VIDA Medical, Dental & Veterinary Programs in Costa Rica

This was a truly awesome program, while a bit unorganized every once in a while, you feel very safe and are rewarded with incredible experiences. Definitely worth your time and money.

Critical Feedback:

Sometimes there was a little lack of organization but this was minimal.

VIDA is extremely organized. You have a group leader who makes sure everything runs smoothly and doctors and interpreters who travel with you and educate you on the countries' history, government systems, ecosystems, and anything else you want to know about the culture. They provide clean drinking water at all times and plenty of meals during clinic days.

A huge issue for me was feeling safe. I can honestly say that I felt safe 100% of the time. When we had free nights to explore the towns near our hotels, the interpreters were kind enough to come with us and help us communicate with the locals. I never felt like my suitcases were in danger, either. The hotels we stayed at were really nice.

The clinic was the best part of the trip. You don't need to have any prior medical experience. I personally did, and it felt great to be able to teach my peers what I already know. There is a crash medical course the first day, and the doctors walk you through every step of the way. You will learn a lot about patient-care: how to take a health history, vital signs, and determine if they are normal or not. After interacting with the patient, you get to come up with a diagnosis, which you will present to the doctor. The doctor will then walk through all of the symptoms with you and explain what the real diagnosis is and why. The doctors are amazing teachers! I learned so much. Its an amazing feeling when you can start relating things from your science classes to actual patient care. The doctors help you to connect the dots.

This trip was enlightening and I feel like I came back to the US with a whole different perspective on my life and what I want to do in the future. This experience made me want to continue volunteering abroad with VIDA. I will definitely recommend VIDA to everyone and anyone.

From the clinics to the free days this program was incredible. Clinics ran very smoothly because of the patience and willingness to teach of the Dentists, and the volunteers felt like we actually made a difference; considering we were actually assisting as opposed to only shadowing. We had the unique opportunity to interact with the locals, leaving memories that I will forever cherish and never forget. On free days, we did exciting things like horseback riding, tubing, and we even spent an entire day on the beach. All in all, it was an unforgettable adventure that I hope to repeat sometime in the near future!

Critical Feedback:

When left to explore cities, we did not have much in terms of guidance as to where local hotspots/restaurants were. Perhaps this forced us to go out and actually explore, but I think I would have preferred a guide to which we could have referred.

I would highly recommend this program. I am a pre-veterinary student, and it was wonderful to get all of the experience of preparing animals for surgery. We set catheters, intubated, did physical exams, gave vaccines and medications, shaved, administered anesthesia, and got to help clamp, cut, ligate, and suture during the surgeries with a vet's supervision. Every student usually got to assist with 1 or 2 surgeries per day. We worked in pairs and followed each patient through all of the steps: intake, surgery, and recovery. Lots of the animals were fearful and many had fleas/ticks and were underweight. The clinic days were about 8 hours long (8am - 4pm) and we set up clinics wherever we could (churches, schools, community centers, private property). It was much different from any veterinary experience I have had in the U.S. and I could really tell that we were making a difference, which was wonderful!
All of the staff was very helpful and I always felt comfortable and safe. We just always stayed in groups of three or more when we left the hotels, and didn't have any safety issues. We stayed in hotels for most of the time, and then stayed with home-stay families for a few days after crossing into Nicaragua. We only got a few warm showers on the trip, but since the weather was fairly warm and humid, I didn't mind! The main food items were black beans, rice, chicken, and plantains. Several people got sick in Nicaragua, but nobody got sick in Costa Rica. In addition to all the clinics, we did some fun stuff like playing on the beach, playing soccer, taking a dance class, and going ziplining. Spanish was helpful so that you could communicate with the home-stay families and people in the community, but all of the staff spoke English very well, so it was not necessary to know Spanish.
Overall it was an truly remarkable experience and I am looking forward to returning next year!

