Joining our Medical Electives in Nepal will develop your understanding of healthcare in an international context.
We work with hospitals and community heath posts in Chitwan, Nepal, in the beautiful plains situated against the Himalayan backdrop and at the heart of the famous Chitwan National Park.
Photograph of Chitwan to the left and Kathmandu to the right (source Dr Rowena Catipay Buyan, Medical Oncologist and Training Programme Director for Oncology Fellowships at QiMET International)
Taking a medical elective abroad in Nepal can be an extremely enriching experience for anyone studying medicine, nursing, paramedic practice, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dentistry, radiography, podiatry and any other healthcare speciality.
You will be placed on a rotation across government and private hospitals as well as local health posts, where you will have the opportunity to work with health professionals in a variety of different departments. You will learn about conditions that are rarely seen in hospitals in Western Europe, including snake bites, HIV, respiratory infections, TB, Typhoid and many others. You will observe alternative methods of treatment and rehabilitation as you experience healthcare in a low to medium income country first hand.
Medical elective placements in Nepal are available in the following departments: Medical, Nursing, Midwifery, Dentistry, Physiotherapy, Radiography, Pharmacy and Public Health.
Anyone studying a health-related degree can join this programme. The most popular electives are medical and nursing but we are happy to respond to enquires from other health professionals to discuss options, so please contact us to check what we can do for you.
You must have completed at least one year of your degree programme to quality for the programme.
Images – Dr Rojina Shrestha (HIEM 1 Trainee) with nurses and the multi-disciplinary team across departments in the hospital
We ensure your elective in Nepal is professionally managed. All medical elective students are given a weekly timetable and allocated a supervisor within the hospital department. For those who want to specialise in a particular area it is possible to stay in the same department for the duration of your elective. For those who want a more rounded experience of healthcare, we recommend some time in the rural health posts and we would organise transport to and from your base to facilitate this.
Your supervisor in Nepal will be English speaking and will be your main daily contact for any queries about the job role you may have. They will ensure your work schedule is prepared and you will be given your own tasks and responsibilities to help develop your career skills.
We offer a UK / Nepal one hour a week joint clinical reflective practice meeting so that you can explore and share some of your experiences and ask questions from both a UK and Nepalese clinician. In addition you will be invited to our weekly teaching sessions for doctors and healthcare professionals so that you can learn alongside other doctors.
Images Below – Dr Manas Pokhral (HIEM 1 trainee)
We have a Programme Director, Dr Jill Aylott, who is responsible for managing your Medical Elective in Nepal, (this includes all components including your work placement, your accommodation, your travel and all other matters) and who will ensure that you have everything you need to make this experience a success. Before you begin your elective, our team will discuss your specific requirements and preferences in order to tailor the elective so you can get the most out of the experience. We will also ask you to tell us as much about your expectations of this experience on the application form.
Images – Dr Sunil Thapa (HIEM 4 trainee) at the rural health post
We will provide you with local guest house accommodation with one cooked meal a day in the evening. We offer you the choice to stay in a guest house or with a local family.
We will offer you the opportunity to take part in at least one cultural evening during the four week stay, where you will taste a wide range of foods and join in local dance or celebrations. We also guide you to visit Chitwan National Park, one of the most beautiful and serene places in Nepal.
Once you have registered for the programme and secured your place, we will provide you with a ‘Medical Elective in Nepal handbook’, which will detail all the information you need to make this Medical Elective placement a success for you. We will provide you with information you need prior to the placement, what to do when you arrive in Kathmandu and how we will support you at every stage of the process. We will pick you up from Chitwan airport but we will guide you from Kathmandu International airport to walk (5 minutes) around the corner and up the hill, to the domestic airport in Kathmandu. We will explain how to check in and everything else you need to know, in your handbook.
We complete comprehensive checks before you arrive and if you join as part of your degree, we will help ensure that your university health and safety documents are checked and signed by our partner hospital in Nepal. This means that your university is able to verify that the placement experience meets their criteria. We work directly with Universities on this.
The total cost of the 4 week Medical Elective Placement is £950. We accept a £200 deposit to secure the placement along with your application form. The price includes the following:
What the price doesn’t include:
If you have ambitions to see other parts of Nepal we will advise you how best to achieve this!