This internship is based just outside Livingstone, a quaint but lively town close to the magnificent Victoria Falls and Zambezi River. Here you'll work in a clinic that sees over 1,200 outpatients per month. You'll observe experts and learn how they work in Zambia.

The clinic is a full service medical facility operating under the Ministry of Health. They offer antenatal services as well as labor and delivery and child health. They are a recognized HIV centre offering ART (antiretroviral therapy) services, with over 600 patients receiving medicines. They also provide community based mobile ART and Home Based Care and are a referral centre for the other rural health centres in the surrounding areas.

PLACEMENT OVERVIEW

Location: Livingstone Start dates: Available all year round, you choose your start date Duration: From 2 weeks to 1 year, subject to visa requirements Requirements: You should be studying a medical related subject, or be qualified.  Minimum age 17. Compensation: Unpaid Price: £1,095 for 2 weeks, ranging to £2,695 for 8 weeks. Full Price List and other Currencies      What's included: ►Arranging the internship, ►Full pre-departure support and assistance, ►Payment Protection insurance ►Accommodation ►Meeting you at the nearest airport/station ►Transfer to your accommodation ►Transport to and from your project ►In-country team support and backup ►24-hr emergency support ►Certificate of Completion. What's not included: Flights, travel insurance, cost of visa, food, return transfer to the airport.

This internship is based about 30km just outside of Livingstone town centre. The clinic is situated on some farmland out in the bush in a fairly remote area which is currently being run by some American Missionaries. They have managed to convert one of the outbuildings into a medical centre and this enables them to do some tremendous work in helping the local communities. Although the clinic is fairly small, the work is extremely beneficial to the local villagers. They are looking into obtaining some ultrasound equipment to enable them to monitor pregnancies more efficiently. The Clinic provides treatment in their HIV referral clinic which is open every Thursday. An additional part of the community service they provide is a truck which goes round to all the local villages to collect patients for treatment. Many of their cases generally involve pregnancies, snake bites and testing for Malaria or HIV. For those who may have broken bones, they need to be referred to the hospital in Livingstone town centre, although they are able to stitch up minor wounds at the clinic. Currently the HIV centre has 5-6 patients. The clinic is a full service medical facility operating under the Ministry of Health in the Kazungula District near Senkobo Zambia. They see over 1200 outpatients per month and have capacity for 8 inpatients. They offer antenatal services as well as labor and delivery and child health. They are a recognized HIV centre offering ART (antiretroviral therapy) services, with over 600 patients receiving medicines. They also provide community based mobile ART and Home Based Care and are a referral centre for the other rural health centres in the surrounding areas. They currently do outreaches 2-3 times per week, some full service and some just ART. They also have full lab services, offering: All the quick tests CD4 counts Full blood counts TB sputum testing Chemistries The facilities include: Male and female wards Maternity unit Lab Pharmacy Two exam rooms Large reception area Storage Male and female toilets An outside covered porch area for an outside waiting room A new freestanding lab building is under construction They serve a very large population of people and English is the language of service with clinical assistants fluent in the four main tribal languages, Tonga, Bemba, Nyanga and Lozi. The clinical officer and his wife are American and staff include a licensed midwife, a nurse, 5 clinical assistants, plus varioius ancillary staff. Back to Top

WORK CONTENT
You will be assigned to a nurse or clinical assistant and they will help to show and explain to you the workings of their job. Most of your work will involve helping and assisting the nurses and clinical assistant with their daily rounds, making medical notes and updating records. You may also be asked to help with computer entries and help clean equipment and various areas within the clinic. The type of work you will be allocated will depend to an extent on your own abilities and on what is required at the time you're there.

MORE ABOUT THE CLINIC:
The clinic is a full service medical facility operating under the Ministry of Health in the Kazungula District near Senkobo Zambia. They see over 1200 outpatients per month and have capacity for 8 inpatients. They offer antenatal services as well as labor and delivery and child health.

They are a recognized HIV centre offering ART (antiretroviral therapy) services, with over 600 patients receiving medicines. They also provide community based mobile ART and Home Based Care and are a referral centre for the other rural health centres in the surrounding areas.

They currently do outreaches 2-3 times per week, some full service and some just ART. They also have full lab services, offering all the quick tests as well as CD4 counts, full blood counts, TB sputum testing and chemistries. The facility is a full building housing a male and female ward, maternity unit, lab, pharmacy, two exam rooms, large reception area, storage, male and female toilets, and an outside covered porch area for an outside waiting room. A new freestanding lab building is under construction.

They serve a very large population of people and English is the language of service with clinical assistants fluent in the four main tribal languages, Tonga, Bemba, Nyanga and Lozi. The clinical officer and his wife are American, but licensed in Zambia. The other workers including a licensed midwife, an Enrolled Nurse and a part-time lab technologist along with 5 clinical assistants.

• An exciting, never-to-be-forgotten adventure into Africa and the fascinating culture in Zambia.

• The enormous satisfaction of helping disadvantaged children and knowing that you made a difference to them.

• New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional development.

• An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head and shoulders above most others in the job market

• And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!

CASE STUDY: PRITHIKA SELVADURAI:
"There were so many positive experiences that it's hard to pinpoint certain times. Working in a clinic in the village allowed us to experience the parts of Zambia that tourists don't get, where we got to visit people's homes and pray with them. I came to realise how shockingly religion is important to people especially in the poorer parts where that's all they have to rely on.

One of the most memorable moments was watching a lady give birth, it was such a momentous event that cannot be forgotten. I loved doing outreach work every Wednesday and Friday, where we travel further into the village so that healthcare can be provided to those unable to come to the clinic. Although it was heartbreaking at times to see children at the clinic and orphanage, they were so happy that we forgot about those things.

As much as I enjoyed this trip, two weeks is nowhere near enough. If I could do this again then I would definitely stay at least one month as I would have liked to visit different parts of Zambia, for example, Lusaka. This trip has taught me many things and has encouraged me to travel more, learn about different cultures, people and way of life. The best aspects of travelling is meeting random people and finding that similar connection. It has been such a wonderful trip, I've been talking about it non-stop!"

FEEDBACK FROM SAHRE-LUIS KERLE:
What experience do you feel you are gaining? I feel I am gaining more knowledge towards my nursing course. I am able to experience a wide variety of opportunities to do with the clinic. This has ranged from working with the different staff members, meeting different aged patients, seeing different problems/issues, taking part in the diagnosis and treatment, assisting with wound dressing, lab tests, helping inpatients and being able to go out to the villages with the clinic.

So far what is the best thing about your placement? I cannot really pinpoint what has been the best bit of my placement, as everything has been really good. I had a warm welcome by the clinic and everyone has been friendly and helpful, so it has made the whole experience excellent!

Would you recommend this placement to anyone else? I would definitely recommend this placement to other health professionals, as you get a real insight into health care and you receive such a large variety of experiences.

What type of person do you think this placement would suit? This placement would definitely suit health professionals or those that are training to do something involving healing/helping people.

Can you describe a typical day? (E.g. start time, morning duties, lunch hours, afternoon duties, any other duties…. I would get picked up from the backpackers at around 8am and usually arrive at the clinic before 9am. I would be assigned to a member of staff to work with throughout the day. The duties would vary depending on who I worked with, but no matter who it was, I received the full benefit of their tasks and job. You get to experience everything and anything possible, you can also ask what you would like to do and see and they put you in that environment. I usually get picked back up around 4pm. The day goes pretty quickly and there is always something going on in the clinic.

The clinic is a worth while placement, being able to connect with the village people is amazing. The clinic is extremely beneficial if you’re in the health profession. It has been a great experience so far.