Clinical Placements in Tanzania

In Dar es Salaam, HIV and related cases are much bigger issues than in Australia. To get insight into how the condition is treated in a low-resource environment, you can attend a specialised HIV clinic. Of course, you can also see how Tanzanian doctors approach practice in more familiar areas like paediatrics, surgical wards like neurosurgery, and the infectious diseases unit. Speaking of infectious diseases, both communicable and non-communicable diseases are treated in the emergency department, with little attention paid to infection control. You can also spend time on the psychiatric ward and in anaesthesiology, both of which offer exceptional opportunities.

We have excellent relationships with national and regional hospitals in Dar es Salaam, one of which is the largest tertiary referral hospital in the country. The maternity ward here is busy, and offers you the chance to spend time learning about the local approach to labour in OBG. However, the placement is not limited to this — you can also get involved in areas like neonatal intensive care.

In Dar es Salaam, the biggest causes of critical injury are road traffic accidents. The standards of road safety and traffic etiquette here are somewhat distinct from what you’re used to. As a result, many more traffic accidents occur, and the range of injuries you’ll see is diverse. In our main partner hospital — a dedicated orthopaedic institute — you’ll see patients who have been admitted as a result of mining accidents, spinal injuries, and serious strokes among others.

Clinical provision in our partner hospitals in Dar es Salaam is among the best in Tanzania. This means that nursing students like you can draw on the unique well of knowledge offered by local nurses. You can focus in on areas as specific as paediatric HIV. Or, if you wish to get a broader, interdepartmental understanding of nursing in Tanzania, you have the option to do so. With a broad range of clinical specialties available, the choice is entirely yours.

Tanzania lacks financial resources across the board and so it can rarely afford to develop its healthcare system. For some context, the emergency department in our partner hospital was only established in 2010. As this is the only emergency department of its kind in all of Tanzania, some emergency cases are referred from many hours’ drive away. For some patients, a few hours will be too late. The department is always busy, and local staff work shifts, so you’ll get face time with lots of different staff and get a breadth of experience.

As a radiography student, you’ll immediately notice the lack of resource in Dar es Salaam. For example, there is a severe lack of equipment for imaging and treating cancers. Radiotherapy is rarely offered in hospitals, so patients often have to travel far and wide to institutions specialising in cancer care. Fortunately our partner hospital is one such institution. As well as cancers, you’ll see fractures, trauma, road traffic accidents, and cases relating to tuberculosis and HIV among others. You’ll also witness a stark contrast in the procedural aspects of your field. For example, patients are often treated without immobilisation.

We are partnered with one of Dar es Salaam’s finest tertiary referral hospitals. You’ll spend time in the busy dental department, focusing in on areas like oral surgery, oral pathology and oral medicine. You might also get some experience with preventative dentistry, prosthodontics, periodontology and cariology. This experience offers you the chance to see cases typical of Tanzania. For example, many patients suffer from dental fluorosis as a result of water contamination and poor diet.

Trained professionals hailing from a number of disciplines staff our partner hospital’s rehabilitative medicine department. The department is set up to receive both inpatients and outpatients. You can get experience with an occupational therapy team stationed in the ICU, and you’ll have the opportunity to conduct home visits. Typical cases you can see include strokes, cerebral palsy, back pain, neuropathies, nerve injuries, contractures, arthritis, and post eclampsia to name a few.