WHAT IS AN OVERSEAS PARAMEDIC SCIENCE PLACEMENT WITH WORK THE WORLD?

Our placements for paramedic science students and graduates take place in low-resource hospitals with busy wards.

You’ll see just how big the differences between healthcare systems can be. And you’ll come across conditions and practices you’ve never seen before.

It’s worth pointing out that very few countries benefit from sophisticated ambulance services. With that in mind, your role in our destinations is focused on emergency medicine.

You’ll observe how local specialists deal with emergencies using limited resources, see which sociocultural issues affect the provision of care (in some destinations you’ll find there’s less of a sense of urgency), and see practices — like manual intubation without anaesthesia — that you won’t see back home.

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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A PARAMEDIC SCIENCE PLACEMENT ABROAD?

Our paramedic placements are set out to help you stand apart from the all the other paramedic science students out there.

On one of our paramedic placements you’ll:

Expand your clinical knowledge and skill set
Develop your confidence and resourcefulness
Build your personal and professional network
Sharpen your verbal and non-verbal communication
Become more attractive to employers

Hospital placements run Monday to Friday. And that means your evenings and weekends are free to explore whichever destination you’ve chosen to visit.

WHO ARE WE?

We're Work the World — World-renowned experts in planning, customising, and building overseas paramedic placements. Since we were founded in 2005, we've built international paramedic opportunities for 18,000+ students and graduates from over 400 universities globally.

Our personal, end-to-end service that includes:

Placement tailoring (you choose your destination and areas of clinical interest) | Comprehensive pre-trip support | 24/7 in-country support team | Private, catered accommodation

Placement durations start from one week, and arrivals are every Sunday, 52 weeks of the year.

For more detail about how our service works click here.

AM I ELIGIBLE?

You can go on a paramedic science placement abroad if:

You’re undertaking a paramedic science degree
You’ve recently graduated with a paramedic science degree

WHERE DO I START?

Your first step is to chat with our team. Our experts are here to answer your questions. They'll give you advice on which destinations are best for placements for paramedic science students and graduates, and to get your place secured.

Get in touch using the short enquiry form.

DESTINATIONS

Ghana Takoradi

Go to Ghana for a paramedicine placement abroad and your focus will be on emergency care. RTAs are common, and you could see hernias, ectopias, hypo- and hyperglycemia, severe diarrhoea, convulsions, and fractures. Socio-cultural circumstances affect how local staff deliver emergency care in Ghana. For example, there’s much less of a sense of urgency in A&E. The lack of resources in our partner hospital means learning how to be creative with the outdated equipment you do have access to.

Explore Takoradi

Sri Lanka - Kandy

You will undertake your paramedic science placement in Kandy's most prominent hospital for accident, emergency, and trauma patients. In the Emergency Treatment Unit, which, as you will see, has a very limited bed capacity, the volume of patients often exceeds the number of beds. So, most patients are treated while on trollies. You will almost certainly see resuscitations, but there are other treatments like anti-rabies serum administration and anti-venom administration that will be nothing like what you're used to at home.

Explore Kandy

Hue Vietnam

While you're abroad in Vietnam, you’ll spend time in the A&E department of our partner hospital. RTAs and trauma are common. Many patients travel in from some of the most remote areas in Vietnam, so you’ll see that the patient demographic is mixed. Even more interestingly, you’ll also see how modern practices complement ancient traditions.

Explore Hue

The Philippines - Iloilo

You’ll spend time in A&E, OBG emergency, and surgery on your paramedic placement abroad in Iloilo. The A&E department here is busy. It’s the general emergency room for the entire island. You’ll see differences in both resource and practise. Manual intubation and a lack of anaesthesia are two examples. Another key difference is that patients’ families do a surprising amount of the patient care — bagging for example. You’ll see a diversity of cases here too; respiratory failure, gastroenteritis, burns, rabies, hernias, and hyperglycemia are some examples.

Explore Iloilo

Tanzania - Dar es Salaam

In Dar es Salaam, you can get experience in both A&E and surgery. On a paramedic placement here, you’ll be in the city’s main A&E department within a national referral hospital. That means you’ll often see critical cases. This is the only department of its kind in Tanzania, so patients will travel for miles to be seen, even in an emergency. You’ll see a diversity of cases; sepsis with multi-organ failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, cerebral malaria, metabolic disorders, polytrauma, blunt trauma, and penetrating trauma among others.

Explore Dar es Salaam

Nepal Kathmandu

You’ll get experience in a busy emergency department if you undertake your paramedic science placement in Kathmandu. There is a local ambulance service, but patients find their own way to hospital more often than not. This means patients rarely get on-scene or in-ambulance treatment before they arrive — often critically injured — at hospital. As well as trauma cases, you’ll see a number of late-stage conditions. As there is no primary care in Nepal, patients often use the emergency department like a GP surgery.

Explore Kathmandu

It pushes you out of your comfort zone in the best way and helps you grow not just as a nurse, but as a person.

Millie Palfree, University of Birmingham, 2025

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"I learned a lot about the role Ayurvedic medicine plays in the heart and beliefs of the population."

Britany Duclos, Université de Sherbrooke, 2025

"It was definitely an incredible experience! The healthcare system I observed during my placement in Sri Lanka differed significantly from my experiences in the UK. I am really thankful to the Work the World team and the staff at the hospital".

Saarah Nomani, Cardiff University, 2026

"To anyone considering doing a Work the World placement, I cannot recommend it enough"

George Hart, University of Sheffield, 2026

"The staff are so warm and welcoming, the food was amazing, and the whole house felt very cosy."

Amber Rollier, Ghent University, 2026

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"Find out how we support you on your overseas healthcare placement, from your first contact to your final day."

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Our Service

Travel with the longest-established, most trusted healthcare-specific provider, and make the most of every moment.

What are clinical placements for paramedics abroad like?

A Work the World paramedic science placement gives you the chance to undertake a clinical placement in the developing world. You will spend time in a low-resource hospital and see unfamiliar practices and advanced conditions. You can even choose the departments you want to rotate through. Learn more here.

What are the benefits of a paramedic science placement?

The benefits of our paramedic science placements include:

Expanding your clinical knowledge and skill set
Becoming more confident, independent and resourceful
Making yourself more attractive to employers
Doing some proper travelling
Building your personal and professional network
Sharpening your language and communication skills
Renewing your perspective on care back home

How can I raise funds for my paramedic science placement?

It’s easier than ever to get the funds together for your overseas paramedic science placement. You can take advantage of government programs like OS-HELP, you can take the initiative by starting your own online fundraising page, and you can apply for a huge number of grants and bursaries to help you along the way. Learn how easy it is to raise as much as you need.

What kinds of cases will I see on a Work the World overseas paramedic science placement?

You’ll see cases like:

Tropical infectious diseases like malaria, dengue fever, and chikungunya
Much higher numbers of RTAs than you’re used to at home
Domestic abuse, assault, attempted suicide
Hypo- and hyperglycaemia
Sepsis with multi-organ failure

How long is a Work the World paramedic science placement?

A paramedic science placement is as long as you want it to be. Our minimum placement duration is one week, but students typically travel on their paramedic science placements for four weeks. There is no upper limit to how long you can travel.