Program Reviews

If you are looking for a trip of a lifetime then look no further. This trip has truly opened my eyes, not only in the field of medicine but in the world as a whole.

The medical experience I gained over in Tanzania was a focal point of my interviews for medical school this year. However I was glad I had time before my interviews to consolidate my thoughts as when I first got home I couldn’t stop talking about everything I had seen!

You will experience first hand the reality of a lack resources in health care as well as a variety of tropical diseases. You really are involved from day one and there is such a variety of medical issues to discover, from the intriguing science behind some cases to the ethics of how cases are dealt with. As well as actually seeing patients on ward rounds you will have the chance to be lectured by the doctors on a variety of medical conditions. The intimate groups of teaching are a fantastic way to learn more about individual diseases. I saw and learnt more than I could ever have imagined.

Outside hospital hours, you stay in lovely accommodation in Iringa. The house is well equipped for your stay and there is a wide variety of food to eat. Akiba the chef is fantastic at cooking a variety of local cuisine, allowing you to feel you have tasted Tanzania and also cooking food from your homeland to stop you missing home! The staff out in Iringa are so welcoming and friendly and are great at providing you with all the information you need as well as always being there to chat when you need to.

I would rate this trip as one of the best experiences of my life. If there is anything that I would advise it is that perhaps you need to be emotionally prepared for this experience. You see some things that are very difficult and that will stay with you for the rest of your life but that in my opinion will open your eyes to the world of medicine and inspire you do something in the future.

This really is the trip of a lifetime!

The four weeks i spent in Iringa, Tanzania this summer just gone has been the most memorable, educational and confronting experience of my life.
Everything from the food, to the other students, to the African doctors we were shadowing was fantastic, although intense at times. With the wide variety of disease, injuries and surgeries there was always something new to see and learn as well as a few lectures a week from one of the doctors.
Seeing and learning about the general society of Iringa, outside the hospital, is also something that i will never forget. We were given enough free time to make the most of the local craft stalls, safaris and various other tourist attractions
It would not have been nearly as rewarding without the support and friendship we found in the staff at gapmedics and for that i thanks them. This was my first trip overseas, so a litle daunting, but they were with me every step of the way.
I highly recommend this program to anyone looking for the trip of a lifetime!

This experience has given me a tremendous insight into the lives as a doctor. I am more than certain that medicine is the career for me now!! I will always remember what doctor Hope has said: Don;t just be any doctor, be a good doctor.

Literally the best time of my life, every moment was incredible and i learnt so much not only about medicine but life too. Nothing to fault and if anyone is interested just book don't question it staff are so supportive both in england offices and there in tanzania. You meet amazing people and see things you wouldn't ever imagine! 100% worth every penny! I have already recommended it to people and they have loved it too. I want to go back!!!

Before I even begin my review, I'd like to say that just as I was wrapping up writing my inital review my lovely computer thought it would be a great time to crash, causing me to lose the entire review I had just spent all that time working on. However, that said, Gap Medics is truly such a wonderful program that I simply had to take the time to start all over again. So, take two, here we go.

My month with Gap Medics was easily the best month I've had thus far. I had amazing opportunities to observe medical procedures that you would otherwise likely not get to see until well into medical school, while also living and travelling in a beautiful place surrounded by amazing people.

Both the hospital (I was at Iringa Regional) and the Ngome Health Centre were absolutely amazing places to learn about medicine in a developing country. The doctors I worked with were extremely knowledgable, dedicated and hard-working, and not only willing, but happy, to teach you all about their work. You will definitely want to bring a notebook with you so that you can write all of the valuable information you will be given while on placement... and also, depending on who your mentor is that week, you might even be tested on it!

All of that said, Gap Medics is not at all a purely 'work trip'. While there, I made incredible friends from all over the world, lived and travelled in the magnificent and culturally rich Iringa region, spent hours at Neemas and Hasty Tasty (don't worry about finding them; somebody in your house will know where they are), learned some basic Swahili (you get lessons at the house some evenings), fell in love with the adorable children at the orphanage, and even had the chance to go on a wonderful safari! One thing I can guarantee is that you will never get bored. And if you are ever unsure what to do or where to go, Mdoe, Jerry, Hassan, Baptiste, or any of the other wonderful staff members will be right there to help you out.

I would strongly recommend Gap Medics to anybody interested in medicine. It provides you with a vast wealth of knowledge, a chance to see what life is really like for people in a developing country, and a safe place where you can grow as a traveler, student and person.

I had te most amazing time in Tanzania with the GapMedics program. Although I only went for one week I learnt so much from the hospital staff, program managers and local people. We had the chance to experience medical work and the local culture in equal measure. The houses were perfect and I had great fun with all the people there, including the project managers who were really helpful and friendly. We even had the chance to go on safari at the end of the week which was fantastic - we saw loads of animals including lions, elephants and giraffes! I would Definitly recommend it to anyone interested in a career in nursing, medicine or dentistry!

Tanzania helped me decide that I really wanted to be a doctor. It taught me so many skills and ideas that I would've never gained from just going to school. It gave me a real life experience of what the medical world is like and convinced me that I was committed to entering this profession. By gaining work experience in the UK, I don't think I would have experienced, done as much or seen as much as I did at Iringa Regional Hospital (e.g. post-mortem, child birth, c-sections etc.). The mentors were great. I thank everyone at Gap Medics for this eye openining experience. I made the best friends ever in Tanzania and had the best time of my life. Never to be forgotten!

I spent an amazing month in Iringa! The staff at Iringa were incredible and the house was sooo much fun! I learnt so much from the hospital and gave me a whole new outlook on things!! Last year I got four rejections from medicine, this year I had three interviews and three offers plus knowing that medicine is definatly for me!!

The food was fantastic and the staff were extremely friendly. Baptista was unbelievably organised and ran the entire operation with great efficiency and I never had to worry about anything. The mentors were competent and the experience was extremely educational. I made many friends and loved every moment. The extra hospital activities were fantastic such as the safaris.

The work experience not only allows you to compare these somewhat primitive hospitals in Tanzania to our modern day counterparts in the UK, but it also provides new friendships, one and a lifetime experiences and spurs you on even further towards your dream career.

I didn't know exactly what to expect; I knew that the work experience would be different to that in the UK, but I never imagined that I would witness and experience such amazing and wonderful events during my placement.

To me, the greatest aspect of the trip was comparing the hospitals in Tanzania to that of those in the UK: How doctors diagnose, how patients are treated, the training of nurses, the illnesses encountered, etc. Adding all this to the new friends I made on the trip, made the work experience unbeatable.

My friends had warned me that many people studying medicine are very studious and aren't very 'fun'. This trip has proven my friends wrong. Whilst in Tanzania, you not only get to undertake work experience placements, but you also get the opportunity to go on safari, got to markets, visit orphanages, etc with all your future peers in medical school. Spending time with such down to earth, eager people, really encourages you to persue your dream of a career in medicine because you know, that when you go, you will meet more amazing people such as them.

The house itself was lovely; African inspired names for houses, jungle themed curtains, a bbq area in the garden, fresh, african food and charming housekeepers made the house a delight to live in. Although the solar powered showers sometimes proved to be a bit tempermental, I cannot complain about the living quarters.

It goes without saying that getting into medical school is difficult. In order to get in, you need to show your dedication and demonstrate that you are really series about the profession. What better way to show your determination than to fly outside of your comfort zone, enter a completely different country, even continent, and enter the wilderness that is a Tanzanian Hospital.