Medical Electives in Ghana | Healthcare Placements in Africa

Takoradi is perfect for a first visit to Africa. well as being one of the safest and most stable of the African nations, it is a microcosm of the continent and you can really take advantage of the stunning coastline, lush jungles, and lively Ghanaian culture. When you want home comforts, there are even beachside resorts to cool down on hot afternoons.

Ghana Highlights

Trek through the forest canopy in Kakum National Park and sleep up in a treehouse
Soak up the sun on the picturesque Axim beach
Go on safari to see Africa’s famous wildlife in Mole National Park
Explore the decaying slave forts found along the Cape Coast
Swim in the clear waterfalls of the Volta region

The Work the World House

The Work the World house — your home from home while in Ghana — is a huge part of the experience. You’ll share the house with healthcare students from around the world, and this gives the house a vibrant social atmosphere.

Our house in Takoradi is based in a residential area close to the city centre. You can head out to explore the town after placement, and in the evenings there are plenty of restaurants and bars for you to spend time in.

There’s also a nearby hotel that offers private beach and bar access. Back at the Work the World house, you can soak up the sun or relax in the shade with a book in the walled outdoor area.

There’s also space for you to challenge your housemates to a volleyball match, or go for a dip in our private pool.

In-Country Team

Management team: Based in the house, they oversee your entire Work the World experience — 24/7 — from the moment you land to the moment you leaveCatering team: Cook a variety of both local cuisine and familiar home comforts, accommodating all dietary requirementsHousekeeper: Keeps the house clean and tidy from top to bottom, making sure you're comfortableLanguage teacher: Visits the house twice per-week. During their lessons, you’ll learn everyday phrases and clinical terminology to help you get more from your placementSecurity team: Monitor the house 24/7 for your peace of mind

Support in the Hospital

The in-country team will take you on a tour of your placement hospital before you’re due to start. The team will introduce you to your supervisors and other department staff. This is to help you find your feet before diving in. The Work the World team in Takoradi have a presence in your placement hospital. They’ll pay you regular visits to make sure everything is running smoothly.

We’ll also assign your supervisors before your placement starts. If you build rapport with them, they’ll help you to see Ghana’s healthcare system through the eyes of a local practitioner.

We offer you support right the way through your clinical placement as and when you need it.

Placements in Takoradi

Medical Electives

On a medical elective in Ghana, you could see cases of conditions like diabetic gangrene (and resulting amputations), typhoid psychosis, and acute malaria. You can gain experience in areas like the ED, general medicine, orthopaedics and surgery. However, the way local staff practice, differs enormously from what you’re used to. Around 300 patients per week attend the hospital’s HIV clinic, and here you have plenty of opportunity to get heavily involved if interested. You can also get experience in the clinical laboratory that offer diagnoses and provides screened blood, and safe blood products.

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Nursing Placements

Thanks to our well-established hospital partnerships in Ghana, a nursing placement here will give you the choice of rotating through a range of departments. Areas like female and male surgical are popular, but there's also opportunity to do some community outreach depending on your field of interest. NICU is an exciting department, as is emergency where there are regularly cases of major trauma. There is also an HIV clinic in which you can come to understand the difficulties faced by local professionals and the communities in which they work.

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Midwifery Placements

If you’re a midwifery student, clinical experience in Ghana is second to none. We work with a government hospital and three smaller private clinics where you will get experience with live births and prenatal and postnatal care. You’ll see caesarean sections and breech births more commonly than you do at home. This is often the result of a distinct lack of prenatal care. Women are expected to give birth in silence in Ghana, which is a cultural norm. This, and much more, will be totally different to what you’re used to back home.

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Physiotherapy Placement, Ghana (Takoradi)

Physiotherapy Placements

The regional hospital we’re partnered with in Ghana has a busy physiotherapy department. The department, which functions primarily as an outpatient unit, is professionally staffed and well equipped by west african standards. The unit handles an average of 20 cases per day, the majority of which are regular patients who attend a few times each week. You’ll encounter cases of stroke, post-operative rehabilitation, Bell’s palsy, and Erb's palsy among others. You’ll see that treatment here is focused around helping patients using gym equipment. You can also help create plans for patients so they can continue exercises at home.

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Paramedic Science Placements

On a paramedic science placement, you can get experience in the largest and best-equipped hospital in Takoradi. In this case, ‘best-equipped’ doesn’t mean well equipped, especially when compared to what you’re used to in Australia. The ED here is open plan, but has separate areas for paediatrics and minor surgeries. When the department gets busy, it’s often difficult to tell where one area ends and the other begins. You’ll have the chance to exchange knowledge and skills with local Ghanaian students, which you’ll find enormously insightful. You’ll also see how local culture impacts how local professionals deliver care.

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Radiography Placements

Radiography departments in Ghana are rarely, if ever, as well equipped as equivalent departments at home. As such, you can get experience with much older X-ray machines (including developing scans on film in a darkroom), ultrasound machines and MRI machines. A broad range of cases are referred to our partner hospitals from smaller clinics in the surrounding communities. This means you’ll observe and analyse a range of conditions. You can expect to observe and help conduct procedures including hysterosalpingograms, barium meals, ureothograms. fistulagrams, IVU, fractures, and tuberculosis.

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Pharmacy Placements

Pharmacy placements in Ghana will live up to, if not surpass your expectations. You will experience a clinically focused placement alongside department staff including supervisors. You’ll also undertake ward rounds and require a number of new skills along the way. It’s also possible for students to gain experience outside of the hospital in a community pharmacy, which will provide insight into a completely different side of pharmaceutical provision. What’s more, you can observe the inner workings of a lab where medicines like unbranded aspirin are made.

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Dentistry Electives

Clinical experience for dentistry student in Ghana is an entirely unique experience. With a good number of patients coming through the door, spending time in the departments in our partner hospitals and clinics is anything but dull. As part of your dentistry placement in Ghana, you can get experience with more familiar practices like preventive health checks, or even undertake an observational placement in the ENT department. It may also be possible for you to head out into the community to conduct outreach clinics, depending on when you arrive.

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Prices

Destinations						1 Week			2 Weeks			3 Weeks			4 Weeks			5 Weeks			6 Weeks			Extra Week
Ghana Takoradi						$2440			$2740			$3040			$3340			$3640			$3940			$700

*Prices above are in addition to a $500 registration fee.

See full inclusions list

VILLAGE HEALTHCARE WEEK

After your main placement in Takoradi, you can spend a week in a bustling fishing village. This is an amazing way to get insight into Ghanaian culture at the rural level. In the mornings, you’ll go to the village’s healthcare centre and head out to local primary schools to conduct community outreach. In the afternoons, you’ll get lessons in culture — bringing in the day’s catch with local fisherman, taking trips across the nearby lagoon in a locally built canoe, visiting the local gin distillery, walking through the shallow sea to explore a ruined castle on an offshore island, and walking coastal trails along stretches of unspoiled beach with not a tourist in sight.

READ ABOUT CLAIRE'S VILLAGE EXPERIENCE