Gap Medics: Pre-medicine programs

Gap Medics is an amazing opportunity, for the incredible medical experience you gain, the understanding of what being a medical professional means and because of the life long friends you make whilst your there.
The atmosphere at the Gap Medics house was so welcoming, and the staff there were great, they were happy to answer any questions and just great to talk to in general.
The hospital work experience was incredible and enabled me to learn so much and opened my eyes to all sides of medicine. Also I found it so difficult to find medical work experience in England and honestly I doubt there is any work experience you can find that is better than that which Gap Medics provides.
In the Kilimanjaro house, which is where I stayed, we were also encouraged to interact with the local community, one way was by visiting 2 local orphanages, I think the interaction had with the children there will stay with me for a long time.
Also Gap Medics offer so many activities to do when not at placement, this includes weekend day trips to hot springs and a hike to the KIlimanjaro base camp. Both of which I did and were awesome. They also offer a weekend safari trip.
Gap Medics encourage you to become immersed in the culture, and this included swahili lessons, which were amazing and helped to be able to interact with the patients in the hospital, and having a basic conversation may seem like nothing, but at some times you could see that just something small like that would make someones day.
As amazing as Gap Medics was educationally, it's just as special socially. I have made friends whilst away with Gap Medics that I think, and I hope will stay with me for a life time.
Gap Medics is an amazing thing to do and experience and to anyone who has the chance to go, don't hesitate. It is the best thing I've done and I would do it again.

I am a 17-year-old high school student from Washington, D.C. who wants to become a surgeon. My peers know me as the girl whose life revolves around emergency medicine and is following a dream on a daily basis by volunteering at our local fire station. I am always striving to learn more.

One night, I was researching ‘Medical experiences abroad’ and came across Gap Medics. I requested information and was contacted right away. The next step was convincing my parents to let me go to Tanzania. It was hard at first, but they know my dream and always support my decisions.

I spent the next 10 days in Africa where I was lucky enough to assist in operations at Morogoro Regional Hospital. While shadowing my talented mentors, I realized without a doubt, this is what I am meant to be doing with my life.

My placement was a wonderful experience and everyone was very kind and willing to teach me. I was even called in for a night shift surgery to help assist two doctors perform a bone repair on a teenager my age.

Towards the end of my placement, I also went on safari. This was such a great way to complete my perfect trip. Also, the friendships that I made in Africa will last forever!

Thank you Gap Medics for such a wonderful experience.

Gap Medics gave me an amazing experience in Thailand, combining shadowing doctors in a different health care setting to at home with seeing a country and experiencing a culture I hadn't before. The Gap Medics house was brilliant. Even though it's 40 minutes from Chaingmai city centre, the taxis are cheap and great fun so it isn't a pain at all. The food at the house was great and all the staff were lovely! Chiangmai Mai is a great city with great nightlife. I'd definitely recommend doing this placement.

Best two weeks experience I had received met some amazing people who I am still in contact with and had an overall enjoyable time- anyone thinking of organising a trip with gap medics go for it you will not regret it!!

I spent 3 weeks with Gap medics in Thailand last summer. It was a great experience, I throughly enjoyed everyday I was there and I learned a lot from my stay. I've always wanted to study medicine and thought this was the perfect way to gain vital work experience as well as being given the opportunity to travel somewhere i'd never been before.

The placements are well organised, interesting and helpful. I was able to watch various procedures, as well as visit different hospitals and shadow different doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. I feel the experience fuelled my passion for medicine and gave me a real insight into the career.

The Gap Medics house in Thailand is great. The staff are really friendly and are always nearby ready to help. The rooms are basic but nice. Each has their own bathroom, I shared a room with 2 other girls and became good friends with them over the placement. The facilities at the house are great, the pool is perfect after a day at the hospital. Breakfast and dinner is provided at the house and the food is amazing! The cooks are really nice too!

