113 274 6923 | E Frances.Moriarty@i-to-i.com
www.i-to-i.com THE Real World Experience