University of Manchester 2018
I went to Kandy in Sri Lanka, and it was the best experience of my life.
I struggled when choosing a destination to travel to for my placement. All the destinations that Work the World offer are amazing, so the choice was difficult.
I chose Sri Lanka based on what I’d read in reviews, and on pictures I’d seen posted by students who had already been.
That’s what motivated me to write my own review.
Kandy is a culturally vibrant city, and a great place for the Work the World base. It’s central, so planning trips around Sri Lanka was easy.
I felt 100% supported from the moment staff met me at the airport to the time I left the Work the World house.
The staff couldn’t do enough for us. Someone was always offering advice and support. Whether that was to do with placement, or planning our weekend trips.
My clinical experience
I was on placement for seven weeks. The team in the UK tailored my placement to me, and that meant rotating through several departments during my time there.
The hospital environment, the care priorities and the relationship between staff and patients was very different to back home.
But I quickly found my feet on placement and learnt a lot.
All the staff and patients were friendly. There was a bit of a language barrier when communicating with patients, but all nurses and doctors spoke good English. They were really enthusiastic about teaching.
The types of disease and injury you’ll encounter in Sri Lanka are different to back home. And for me that was great as it really broadened my clinical knowledge.
My housemates were so friendly. We were together all the time so we got to know each other well.
After placement and at weekends we did loads of activities together. We went on elephant safaris, hiking, white water rafting, snorkelling, surfing, and releasing baby turtles.
Sri Lanka is such an incredible place. If you’re thinking of travelling there, embrace the experience.
You might not always understand the clinical decisions doctors make. But ask lots of questions and try to see why it is they practice in certain ways.
Be confident and throw yourself into the placement. That’s how you’ll make the best relationships with staff, which results in a better overall experience.
