Medicine in Senegal with Projects Abroad

  Senegal

Saint-Louis

Durations of Program: 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months and 7-12 months
Typical Duration of Program: 5-8 weeks
Dates: All Year Round (you set the start and end date)

Description: Volunteering abroad on a Medicine & Health care placement with Projects Abroad offers an excellent way to gain Medicine & Health care work experience combined with the chance to help people in some of the poorest medical institutions in the developing world. As a Medicine & Health care volunteer in Senegal you will have the opportunity to gain a wide range of medical and health care work experience in a variety of departments.

All Medicine & Health care volunteers in Senegal work in St Louis, in the second largest public hospital in the city. The hospital has been open since 2000.

The hospital employs two doctors and six nurses, so having a volunteer to assist is very useful for such a small team. All volunteers live within a 30-minute journey of the hospital.

Your Role as a Medicine & Health Care Volunteer in Senegal

The hospital has two main departments - General Medicine and Maternity. Within General Medicine there is the opportunity to gain experience in ENT, Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Gynecology, Microbiology, Pathology and Psychotherapy. Your supervisor at the hospital, the Head Doctor, will then assign you to work with the local staff within the different departments.

Facilities within the hospital are basic and treatments are sometimes not of the standard we would expect in the West. You should be prepared to see some shocking cases and try not to get emotionally involved with the patients. Your working hours will usually be decided on a weekly basis, as the hospital is open twenty four hours a day, however, you can usually arrange to have the weekends free.

For other volunteer programs in Senegal, we have Sports, Care and Community Work, and Teach English projects available for the participants to choose from.

Highlights: Saint Louis, where Projects Abroad is based is on the coast in the North of the country, close to the border with Mauritania. Dakar, the capital is about 4 hours journey south down the 600km coastline. Senegal possesses many tropical palm fringed beaches and several national parks including Parc National de Niokolo- Koba where you can view wildlife like hippos, monkeys, chimpanzees, warthog, crocodile and if you're lucky the elusive lion and leopard.

In terms of accommodation, all our volunteers in Senegal stay in a home stay which is a great way to get totally immersed in the culture, and practice speaking French too! There will be a community of volunteers there for you to get to know and socialize with.

This project offers the opportunity to become fully immersed in the culture in a manner which even the most hardened of backpackers could never hope to do.

Qualifications: All Medicine & Health care volunteers in Senegal must have completed at least one year of medicine or health care related studies or training by the time they join this project. The hospital will tailor your placement to your level of experience and to your particular interests.

Volunteers on the medicine program in Senegal also need a good level of French, most of the staff and patients do not speak English and it is important that you can understand and communicate in French while you are working in the hospital.

Cost in US$: From US$ 1,595 up

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: Open-minded with a desire to travel.

Age Range: 16-70

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Senegal Independently Or in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently Or in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Written Application

Post Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit DebriefingAbroad
• Re-Entry Debriefing at Home

Projects Abroad's Mission Statement: As part of the global economy, Projects Abroad helps create local employment wherever we send volunteers. Employing local staff overseas and using their talents and knowledge is important to us. This local knowledge and support enables the organization to channel the skills of the volunteers from more affluent countries to regions around the world where they are needed. Volunteers also learn from their placements and the people they meet, and they gain experience in a chosen field. In the 21st century, we believe this mutual respect is what cultural exchange is all about.

Year Founded: 1992