Gap Medics: Pre-medicine programs

When I first asked my parents about going to Tanzania I never imagined they would ever agree to let me go but here I am now a year on.

After sharing a double bed on the first night with a girl I had never met before in the middle of Africa I knew this was going to be a crazy experience. Although this may sound strange, 4 of us had a flight outside the arrival times so to save money we paired up and booked an extra night at the designated hotel.

The staff at the Morogoro house are some of the friendliest people I have ever met, from the moment you meet them at the airport to when you jump on the coach back to DAR with everyone in tears!Delphine the programme manager is like a second mother whilst you are there despite wanting to switch the wifi off all the time!

The doctors on placement are also so friendly and welcoming and are genuinely delighted to be able so share all of their knowledge and take time to thoroughly answer your questions.

Since placement finishes at 1 there is so much time left to socialise either chilling by the pool, going out for lunch or taking part in one of the activities like visiting the orphanage.

Overall I had a fantastic experience and I would truly recommend to anyone! I have made some amazing friends from all over the UK and a couple from America, one of which is coming over to visit in a couple of weeks.

A snapshot of Obs & Gynae Ward at Morogoro Regional Hospital

Child birth in real life is very very different! I was fascinated to see the whole process, from listening to the baby’s heartbeat with a wooden cone, to contractions, the actual birth, and the afterbirth along with the oxytocin injection. In total, I was privileged enough to witness 19 births and 3 C-sections. My first natural birth was the most extraordinary experience I’ve ever had. We were waiting patiently for something to happen, when suddenly my friend Alex shouted that she could see a head (followed by screams of Doctor from the patient.) We all dashed over, the woman grabbed my hand to reassure her, and by the time the Doctor had put his gloves on the baby had popped out. Smiling through tears, we welcomed this new little life into the world, what a happy occasion.

Saw Gap Medics while searching for overseas placements for university. I was first struck by the price of the placements per week, but i decided to go ahead and book 2 weeks in Morogoro, Tanzania.
Honestly one of the best summers i've had. Having spent 2 weeks in outpatients and paediatrics, watching more than 10 natural births, i was able to gain an experience where i would not be able to anywhere else.
The placements are well co-ordinated and your mentors speak reasonable English and are very eager to teach all they know about their speciality. They are passionate and extremely tireless in all they do. Placements from 8am-1pm means that there is enough time in the afternoon to relax and discuss with everyone else what you saw during the day.
The social aspect of the placement is unique. From the first meeting at the airport, you immediately make friends as people have similar career plans and interests. Over the course of 2 week, the most popular choice however, many people do 3 weeks you get to know everyone and make life-long friends. It is exactly 1 year since I was in Tanzania and I am still in contact with almost all of the people on my placement and set to have the 5th reunion this summer! All the staff are very friendly and welcoming from the moment you arrive at the airport to the tears when you leave on the bus back to Dar es Salaam.
Completely different to all the hospital placements in the UK, you are able to compare the differences and see that countries such as Tanzania would benefit from the healthcare that we as a country take for granted. Although a donation is not required, they extremely benefit those who receive it. Orphanages, which depend solely on kind donations are one of the best places to donate.
I would definitely recommend it to everyone who is looking into a career in healthcare if they can afford it.

If i was tasked to describe my Gap Medics experience in one phrase it would be, 'eye opening'. My enlightening experience in Warsaw was a perfect cocktail of having fun with housemates coming from all over the world, challenging debates and informative shadowing in the hospital. The extremely flexible timetable around my placement, created a fantastic atmosphere in my accommodation, making it a second home for the week that i stayed. If anyone out their is interested in medicine i strongly recommended Gap Medics as a trampoline to launch your career as a doctor.

Two weeks in Iringa, Tanzania was such an amazing and life changing experience. I completed two weeks placement shadowing doctors in Surgery and Internal medicine. The hospital placement was eye opening and truly incredible. It was different to what I was used to in United kingdom and gave me an insight into medicine. Hospital placement was well organised and the staffs always made sure that I have someone I can shadow each day. All the mentors were extremely helpful and did not hesitate to answer any questions. So do not feel uncomfortable to enquiry about anything that you are unsure about. All of the medical procedures that were performed on a patient were explained properly during ward rounds.

Travelling oversea own my own for the first time was terrifying but Gap medics house staffs were very welcoming which automatically made me feel like a part of their family and they went out of their ways to make me feel at home. All the house staffs are very approachable. The local people were also very welcoming and this made it easier for me to get around town without fearing about anything. Learning new language, new culture and meeting new people from all around the world who shared the same interest as me was amazing. This also helped me make a great circle of friends from all over the world.

Gap medic placements definitely made me realise that I was choosing the right career path for me. I am even more motivated and focused than before to pursue a career in health sector. I would definitely recommend Gap medics to anyone looking to volunteer abroad. You will not regret it and I know this was the best decision I ever made.

