The Wandering Aardvarks are here to help organise medical placements within Kenya. Placements will usually be at local hospitals. Please be aware that the hospitals may not be what you are used to at home. We have both in-patient and out-patient hospitals.
We also have partnerships with care homes for the elderly, and with drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres. If you would like to gain medical experience in these areas, we can arrange this for you.
Some of the services that the hospitals provide are maternity services, immunisations and laboratory testing (e.g. for malaria or HIV). We also arrange for first aid trained people to teach first-aid in schools. This is of particular importance here as often people do not have immediate access to medical professionals in an emergency.
What can I do?
If you are a practising doctor in your home country then you can work independently as a doctor here in Kenya. If you are a medical student then you will practice as an intern under a doctor here. It is up to the doctor what they allow you to do, as ultimately the responsibility of a patient’s health falls with them. The doctors do appreciate the help and will want to utilise your skills so, if you can demonstrate proficiency in the tasks that the doctor undertakes, they will be happy to let you help.
Similarly, if you are a registered nurse then you will be able to practice independently and if you are a student nurse you will practice under a nurse or doctor.
You can still be of help if you have no experience. Often hospitals have very few members of staff so your help with the day-to-day running of the hospitals will be very much appreciated. You will get to learn from the doctors and nurses, while also gaining valuable experience and insight into health care in Kenya – a great talking point for university interviews!
Program requirements:
A lab coat is required for undertaking this placement. If you do not have one, we can assist with sourcing one locally. However, it may be cheaper to buy one in your own country.
Also bring copies of any certificates demonstrating your qualifications (depending on what you want to do).
