Our medical placements in India are based at a large modern hospital in Trivandrum. We have chosen this hospital because it gives you the opportunity to spend time in a variety of different departments and gain experience in a number of medical specialisms. The hospital has nearly 1,000 beds and is one of the leading hospitals in the region. Its departments include:

Cardiovascular, Orthopaedics, ENT, Neurosurgery, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Anaesthesiology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Neonatal, Paediatrics, Nephrology, Urology and others.

Your supervisor on the programme will organise for you to spend time shadowing doctors, nurses and medical professionals in various departments at the hospital. Your supervising doctor will organise a programme that will give you a broad range of experience, but if you have specified a particular area of interest your placement supervisor will do their best to organise your practical programme in those areas. However, please be aware that it is not always possible to guarantee a placement in a specific department.

Like most countries in the world, you have to pay for medical care in India. This means that many people don't take themselves to the doctor until their condition becomes so bad that something must be done, sadly it's often too late. Additionally, the unique social hierarchy in India means that many people who are lower down on the social ladder (the caste system) feel uncomfortable visiting the doctors. This means that during your time with us in India you will see highly advanced medical conditions that you are unlikely to ever see at home.

Throughout the programme you will be encouraged to ask questions and produce a report. You will be expected to make a note of the conditions and treatments that you see though the day and research these further during your free time in the afternoons. Therefore, a medical dictionary would be a useful thing to take with you. This report will come in incredibly useful when applying for medical school and is a good record of what you achieved on the medical programme with us.

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

• Nursing
• Physiotherapy
• Dentistry

0845 344 7627

Joining Global Volunteer Projects is as much about learning as it is about giving. As well as gaining work experience on journalism and medical projects, you'll learn the local language and immerse in the local culture - maybe drumming in Ghana, or yoga in India. Teaching, conservation, orphanage placements also available.