Georgina Jolliffe

As part of our medical degree, I was required to undertake a six-week elective placement. Although it was possible to do this in the UK, many people choose to go abroad, as it was a great opportunity to explore a new country.

My friend and I decided to visit Sri Lanka as it has an incredible reputation for not only being beautiful, but also home to some of the friendliest people on the planet – and it lived up to both of these expectations! We were keen to organise this through an elective company for the security that it offers, and we’ve heard from students in older years what a great experience they had with Work the World.

Work the World were absolutely incredible — I can’t recommend them enough. They are worth absolutely every single penny.

We had a call with Lisa, the Operations Manager for Kandy in Sri Lanka. She was incredibly helpful. She answered all our questions and really got us excited about the elective. We had a wide range of clinical placement options offered to us and felt spoiled for choice! Then, when we got to Sri Lanka, a member of Work the World’s in-country team met us at the airport, and again, they couldn’t have been nicer.

In fact, every single staff member we met in the Work the World house was incredibly friendly, helpful and cheerful all the time. I really appreciated being taken to placement on the first day of a new rotation, as it was daunting to enter a hospital on the other side of the world without being able to understand the language.

But having someone from Work the World with us to meet the consultant was reassuring, and it worked well. Every single question we had was answered, and nothing was ever too much of a hassle. Even when it came to weekend and day trips, they made great recommendations.10/10, I honestly can’t thank Work the World enough.

The Work the World house was great!!! It was just like a home from home. The bedrooms were clean and comfortable — I slept well every night. The bathrooms were always clean thanks to the amazing staff. Downstairs, there were communal areas like a dining room and a living room.

These were great for when there are large groups of you in the house, and I really enjoyed spending time there. The food was incredible — I was nervous as I’m not the most adventurous with my food — but there were always so many options, and everything was great! I really enjoyed the mix between Western food and traditional Sri Lankan meals, as well as the Thursday barbecue nights, which were always great fun.

Every single student I met in the house was friendly, and I’ve made some friends for life. There was a great mix of medical students, nurses, radiographers, and physiotherapists, to name a few! I really enjoyed this mix, as it was interesting to hear the range of experiences people had had on placement. Travelling on weekend trips with the new friends we made was great too, as it is often cheaper to get accommodation/transport in a larger group!

When it came to the hospital placement itself, Sri Lanka and the UK have, in some ways, similar healthcare systems. For example, both are free to the public, and they use similar clinical guidelines. However, in practice, they are very different. Having an interest in oncology meant I was able to compare and contrast how palliative and end-of-life care were different between the countries.

In the UK, this palliative care is very developed, with the introduction of TEP forms and advanced care planning. However, this isn’t as widespread in Sri Lanka. The dynamic between patient and doctor was very different, too. In Sri Lanka, interactions were less emotional and more practical and didactic, whereas the UK healthcare system focuses heavily on empowering patients to make their own decisions about medical care.

We were also fortunate enough to spend some time in an Ayurvedic medicine clinic, which was unlike anything I have experienced before. It focuses a lot on disease prevention and patient, holistic medical care.

Due to the pressures on the NHS, this is sometimes missing in the UK. Similarly, learning about the Buddhist religion and culture and how this influences a patient’s views on life, reincarnation, and medicine was fascinating and an experience I really enjoyed.

I also enjoyed exploring both Kandy and the rest of Sri Lanka. In the evening, we would go to the pool and relax or wander into the city centre to explore the markets and get some food and drinks.

The botanical gardens and going up the Buddha statue were highlights of our time in Kandy, as was discovering a delicious cream tea, which was much cheaper than in the UK. One evening, we went white water rafting, which was so much fun, and I’d highly recommend it!

We went on four weekend trips:

1. Trincomalee: We went snorkelling on Pigeon Island, where we saw sharks and turtles, and spent a lot of time on the gorgeous beaches. There is an incredible temple there, too. 
2. Sigiriya: We went on an elephant safari and climbed Pidurangala rock. Seeing the elephants was a bucket list item of mine, and watching the sun rise over Sigiriya from the rock was just surreal.
3. Hiriketiya and Mirissa: some of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen. A lovely, relaxed weekend of some surfing lessons and seeing the sights. We visited a turtle hatchery on the way back to Kandy, which was again interesting to see. 
4. Ella: We climbed Little Adam’s Peak and ziplined down, then got the famous Ella-Kandy train on Sunday. It certainly lives up to its reputation – the views were incredible!

One thing that will always stay with me is the kindness of the Sri Lankan people! Whether it was in the hospital, in the Work the World house or just on the street, they were some of the kindest people I’ve ever met. Seeing elephants on safari was a bucket list item of mine, and I’m so glad I got to experience it. 

I couldn’t have asked for a better six weeks and am endlessly grateful to Work the World for organising such an incredible elective.

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