Interning in Nepal on a medical internship with the Volunteer Society Nepal is an excellent way to become involved in some of the poorest medical institutions in the developing world. As a medical intern in Nepal, you will have the opportunity to observe medical work in a variety of departments.
Most Medical Elective/Interns in Nepal work in Banepa, Kathmandu, Chitawan, and Pokhara’s Hospitals and polyclinics.
Your Role as a Medical Intern in Nepal
We will ask you which departments you would like to specialize in from the following options: General Medicine, Gynecology/Maternity, Infectious Diseases, ENT, Obstetrics, Psychiatric ward, Neurology, Pneumology, Oncology, Urology, ICU, Ophthalmology, Stomatology, Emergency (requires at least 6 years medical training) and Surgery (requires at least 3 years medical training). All Medical Elective interns in Nepal must have completed at least one year of medical-related studies or training by the time they join this project or at least three years to work at the pediatric hospital. Each internship is tailored to your level of experience and interests.
The hospital staff requests that you spend a minimum of two weeks in each department. Your supervisor at the hospital, the Director, will then assign you to work with the specialist doctors within the different departments. We will do our best to place you according to your preferences, but cannot guarantee every department will be available all of the time.
Your role at the hospital will vary depending on your education and experience level. Usually, you will shadow the local staff upon arrival before switching departments. If you show enthusiasm and develop a good relationship with the medical staff, you may find that you gain enough trust to be given more to do. As with any job – and especially in the field of medicine – you must prove yourself to be trustworthy before you are given responsibilities.
The hospital’s facilities are basic and the treatment standards will probably be different from what you’re used to. You should be prepared to see some shocking cases and try not to get emotionally involved with the patients. The normal working hours are from Sunday to Friday from 8vam to 12vpm. Many of the doctors do not work in the afternoons though it is sometimes possible to arrange extra hours from 2vpm to 5vpm to help the nurses or do additional work with patients. Some interns have even arranged to work the occasional night shift.
Most of the doctors speak English. In some departments, there are staff who speaks a little English or from time to time there may also be local medical interns who can also communicate in English
Arriving to work in a foreign country can be a nerve-wracking experience, this is why at VSN we provide a friendly and in-depth welcome. The in-depth welcome encompasses basic language training, cultural training, and sightseeing through Kathmandu and surrounding. This is what you can expect from the moment when you touch down at Tribhuvan Intl. Airport. The program may vary depending on your time of arrival. We will manage to include all the below-mentioned activities in your introduction program.
After a leisurely start and breakfast, so you can recover properly from your journey, you will start your Nepali language course at the VSN office. After meeting the entire VSN team you will have 2 lessons from around 10.30 to 12.45 with our highly experienced language teachers. This will also give you a chance to meet any other volunteers joining at the same time. In the afternoon, one of our staff will take you around the local area of Pepsi-Cola where the office and home-stays are for the induction period.
