Gap Medics: Nurse / Midwife Student Programs

Firstly, I'll begin with the staff. Every single member of staff I met in my two weeks of being in Tanzania were so lovely and welcoming. From the moment I met Hamise and Goodluck at the airport, I knew I was going to be in safe hands. Everybody treated you like family and always made sure that you were happy with everything. Jerry, the programme manager would come to the house everyday to make sure that we had a good day, and any complains we had he sorted there and then. Jessica, she was always smiling and always greeted you when you saw her. Flo, she's crazy which just cheers everybody up. She was always smiling and laughing, always wanting to talk, and was always there when you wanted to play games or just chat. There was a little argument within the group whilst I was there, and Flo made sure that we all sat down and sorted it. The security guard, she was so lovely, so friendly, and so bubbly. She put a smile on your face when you were leaving in the morning, and made sure you had a smile on your face when arriving back at lunch time. On our last day she was begging us all to stay, and came and chatted with us for hours. Goodluck, the driver is hilarious. He didn't talk for the first week and we all presumed he didn't speak English, but the second week we found out that he could speak, and he always made everybody laugh. Hamise, he was lovely from the minute he met us at the airport. He walked us to the hospital everyday, went to town with us, went to the orphanage with us, and always made sure we were all safe, and all happy. Benson, he cooked the loveliest food every single morning for breakfast, and every evening for dinner. He made sure that there was always food in at lunchtime, and would always cook what you ask. I am a fussy eater but still managed to find something to eat everyday.

Secondly, the house. I arrived in the evening and so it was dark when I was shown around the house, but in the morning when I had a look in the day, it was amazing. I was staying in the Kilimanjaro house, and it was everything you need. In my room I had a huge bathroom, mosquito nets over the beds, and plenty of wardrobe space. The social area was huge, with a TV projector and loads of English TV channels. The kitchen was amazing, with loads of food always ready to cook. The pool was lovely to swim in when you've had a long day. The grounds were all very well kept, and I couldn't fault anything. ps, in the other accommodation buildings you can see Mount Kilimanjaro which was amazing!

I can't comment a lot on the social side of my trip as there was only 5 of so it was easy for us all to socialise and get to know each other. There is plenty of space, and plenty of things to do if there was a big group of people, and I'm sure no matter how many people there are, there's always space and time to socialise. We all stayed up and played cards with Flo most nights which was fun. She taught us all new African card games which was a really good laugh.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evening we had a Global Health Tutorial, which at first I wasn't looking forward to, but they were actually all very good. We learnt about, HIV/Aids, Malaria, Family Planning, Swahili lessons, and lots on Midwifery (my placement choice). We had a different doctor/nurse/midwife come in everyday, and each of them were lovely. They were easy to talk to and always happy to answer any questions you had, whether they were relevant to the talk or not.

Safari Weekend - before I left I was debating on going on the Safari due to the price, but wow I'm so glad I went. Seeing wild animals in their natural habitat was amazing. The lodge we stayed in was amazing, and the elephants came so close during the night that they broke all of the water pipes! We saw every animal you could think of, from waterhogs to lions. From deer to elephants! My favourites were the elephants and there were hundreds of them! All of the animals got so close to the car and it was incredible!! Also on the Sunday on the way back to the house, we stopped at a Masai Villiage which was an experience. They give you a welcome song, show you a few of their ways of life, such as how they make a fire, and show you around where they live.

Orphanage - I visited the orphanage 3 times in the two weeks I was there, and every single child there is amazing. They are so sweet, so polite, and can speak amazing English! I took them balloons and I've never seen a child's face light up more. They LOVED them and were entertained for hours. I fell in love with Daniella, Violet, and Happy! I would highly recommend visiting at least once, they all love visitors!

Thought I would leave the best until last.. The Placement. Words cannot explain how amazing my two weeks were. I spent my two weeks in the maternity ward. Every single day I learnt something new. Every nurse, doctor, and midwife was so welcoming and always willing to get you involved. I saw absolutely everything I could have ever imagined seeing. From how to put in an IV, to how to listen to a foetal heart rate. From an easy natural birth, to a birth which took over an hour of pushing. From a c-section and the baby not breathing, to surprise healthy twin boys. From new lives coming into the world, to seeing a lady having a D&C in theatre. From supporting women in labour, to cuddling minute old babies. Every single moment was life changing. Only being 17 and seeing all of that was an incredible experience, and I will take every day into my journey of becoming a Midwife.