Hi there,

This summer will be my third time participating in a VIDA trip to Central and South America. My experiences with VIDA have been absolutely amazing. I am an aspiring dentist and when I heard that VIDA offered trips to aspiring dental, medical and veterinary students I hopped on the bandwagon right away. I am so glad I did because I have learned so many great skills that I probably won't learn until I am in my 3rd year of dental school. I have provided flouride to patients, assisted the dentist in extractions, put on temporary fillings and taught the less fortunate how to keep up their oral hygiene.
Outside of the clinic days I have been surfing, zip-lining, rock climbing, climbed volcanoes, walked through the rain forest, and white water rafted. VIDA provides you with the right amount of volunteer work and fun. I reccommend this trip to anyone who wants to learn more about medical practices and loves helping the less fortunate.

The VIDA program was an amazing volunteer experience. We had a mix of clinic days and free days, in which we went white-water rafting and zip-lining. The clinic days were so useful in gaining experience in the healthcare field, as we worked directly with the doctors in Costa Rica, and were able to see different cases of tropical diseases. We were also able to serve many different patients in the communities on the clinic days. We traveled in a bus together, and were given time to explore the cities and towns we visited, sight-see, and experience some amazing sights of Costa Rica!

As a trip coordinator I was in constant contact with the VIDA staff in Costa Rica and they are great people to work with! The planning of this trip went extremely smooth because of them. They helped make it possible for many students to have the experience of a life time! I would recommend participating in a trip with VIDA to anyone who is interested in traveling abroad to gain great medical and dental volunteer experience.

Volunteering with VIDA was such a wonderful experience! I've volunteered with them twice (2 summers in a row). I got a lot of hands-on experience spaying/neutering dogs/cats. I learned a lot from their veterinarians. They were so helpful and so friendly! The housing was great. The families were stayed with were very hospitable. We also got to do fun activities, such as zip-lining and white water rafting, which were tons of fun! I would LOVE to go on another trip with VIDA!

I attended a 2 weeks veterinary volunteer adventure last summer and am currently coordinating another trip this summer. The was the most rewarding experience in my entire life! It is amazing to be able to travel to Costa Rica and Nicaragua and be immersed into the culture while being able to provide invaluable veterinary, medical, and dental services to the communities that truly need our help. The hands on experience is second to none and is significantly more than I have received working in the veterinary field for 6 years in the states. The staff is amazing and helps you all along the way- I made many friends on my last trip and plan to again this year. It is extremely safe which I was initially worried about - we only go to safe areas and we all travel in a group at all times. There is a perfect balance of work and fun with 5 clinic days and ~7 day adventures including things like ziplining, national forest, shopping, sloth sanctuary, latin dancing, playing soccer, and many amazing restaurants. I researched other volunteer broad groups for months on end before I decided to go with VIDA and I am SO glad I did!

I was a little worried going into the program with such little experience since I thought it wasn't very likely that I could learn enough about medicine to apply it in just 2 weeks; I was definitelly wrong and can't believe how much I've gained! I was able to learn how to interact with patients to help them provide the right information in order to help us make an accurate diagnosis for their symptoms. The clinic days were tiring since we saw hundreds of patients every day, but it was well worth it to see the patients' smiling faces and know that we had made a positive impact on someone else's life.
The work was also perfectly balanced with the fun, and I even feel like they overlapped since the work itself became really fun. I was able to establish great relationships with all of the staff including the group leaders, the interpreters, the doctors and veteranarians, as well as nurses that helped with the vaccinations and pap smears. I felt happy and safe the entire time I was with them and can't wait to go back again for another trip.
My VIDA trip helped strengthen my love of medicine and allowed me to get a real glimpse at the type of work I will be doing in the future and how much I'll love it.

My VIDA experience in Costa Rica was one I will never forget and will think of fondly for years to come. I never realized what an impact such a small group of people could have on a community in just a few short days. During the clinic, I bettered my understanding of basic medical practices and learned about specific diseases found in Central America. I even experienced taking an ultrasound of a 18 week pregnant mother's womb. It was a beautiful experience.
The social aspect of a VIDA adventure was equally enlightening. I made friends that will last a life time and the relationships foraged with the interpreters and doctors was invaluable. Overall VIDA is a fantastic opportunity for pre-health and non-health students alike. It really opens your eyes to the good that can be accomplished when we all work together.