Medical and nursing projects in Tanzania

The medical projects in Tanzania are based in the second largest hospital in Arusha in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro! The hospital acts as a referral hospital to other health facilities in Arusha and Manyara regions so the cases you will see will be varied.

You will start off with a period of orientation at the health centre. You will then be able to spend time shadowing medical staff in a variety of clinics and departments or pick the one which is of the most interest. Clinic hours are Monday to Friday 8am until 3pm during which time you will be attached to one or two doctors in a particular department.

As well as gaining experience in medical fields you wouldn’t have been able to see at home, you will also gain experience of how doctors in Tanzania work given the daily challenges they face. Very poor resources mean different approaches are taken. For example the prescribing of drugs is a major problem for Doctors when dealing with the very poor. A patient prescribed a course of antibiotics can, in many cases, only afford to purchase a small number of pills and the chances of them completing a full course are very slim. Despite the lack of resources the medical staff are able perform and provide extensive services.

Traditional medicine is also practiced in some of the hospitals and there is active research into areas where it has been found to be effective. Local healers’ are still regularly consulted in Tanzania and some of their methods are known to have very good effects. It has been known when medicines are in short supply for patients to be advised by doctors to find specific local plants and trees to make teas and follow the traditional healing methods.

Some of the hospitals we work with specialise in the diagnosis and treatment of HIV, TB and STI’s so if you are interested in these areas please let us know and we’ll organise your placement accordingly. In addition to working in these departments it’s also possible to combine projects and spend time on our HIV awareness and counselling programme if you’d like to know more about HIV counselling.

This project is not just for budding medical students, this programme may also be suitable for those about to study:

• Nursing
• Physiotherapy
• Dentistry