Medical Electives in the Philippines | Healthcare Placements in Asia

This stunning archipelago is synonymous with white-sand beaches that grade into turquoise waters, pristine coral reefs teeming with marine life, and street food that fills the air with sweet and spicy perfumes. That’s not to mention the lush rainforests, indigenous tribes… the list goes on.

The Philippines Highlights

Hike to hidden Buddhist monasteries
Party on the island of Boracay’s stunning beaches
Try some of the world’s most delicious street food
Take a trip to the vast mango plantations
Hop around the beautiful and unspoilt Gigantes Islands

The Work the World House

The Work the World house is your home away from home and the focal point of your experiences in Iloilo. The house has a social atmosphere — you’ll share the house with other healthcare students from all over the world.

Our house is located in one of the best parts of the city. You’ll be close to the best restaurants, shopping centres, outdoor pools, markets, street food vendors, karaoke bars…. The list goes on.

Jump in a jeepney (a sort of Jeep converted into a minibus) and you can head to the port to catch boats to some of the archipelago’s most beautiful beaches. If you’re after a swimming pool, there are plenty of accessible boutique resorts offering full access.

The Work the World house itself is spacious, welcoming, and decorated with traditional crafts, creating an authentic Filipino experience.

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

Our Iloilo team will take you to visit your placement hospital before the placement itself begins. You will meet your supervisors and other department staff, as well as taking a tour of the grounds to help you find your way around. Our in-country team will also visit you throughout the course of your placement. They have a presence in the hospital and will stop by to make sure everything is running smoothly.

Before your placement starts, we’ll assign specific members of hospital staff as your official supervisors. It is then up to you to strike up a relationship with them, and they’ll offer insight into unfamiliar conditions and practices that only a local practitioner can.

We’ve got everything covered, offering support all the way through your clinical placement as and when you need it.

Placements in Iloilo

Medical Electives

On your medical elective in the Philippines, you’ll see everything from tuberculosis to clubfoot, and maybe even the odd rooster bite. The typical Filipino diet is high in sugar, and you’ll see firsthand how that leads to an inordinate number of hypertension and cardiac arrest cases. In emergency, you’re likely to see respiratory failure, gastroenteritis, burns, rabies, hernias, and hyperglycemia. Internal medicine is great if you want to get experience with conditions such as acute pancreatitis, stroke, and diabetic ketoacidosis. You’ll learn how staff treat these conditions in a low-resource clinical environment. Iloilo presents unique opportunities if you’re looking for a medical elective in Asia.

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Nursing Placements

In Iloilo, nurses run the wards while patients’ families are responsible for bedside care. This means as a nursing student you can concentrate on the clinical aspects of the role. You can choose to spend time in an outpatient department that looks after a range of areas, from paediatric care to rabies treatments. A&E is also another popular department, where you'll see cases like dengue fever, and severe trauma sustained through construction accidents and RTAs .

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Midwifery Placement, Philippines (Iloilo)

Midwifery Placements

The experience midwives can expect from a placement in Iloilo is wide-ranging. You can spend time in the milk bank, the OBG ward, OBG emergency, the antenatal clinic, and of course the delivery room. The delivery room sees a significant number of births each day, allowing you to get an understanding of the differences in clinical practice between home and in the Philippines.

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Physiotherapy Placement, Philippines (Iloilo)

Physiotherapy Placements

As a physiotherapy student on placement in Iloilo, you’ll observe and in some instances help to treat conditions like Bell’s palsy and cerebral palsy, burns, and trauma related injuries. The department’s equipment is often handmade, but functional, and you’ll use this equipment to help rehabilitate patients. Local practices may differ from what you’re used to. For example, TENS machines are favoured, as is paraffin therapy which is also used on occasion.

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Paramedic Science Placements

You’ll undertake your placement in the largest government tertiary referral hospital on the Island. In fact, the hospital is recognised by the government as a Centre of Excellence. Emergency services are housed in a central building with areas for triage, resuscitation, internal medicine, trauma, ent ophthalmology, orthopaedics, and paediatrics. In this department, you’ll see cases of everything from tropical diseases like dengue fever, right the way through to stab wounds.

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Radiography Placement, Philippines (Iloilo)

Radiography Placements

The clinical experience you can get in Iloilo as an aspiring radiographer is eye-opening. You’ll spend time in our partner hospital’s busy radiography unit alongside local specialists whose practices will be quite different to what you’re used to. For example, the department has three X-ray machines, but they all use film rather than digital technology, This means you can get experience in the hospital’s darkroom, learning to develop images manually. You’ll see orthopaedic patients, patients from internal medicine, and cardio patients with pulmonary diseases (tobacco use is common in the Philippines). When it comes to radiology, there are two ECG machines, 2-dimensional echo machines, and an array of other diagnostic imaging to explore.

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Pharmacy Placement, Philippines (Iloilo)

Pharmacy Placements

Students who choose to practice pharmacy in Iloilo will be rewarded with insight into a unique system completely different from their own. This is a specialised placement on which you’ll have the chance to rotate through 5 separate departmental pharmacies, gaining practical experience in each. You’ll also have the rare opportunity to observe in theatre, spend time in OBG and antenatal departments to understand how medicines are dispensed in such a low resource setting, and more.

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Prices

Destinations						1 Week			2 Weeks			3 Weeks			4 Weeks			5 Weeks			6 Weeks			Extra Week
The Philippines Iloilo						$2840			$3140			$3440			$3740			$4040			$4340			$700

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

See full inclusions list

VILLAGE HEALTHCARE WEEK

In addition to your main placement in Iloilo, you can choose to spend a week on an island in a tribal village. This experience is all about immersion. You'll live with a local village family and even meet some of the village elders. Then, in the mornings, you'll be based at a local health clinic & district hospital, learning how to treat all manner of illnesses with extremely limited resources. Your afternoons are free and you’ll enjoy activities like learning weaving, handicrafts and herbal medicines, and island hopping around the coast. A barbecue and some traditional dancing make the perfect end to the experience.

READ ABOUT RADHA'S VILLAGE EXPERIENCE