If you are thinking of going, then don't think.. just go. Yes, the cost does add up, but I can promise you that every single penny is worth it. I am already planning another trip for next year! :)

Shame on you gap medics!! Your company advertises well organised trips for young people to help them gain experience in a structured environment. Unfortunately after paying nearly £300 just to register and then £800 for flights and a further £1100 for the placement itself, and further costs for scrubs, goggles and face masks, I feel really let down.
The hospital was practically empty and I saw only a handful of patients all week. I spent most of the time sitting around doing nothing. There were other students who felt the same way. I could not complain to the programme manager as she was 'away in Malaysia' until later in the week. My father also rang headquarters on two occasions to voice our concerns about the poor experience / placement.
After discussing the situation with another member of staff who said I would be able to get a refund for the second week I decided to leave and spend the second week travelling. He even helped me to book internal flights to Bangkok.
On my return to England I contacted gap medics. They assured me they would look into my complaint and would ring me back. They failed to do this and I had to ring them many times to try and get a refund.
They now say they have fully investigated the matter and I am totally at fault as their staff were not informed I was unhappy with the placement and I've been called a liar for saying I was told I would get a refund.
I saved so hard to be able to go to Thailand with gap medics and despite not delivering what they promised, they refuse to give me a refund. So I repeat - shame on you gap medics for not having the decency to hold up your hands and admit you got it wrong

I recently have just returned from a two week placement in Morogoro, Tanzania. I can honestly say that it was truly the best two weeks of my life and I cannot put into words what I have experienced because of it. The programme is extremely well organised and all of the staff at the house are so lovely and friendly, they are always there to help. Not only has my trip provided me with invaluable experience in a hospital setting but I have also been lucky enough to make life long friends. I would recommend this experience to anyone who is even remotely considering a career in the medical world.

My Time In Iringa Was Truly Amazing, I Observed Pre-Midwifery Experience In The Local Hospital. The Midwife's/Nurses Were Amazing As They Really Got You Involved. The Staff At The House Were Lovely As Well As They Always Made You Feel Welcomed, This Really Helped Me As I Was Feeling Really Home Sick & Was Feeling Really Shy So They Got You Involved In The Activities And Made Sure You Were Never Alone. Also The Lucky Area Was So Beautiful. The Orphanage Home Was Great I Loved It, You Go To The Orphanage Homes On Thursday's After Placement And You Get To Play With The Kids, Put Be Warned They Do Try & Take Your Phone As They Love Taking Selfies Of Themselves. Also The Safari Weekend Was Magnificent You Get To See So Many Animals, And The Lodge You Stay At Is Amazing & The Masai Villagers Are Great To They Welcome You To Their Village So Nicely And They Also Sing And Dance For You.

Gap medics was definitly a life changing experience for me. The Gap Medics team made everything perfect, made me feel safe, welcome and part of the team. Shadowing the Nurses on the Pediatrics ward and the Midwives definitly determined my future as a Pediatric nurse and I am now studying Pediatrics nursing at university. The experiance I got was so eye opening and being able to make a difference to Iringa Regional Hospital by donating hospital equipment made me feel so lucky and privileged. The amount of knowledge I have gained from doing a Gap Medics placement is unbelievable. I can honestly say I will be returning to Gap Medics in the future.

I would advise others to stay well clear of Gap Medics. They are very good at having a slick image and have a good reputation but unfortunately not all is as it seems. I fell for the appearances and I had a terrible experience with Gap Medics. I feel the company is more interested in financial gain rather than actually creating a positive and beneficial experience for their customers. I went to Croatia, Pula for two weeks in June 2015 for the pre-midwifery course which I was really looking forward to. I am afraid my trip was not what I expected at all. I chose to leave on my fourth day and return home because it was so stressful and so not as described.

I was told I would be in the Hospital Monday to Friday but in actual fact I was only going to have 2 day shifts and 1 night shift each week. In the disorganised and noisy house it became immediately apparent it would have been impossible to sleep during the day to make up for the sleep missed during the night shift anyhow.

