Medical Practice Internship

Shadow Doctors, Nurses, Physician Assistants, Dentists, Physical Therapists & Counsellors

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TRUSTED AND RECOGNISED

Our team has been the first Zimbabwe-based turnkey provider of cross-cultural exchanges through volunteering, and internship placements at matched organisations.

This is a unique opportunity to work alongside healthcare professionals in public and private medical facilities, located in rural and urban areas, including community outreach programmes. During this medical practice internship, you will have first-hand access to Zimbabwe’s theatre rooms to observe surgical operations, watch doctor’s consultations with patients, and participate in clinical rounds with doctors, nurses and physiotherapists.

One of the best medical volunteer programs in Africa, this internship will expose you to the business side of running a medical practice in Africa, creating a holistic approach to a world-class internship. There is no better way to enhance your résumé if you intend on going to medical or nursing school than to shadow doctors and nurses on an internship in Zimbabwe. 

What's the programme about?

The capital city of Zimbabwe is Harare, home to Parirenyatwa, the country’s largest public hospital as well as several small private hospitals and clinics. When the private facilities are at capacity, patients are referred to the public hospitals.

Given this fluid exchange of patients between the public and private systems, students will have the opportunity to do observerships at both public and private facilities so they can have an appreciation of the differences in services and resources available in the respective clinical settings.

INTERN TASKS
  • Observe medical doctors and nurses during clinic
  • Assist doctors and nurses with patient filing
  • Observe physicians in theatre during surgery
  • Accompany physicians during post-operation rounds
  • Observe nurses drawing blood and sending to labs for testing
  • Compile a research report based on your area of interest
  • Accompany Occupational Therapists on community outreach programmes
  • Conduct school and community visits with the HIV Antiretroviral Treatment team
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Here's a layout of a typical day in the programme

This medical volunteer program is located within local Zimbabwean communities, and so it is important to learn to live like a local.

TimeActivity
08h00Arrive at work
08h30Hospital post-operation rounds
10h30Tea Break
11h00Clinic – observing physicians with patients
11h30Outpatient Department
13h30Lunch Break
16h00Feedback session with other interns
16h30Departure from work to your accommodation
WHERE WILL YOU STAY

ACCOMODATION

Intern accommodation is in a leafy suburb of Mt Pleasant in Harare. It is a shared house with communal areas such as the kitchen, dining room, lounge and the garden. There is a swimming pool, an orchard, borehole water, solar hot water boiler, washing machine, Wi-Fi and cable satellite TV with over 100 channels.

We really make sure that you feel at home, and smoking is only allowed in the designated areas away from the house.

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What do you need to apply?

Tiritose supports volunteers and interns coming to Zimbabwe and ensures that the experience is equally rewarding for yourself and our programme.

Intern – education /skills/work experience required:

  • Potential student of medical or health-related programmes.
  • Experience within a medical or health setting would be beneficial.
  • Positive, can-do attitude.
  • Skills:  Communication, organisational, reading and writing.

You’ll need to send proof of your:

  • Education, skills and work experience in the form of a CV, documentation from your school and reference letters.
  • Current enrollment in a professional, accredited, medical or healthcare programme of education

We’ll also need:

  • A list of references we can contact to confirm your experience, organisational skills and reading and writing ability – especially when it comes to interacting with patients and taking histories to have an initial online interview with you to assess your communication skills

Pre-Health Shadowing Programme Highlights

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WHY SHOULD YOU APPLY

This is a unique opportunity to work alongside, shadow & observe healthcare professionals in both public and private medical facilities, located in both rural and urban areas, including community outreach programmes. During this internship, you will have first-hand access to Zimbabwe’s theatre rooms to observe surgical operations, watch doctor’s consultations with patients, and participate in clinical rounds. The programme will also expose you to the business side of running a medical practice, creating a holistic approach to a world-class internship. There is no better way to enhance your résumé if you intend on going to medical school.

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Testimonials

BENEFIT THAT GOES FULL-CIRCLE – WHAT OUR PARTICIPANTS HAVE SHARED:

Shoeb Ahmed United States, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

This trip was the most relevant pre-med extracurricular experiences I have had throughout my college experience. The trip brought nearly complete cultural immersion while also maintaining a strong service objective.

Vongai Tizora United States, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Tiritose did an excellent job exposing students to the different facets of the medical field within Zimbabwe. We spent a week at the Children's Rehab Unit at Harare Central Hospital. I will always cherish the joyful and informative experience I had and encourage everyone to take the leap and visit the beautiful country of Zimbabwe.

Rusty Fields United States, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Through this internship, I was able to get into the Johns Hopkins pre-med programme, and I have since come back in the summer of my freshman year. I will definitely continue to come back again and again to Zimbabwe.

Helene Tolstrup Denmark

I was working on a project in Zimbabwe when Tiritose was brought to my attention. Having a lot of experience in the medical field, they helped my colleges and I get in touch with local organisations and programmes, which opened up a whole new world. Working with these people was very rewarding and taught me so much about the social and cultural context of Zimbabwe.

Reverse Culture Shock - When you have changed but your hometown has not!
Cailey Cranny United States, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

The experience I had was awesome. I got to learn about the medical field and also interact with a lot of cool people. The only thing about the trip I would change would be I would have liked to gone out more and to more authentic places!

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