If you have the opportunity to go on a gap medics placement, do it! For me it was such an amazing experience. I made great new friends from all over the world and had valuable time in hospitals watching amazing things. You really will have the time of your life!

On arrival in Pula the programme manager and the housekeeper met me. Although the housekeeper was very welcoming, the programme manager was not, as when I arrived at the Gap Medics house he gave me a very brief tour of only half the house and just left me to it. I understand that food is not provided at weekends but he made no effort to explain where I could buy food considering I had a long journey.

Food was a serious issue as Gap Medics gave me the impression that there would always be some sort of food in the house. However, this was not the case most of the time. There were no bottles of water and no one explained whether I could drink the tap water. In the end I had to drink the tap water from the bathroom. During meal times there were also no fruit juices, etc. Breakfast was okay, but most of the time not sufficient. Often there were days where there would be no milk or the milk would be warm. On one particular day there were no teabags even after reminding the chef on the previous day to buy them. There would always be fruit in the house but it was always rotting and never edible and the food in the fridge had clearly been there for a very long time therefore I was always scared to eat anything. Lunch option was ridiculous, as you had to make your own lunch, which was 2 pieces of small bread and a piece of cheese every day. There was never anything to eat in the day. The kitchen was dirty and very small and I was expected to wash my own dishes, which seems unfair seeing as I paid so much for the placement! However, the evening meal was great!

Gap medics gave me the impression that someone would always be in the house at all times. However, this was not the case and the programme manager would often leave for ‘an hour or two’ this meant that if I needed anything there would be no one to contact. I think this is ridiculous as there is no form of security! Also, when Leila came to stay, she didn’t even ask my name or introduce herself, therefore once again I felt like there was no one I could approach.

Taxis were a big issue. I understand on the first day that we had to walk to the hospital so we can get a local tour but the next few days taxis were not provided unless is was ‘very hot or raining’ This is really unfair seeing as everyone the previous week were provided with taxis! The hospital was around a 45 minute walk, which meant I arrived sweating as it was very hot and I felt uncomfortable and faint all day due to being so tired. There was no sense of organization. I couldn’t deal with this and ended up having to pay for the taxis myself.

Although I saw some pretty valuable things on the actual placement, the mentor didn’t understand English properly. The nurses always talked about us students in Croatian as they believed we didn’t understand. They were rude to us and deliberately blocked our views. Most of the time there was nothing going on and I had to sit around doing nothing. This is so unfair considering how much I paid for the actual placement! I believe the staff should be more welcoming!

The whole placement seems very overpriced and not worth half of what I paid for it. I don’t understand why we should have to pay extra costs for things like scrubs and the return taxi to the airport. There are a lot more hidden costs than Gap Medics make out.

I sent my complaint to Gap Medics but they have not done anything about the issue therefore I am going to escalate this further. My overall experience of the trip was much worse than I expected. My friends are looking to travel with Gap Medics soon and it is a shame that I will have to share my experience with them. I also requested a breakdown of the cost I paid to see where the money is actually going, but again I was ignored!

My stay at Gap Medics was great, but not flawless. We ended up being moved to the brand new house which was still under construction due to unforeseen circumstances, which made it less than great. However, I'm sure that it will be beautiful once finished. It was a little bit of an oversight on Gap Medics part to move us there without it being 100% up to expectations. The food was sub par, and there was an issue with accommodating some food allergies that were not initially communicated with the chefs upon arrival to the house. Make sure you wake up right at 7 o'clock, or you won't get much selection for breakfast. There often wasn't enough food prepared for the amount of students coming through. Make sure you hit up the little coffee shop in Buddhachinaraj hospital!

Being that it is a new location and new hospitals, there were many times where my placements were quite unorganized. There were a few times where we were told by our mentors to go home early, with 2 hours left in the day, with a 1 hour lunch break already being taken, as well as a late start. We later found out that our mentor just didn't understand her told with Gap Medics, which is simply a lack of communication on Gap Medics part. However, mentors in Orthopaedics, Dr. Art in ophthalmology, and Dr. Namtip in Neonatal were absolutely fantastic, and my experience was so great.

However, coming home from Gap medics I am slightly disappointed after asking for my references to be sent. I was assured that Gap medics sends top notch references out to students that are a key aspect to aiding your application to medical school. Frankly, i would be embarrassed to pass these on to any official grading my application to a medical school. When I was in Thailand, we were given score sheets that were to aid out mentors and the Gap medics staff in creating thorough reviews for you. When asking for my review from Gap Medics headquarters, I was sent the score sheets with 5s in each category and nothing else. Really? I could print one of these off and do it myself and claim it as a doctor to send to medical school. This is very disheartening