Are Work the World Placements Good Value?

“My trip to Tanzania with Work the World was great value for money. I felt it gave me the right balance of structure and independence to explore what and how I wanted. It might not be right for you, but for me, having just finished finals, it was stress-free perfection.” — Richard Healey, Medical placement in Tanzania

Like Richard, you’re probably all about value for money. And so you should be; who doesn’t want a good deal?

As it happens, we think an overseas placement with Work the World represents an exceptionally good deal. But then we would say that, wouldn’t we.

With that in mind, let’s stick to the facts and see what you actually get for your money.

Planning and preparing for your trip

Let’s be clear; we’re not the sort of organisation that takes your money, pushes you through a system, and then drops you in a foreign country to figure things out for yourself.

The service you get with us is personal.

You tell us what you want and we arrange it. In fact, it’s better than that; if you don’t quite know what you want, our experts will work with you to map out what your perfect placement could look like. If, at that stage, what we suggest doesn’t appeal, you don’t pay us a penny.

If, on the other hand, you do like what we’re offering, we’ll guide you through the registration process, but only when you’re absolutely sure our overseas placements are for you.

What you get before you go:

• Detailed one-to-one trip planning. You'll get unlimited time with one of our placement specialists, personally assigned to you to design and build your placement
• Incredible flexibility of choice. You can choose which country you want to travel to, and in which areas or departments you want to gain experience
• Total support throughout. The pre-departure process is about planning, but it’s also about preparation. Our team will take you through our trip preparation, making sure you are totally ready for the experience. They are only a phone call away if you have questions
• University documentation. If your university needs information from us before you travel we will provide it. Placement confirmation letters, health and safety audits, risk assessments... you name it...
• Comprehensive trip building. After planning your trip, we build it in-country. We liaise with our overseas teams and long-standing partner hospitals to make sure everything is in place ready for when you arrive
• Access to MyTrip. MyTrip is our interactive online placement planner that contains personalised information about every aspect of your trip, including which hospital you will be in and who your housemates will be. You should read more about it here (it does a lot)
• Peace of mind. We make sure you’re informed and up to date every step of the way. We involve you at every level of decision making, but we will do all of the leg work in organising your placement

You can read about our pre-departure process in detail here

At the end of this first part of the process, you’ll have a bespoke placement with your personal stamp on it. You’ll feel excited, confident and ready, knowing that every detail has been taken care of.

The Trip

So. Your placement is ready, you’re ready, and our teams overseas are ready. The only thing left to do is for you to get on the plane.

When you arrive, our service changes from one of planning and preparation to one of logistics and support. This is when we start to bring the plans to life.

When you arrive:

• You will have 24/7 support from our overseas team from the moment you land
• We will meet you from the airport and take you back to the Work the World House
• You’ll get a comprehensive welcome briefing and city orientation to help you get your bearings and settle in
• We will take you on a hospital orientation before you start your placement, formally introducing you to the department staff and supervisors you’ll be spending time with
• You get as much or as little support as you need for the duration of your stay both inside and out of the hospital

You can read more about our overseas teams and how they support you here

Private, catered accommodation:

• Live in a spacious private house with healthcare students and professionals from around the world
• All our houses are in pleasant, safe suburban neighbourhoods
• Accommodation is catered—your in-house caterer prepares meals each day
• Cupboards and refrigerators are well-stocked for when you fancy a snack
• Every house also hosts a BBQ night once a week
• A housekeeper keeps your living space fresh and clean
• Weekly language lessons in the house help you get the most from your hospital placement

You can read more about our accommodation in detail here

Your Placement

The main reason for your trip is the clinical placement itself, which is where the third main component of our service comes its own.

This is all about opportunity. We have incredibly close and long-standing relationships with our partner hospitals. This lets us facilitate overseas clinical placements that present you with opportunities that you just can’t get anywhere else.

Eye-opening clinical experience

• Get access to gain experience in a healthcare system totally different from your own; some with incredibly low resources, others surprisingly high
• Spend time in departments of your choosing, learning about conditions you may have never encountered before
• See how socioeconomic, cultural and religious factors affect practises and treatments
• See what role traditional medicines play alongside more modern healthcare standards
• Feel welcomed into local department teams and learn from local specialists
• Feel secure knowing that you will have an assigned team of in-hospital supervisors for the duration of your placement
• Off placement, we hold several informal feedback sessions to make sure you’re getting everything you want from the placement
• Enjoy flexibility—the relationships we have with our hospitals allow us to make changes (within reason) to your placement on the fly
• Support from Work the World staff continues while you are on placement—our overseas teams are a regular presence in the hospitals we operate in

To summarise, our service has three main facets:

• Extensive pre-departure placement planning and preparation

• Private catered accommodation with total support from Work the World’s overseas teams from the moment you land to the moment you leave
• A totally custom-made clinical placement while you’re overseas

How much does it cost?

You can secure your place with $400 and you can pay the balance in instalments whenever and however you like, as long as the balance is clear 60 days before you depart. The sooner you register the better, as it gives you more time to source the funds.

The very best thing you can do is have a chat with one of our placement consultants. They’re unbelievably knowledgeable, and would be happy to talk you through what your placement could look like.

You can drop a question in the short form at the bottom of this page, or give us a call on 1 833 955 0004