The only downside to the house is it is far from the centre so it can be difficult to get into town sometimes. however, the staff are always happy to help you book a taxi with drivers that they know and trust. Another benefit of staying the 3 weeks is after 2, you complete classes and have more free time in the afternoon to explore!

Overall, I would recommend gap medics to anyone whose thinking of going, it's a great experience and you meet loads of new people.

Gap medics is awful. They emailed me the week that my final deposit was due telling me that my placement had changed from chaing mai (tourist area) to phitsanulok (rural and nothing to do). They assrured me that the house would be beautiful and just like the other houses. We were the first group at the new house and it was less than perfect. The power kept going out the plumbing didn't work for days there was no food / chef and we were luck to get toast or cereal (maybe cold eggs on a good day). There was also no security gaurd and the "amazing social area" looked like a few tables set up behind a garage. The placements were a mess and the days consisted of waiting around for a mentor to show up just to tell us there was nothing to do. The mentor would try to find other doctors for us to observe but none were confident enough I n their English or able to take on our large group of students. We had 8 students to 1 mentor, which was gap medics fault not the hospitals, but made it impossible to learn anything. I would avoid phitsanulok at all costs atleast until they get everything organized and running.

I always wanted to be a doctor, but I knew I had to do something in order to reassure that it would be the best occupation for me. That is when I decided to do some research for a program that would submerge me into the medical world in a way in which I had never seen it before. I stumbled across the program Gap Medics, and after doing a lot of research, decided it was the perfect program for me!

From the beginning, the staff at Gap Medics were always only a phone call or email away. They would constantly check up on me and assure I had everything prepared prior to arrival. It was really reassuring knowing that I was going to be taken care of before, during, and after my time with Gap Medics.

The minute I got off the plane, I was greeted by the friendliest of faces from the Gap Medics team and I knew I was in great hands. After a good night's sleep in a well accommodating hotel, we embarked on our long bus journey to the town of Iringa. Though a long ride, it was a great introduction to Africa and was never boring.

Finally in the town of Iringa, we were welcomed by a whole team of staff and fellow participants. We were shown our accommodations and I could not have been more impressed! Bright, spacious, and clean bathrooms and bedrooms are scattered across the property that really feel like your home away from home. The common house is equipped with a full kitchen and family room as well! Not to mention, the property is very safe with full security and barriers.

Now on to the best part of Gap Medics, the placement! It was truly amazing being placed in different parts of the hospital each week. I was able to witness and participate in things I never thought possible. For instance, my second week there I watched an above the knee amputation....best day of my life! I even got to help put casts on broken arms, administer shots, and help assist in surgeries! It was the best experience I could've asked for and really showed me what it is like to be a doctor.

In addition to the medical placements, I was able to volunteer at a local orphanage for a week. This was another life-changing experience. Being able to help out in any way was truly rewarding.

Though you can't always have all work and no play and Tanzania has a lot to offer! We frequently visited the shops, markets, and restaurants in Iringa after our work day or during the weekends. If you are wondering if you should do the safari they provide, my answer is YES. It was one of the best experiences of my life. The weekend trip gives you everything you could ever want out of an authentic safari; not to mention the lodge you stay at is absolutely gorgeous.

I recommend this program to everyone. I was there for a month and it was the best month of my life. It truly offered learning experiences you just can't get in the States.

This program completely exceeded my expectations. Upon arrival you automatically feel welcomed. Within little time I felt like I had known everyone my entire life and we truly did feel like a family. The staff and mentors were so kind and helpful. There was never a dull or boring moment. The food was terrific and we definitely looked forward to meal times. I learned more in the 3 weeks I was there than I have ever learned in that amount of time. I would have never been able to experience and witness the great things I did in the hospital without Gapmedics. I was nervous 3 weeks would be too long and I would get homesick, but leaving was hard because I wanted to stay in Tanzania longer and so did everyone in the program. This program is educational, fun, and so worth the cost.