I understand that the trip is purely observational and that it is impossible to control the number of births in a hospital. The day I went to the hospital the mentor did not have anywhere near enough to show us and it consisted of hours and hours sitting on a bench waiting for something to observe. I tried to be proactive during the hospital placement but there was very little to see and thus we got sent home early. Gap Medics could not cope with the number of students arriving and could not provide the quality service we paid for. There were three of us students shadowing one mentor midwife in the hospital and so the mentor was overwhelmed and as students we could not get the amount of attention needed.
The website portrays that pastoral care is valued by Gap medics, however I found the staff team to be unapproachable, unsupportive and lacked the skills to work with young people. They were stressed and understaffed; there were only two staff members. One staff member took an aggressive and defensive attitude, seemingly because there were considerable problems in delivering what was meant to be given by the Gap Medics experience. I raised my issues with the trip when I was there but it was pretty much dismissed.

I found Gap Medics website to be misleading. There were also absolutely no 24 hour security guards as advertised. In fact at one point another girl and I were completely alone at the house. It needs to be more transparent and honest.

The whole trip is enormously overpriced and I am unable to see where the money I paid for this trip has gone. There are also extra hidden costs e.g. needing to purchase your own scrubs, googles, gloves, facemasks and hairnets which you are not informed of once you have signed up. Only once I had paid the registration fee of £290 did I also find out that many meals are not included in the price. Over the weekends Friday eve to Sunday lunch there are no meals provided. You are supposed to eat out or you can ask for the chef to supply the cupboards although I found them to be low stocked. There is an expectation to bring money for lunch. I could make and take my own packed lunched there was, however, very little choice for the lunches.

The actual accommodation was very poor and not the house that I was told we would be staying in when I booked. The accommodation felt crowded and hectic, it was definitely not “spacious” and did not “comfortably accommodate up to 40 students” as described on the website. There was no air-conditioning in our small bedroom, which contained two bunk beds for four; it was claustrophobic and this made sleeping difficult. It was also unfortunately placed in the middle of the social area and therefore very noisy. This was not a space to be able to relax or recoup in. The house was bare, uninviting and had no facilities which had been described on the website such as a swimming pool or even shower curtains. I am aware that Gap medics only moved into the new house 2 weeks prior to me staying. The beds were assembled the day before we moved in and we had no wardrobes to use. Unfortunately, the poor organisation during the transition period of moving to another student house has meant that I have suffered. We should not have be placed in the house until it was properly established. It actually took more like an hour to walk to the hospital in the heat rather than the advertised 20 minutes. I could have paid for a taxi but again this would have increased the cost of the trip. Some students even stayed in a hotel just to get some sleep!

I know that many of the other students were also disappointed with the service provided and expressed unhappiness which further supports my claim. This shows that my experience is not an isolated event. I made official complaints to Gap Medics. They took months to even reply and only responded when I had contacted The Times paper. I did not receive a refund let alone any compensation. I would just like to warn others that not everybody has a good experience with this company and if you complain they are not supportive. Had I known the truth I definitely would not have booked onto the course.

I stayed at the gap medics house in Chiang Mai, Thailand for 4 weeks in August last year and I'm so glad I did! All the staff at the house from the cooks and gardeners to the placement team were really friendly and happy to help with whatever they could! I met lots of new people and we did lots together whether it was organising a group trip to the temple or the Chiang Mai bazar to just hanging out in the pool or playing table tennis! The only thing I wasn't crazy about at the house were the lizards and cockroaches that occasionally found themselves in my room, but obviously that can't be helped!
I got the opportunity to travel down to Phuket and the Phi Phi islands due to a long weekend we had because of a bank holiday and that was a fantastic opportunity to explore Thailand! I also went on the hill tribe weekend which i would definitely recommend.
I had a range of really good nursing placements - from Theatre to Outpatients and the labour ward and nursery! One week I requested my placements to be changed slightly as I had been to many of the departments the week before and my placement co-ordinator Mike sorted it out with no problem. I got to witness operations being performed (although I was only allowed into the OR for one of them), observed a baby clinic, helped care for babies straight after birth, and observe patients in ICU. Some of the staffs English isn't the best but Gap Medics do try and put you with those who have good English and so this didn't cause me too much of a problem.
I really enjoyed everything about this experience and I felt it gave me a really good insight into different treatments and cultures ahead of starting my university degree. I would recommend it to anyone!

The house was amazing as were the people! Everyone was so helpful and friendly and the cooking was amazing!! I felt well catered for being vegetarian! Only down side was sometimes had long time to wait between births and there was nothing else for us to do in the meantime but other than that I totally loved and would recommend to anyone!