More than a third of North American Projects Abroad interns abroad today are participating in Medicine & Healthcare internships
A Projects Abroad medical intern practices tying off a suture during a workshop in Argentina
Press Release – NEW YORK – July 20, 2016 – Today, more than 100 volunteers from North America are abroad for the summer with international volunteer organization Projects Abroad to contribute to Medicine & Healthcare Projects in the developing world. These interns account for more than a third of the total number of Projects Abroad volunteers abroad today. The majority are focusing on medicine, while the rest are interning in public health, nursing, nutrition, physical therapy, and other specialized healthcare fields. Over the next few days and weeks, these interns will devote hundreds of collective hours to activities that will give them direct experience and knowledge of medicine in practice, all under the guidance and supervision of local medical professionals.
Projects Abroad has organized internships in medical facilities abroad since 1998. To date, thousands of interns have benefited from spending time in hospitals, clinics, and on outreaches around the world. It’s a priceless experience for students aspiring to become medical professionals, comments Elizabeth Cauchois, a Program Advisor for Projects Abroad USA.
“Every year, returning interns share with us what they valued most about their placements: observing the major differences between hospitals in North America and abroad first-hand, proving their flexibility by adapting to a different culture, learning about hospital structures and the role it plays in patients’ lives, to name just a few. For a large percentage, the internship has made them more aware of the health issues facing underprivileged communities and they are more determined than ever to become physicians.”
For Arman, a university graduate considering medical school, the opportunity to travel abroad was one which would lead him to discover if medicine was the right field for him. It was a meaningful experience, he says, and he benefited tremendously from spending time in pediatric, surgical, and accident and emergency wards. “I saw diseases which I had never seen at home, like Hirsprung’s disease, impetigo, and tuberculosis. I was taught how to interpret x-rays and how the doctors treated various diseases. I learned a great deal about medicine and was able to confirm that this is in fact the correct career choice for myself.”
Projects Abroad has Medicine & Healthcare internships for students of every skill level, including students on a pre-med track. Programs run from 1-4 weeks or more throughout the year and interns can choose exactly when they want to start and end their internships. Once a student has applied, the organization organizes all the details of the placement, from the medical facilities where they will be interning, to their accommodation, meals, and insurance.
For more information, please visit www.projects-abroad.org/volunteer-projects/medicine-and-healthcare.
Projects Abroad was founded in 1992 by Dr. Peter Slowe, a geography professor, as a program for students to travel and work while on break from full-time study. The program had its genesis in post-USSR Romania, where students were given the chance to teach conversational English. After a few years just sending volunteers to Eastern Europe for teaching, the company expanded to sending volunteers of all ages around the world on a wide range of projects.
Projects Abroad is a global leader in short-term international volunteer programs with projects in 30 countries and recruitment offices in the UK, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Holland, Hong Kong, Norway, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden and the United States.
For details on volunteering abroad, visit Projects Abroad’s web site at www.projects-abroad.org.
