Gap Medics: Nurse / Midwife Student Programs

I visited Thailand in the summer, it was amazing. Not only were the hospital placements interesting and fun, it also looks good on your personal statement. At the hospital placement you got to learn so much, some of the mentors didn't speak English very well, but you were still able to understand them. Going to Thailand made me realise this was the career I wanted to do.
The social life was also so amazing. After hospital placement there was usually an activity organised, on a Wednesday we would go to watch the lady boys which was always a brilliant night and on a Thursday we would go to a club which was also a really good night!
You get a lot of free time so on a weekend you could do what ever, me and a group of 8 of us visited Bangkok one weekend, it was such a good weekend. You can also visit the islands on a weekend.
When you get home you miss it and you miss all the people you meet there.

I travelled to Iringa, Tanzania in September last year. I stayed in the gapmedics rock house for three weeks and can safely say it was the best experience of my life so far. The accommodation is fantastic, the rock house is the biggest and is really comfortable and I definitely felt at home. The town house is slightly closer to the Iringa regional hospital and is smaller but is also quite comfortable and safe - I managed to get to have a look at this house! The staff really support you and make you feel safe, on the first day going to placement they will walk with you, show you around the hospital and show you around Iringa.
The hospital placements are incredible, with the chance to get involved in lectures, surgeries and (in my case) delivering babies !!!
Usually, your placement at the hospital will end at around 2, and you then have the chance to visit the local orphanage or go to the masai market in Iringa town centre - there are also some lovely places to have lunch such as Neema's cafe, who sell chocolate brownies..!
At the weekend you also have the chance to explore - don't miss out on the Safari Weekend.. you travel by jeep (a fun journey in itself!) to the Ruaha Hilltop Lodge on the edge of Ruaha National Park. The safari day on the saturday is brilliant, just like the lion king haha. On the sunday you will get to travel to a masai village before heading back to Iringa.
An absolutely fantastic experience..six months on and I am planning on going back to Africa. It gets under your skin !!!

I went to Tanzania when i was 16 with gap medics! I thought that because i was so young id have trouble fitting in and socializing but i didn't i had exactly the same experience as everyone else.
I made friends about three months before going by going on the gap medics facebook and searching for people going around the same time, this really helped as i then got on the flights with them and was never alone from England to Tanzania and back!
The medical experience i gained was amazing, we saw so many more births and Cesareans in just a few hours than i had ever seen in my whole life. Generally you finished on the wards at one and then could do whatever you wanted, we all went out for lunch everyday and then did a bit of shopping or something.
The locals are very friendly and as long as you're in a group you don't feel unsafe.
I would definitely recommend going on the weekend safari, I saw every animal i could ever imagine seeing in Africa and got a lovely meal everynight.

I spent just one week in India in August 2012 and it was the best week of my life.

I started at the airport by myself but by the time I reached Delhi had already met 10 other students also on the programme. As soon as we arrived in Jodhpur we were whisked away to our house. The house was very spacious and cool, considering the outside heat!

The food wasn't great as it was curry for practically every meal but I didn't mind as we tended to go out for meals as it was very cheap and we wanted to be out in India!

I was with the paediatrician at the Kamlar Nagar hospital which meant that the majority of the time we watched him check children (like a GP) who all seemed to have the same illness, so we went for a look around the hospital and spent some time in the A&E room (yes, room!). I would recommend that anyone interested in children's nursing to maybe go for the midwifery programme instead and they were involved in the deliverance of babies and I didn't really get to be involved with treatment of children apart from one morning on the ward rounds.

India was just incredible, it's really got a place in my heart now and I probably want to move out there when I am older.

Overall the experience was something I will never forget and I wish I had gone for at least 2 weeks as it would have made it better value, including flights etc it was around £2,000 for the week.

I would definitely recommend gap medics, and the support before and during your trip was exceptional as there was a girl from england who worked for GM who was in the house with us.

I went on the sixth form special so only actually went for a week, however if i had the time i would have stayed so much longer i didn't want to leave. When starting out I was extremely nervous about meeting everyone and actually travelling alone, but by seeing other people in their GapMedics T-shirt i quickly made friends even just at the airport. Every day was different out there and there was always something exciting that you could do. My placement at the hospital started at 9 where you would have a meeting with all of the doctors and nurses so they could see how the hospital is doing in terms of mortality rates, birth rates ect. they would ensure that you understood everything they were discussing and always asked for your input which always was scary at times gave you the confidence to ask any questions you need. I shadowed a nurse and she was very flexible with what i could do. She allowed me to chance bandages and go off to other wards if i was interested in something particular for example i wanted to see a operation so she let me go off if there was one i was interested in seeing. All the staff were so friendly in the hospital and the GapMedic staff really do make your trip. They are so easy to get along with and really do care for your every need. Although i wasnt there for long you make strong bonds between you the other students and the staff. The highlight of my experience was visiting the local orphanage to spend the day with the children there, it was the most surreal but amazing things to do and all the staff there are extremely welcoming. The only downside to my trip is that i got food poisoning on the last 2 days so that wasnt much fun! but the lead doctor from the hospital actually visited me at the house to give me some tablets, so i was well looked after. Overall it was the most memorable experience i have had and i am definitely going on another!