Nursing Electives

Nursing Elective Placements

There are a huge number of international opportunities for nursing and midwifery volunteers at Projects Abroad. We have placements for nursing students, as well as qualified and working nurses and midwives.

Nursing volunteers possess unique skills, which mean they can contribute in many different settings. You could be working in hospitals, clinics, orphanages, centres for people with a disability or care centres, which are all located in some of the poorest countries in the world. Our nursing volunteers contribute to a huge diversity of projects: from medical outreach sessions in Ghana providing health care to sufferers of leprosy, to helping improve women’s maternal health at a neighbourhood clinic in the suburbs of Madurai, India, there is a world of places and people Australian nurses can help.

Volunteering as a Nurse or Student Nurse

Improve your understanding of global health challenges
Take responsibility for improving the care of vulnerable people
Learn new techniques
Assist under-resourced healthcare providers
Immerse yourself in fascinating cultures
Share your knowledge of best practice
Work alongside local professionals
Work with new medical challenges

Elective Placements for Nursing Students

The benefits of an overseas placement for a nursing or midwifery student are diverse. In a practical sense, you learn and grow as a professional through the placement: through exposure to new medical conditions, local nursing practices and relevant expertise. It is also thoroughly rewarding to be part of a team helping some of the poorest and most vulnerable populations around the world.

If you have a particular interest in one aspect of healthcare, an overseas volunteer placement is the perfect opportunity to receive exposure to it in the field. Just let us know what you are aiming for, and we will try and find a country and placement which provides the clinical experience that suits you. We have had nursing students doing everything from working in homes for malnourished children in Nepal, to assisting in the emergency ward of a major hospital in Tanzania. From the day of your arrival, you will come to see that the more proactive you are, the more hands-on responsibility you will be able to take on. Through observation, listening and using your own initiative, you can quickly become a valued member of the local team. This clinical experience will be invaluable to your current studies, and future career.

One of the most significant things you will be able to take home with you is the learning that comes from adapting to the culture of your new country. With local nurses as your co-workers, you get an amazing inside perspective on the role of nursing in your placement country; an experience which can help clarify your future career ambitions.

Many of our nursing student volunteers find time to help out in local orphanages and care centres too – which allows you to use your time on placement to really immerse yourself in the local culture and community. Examples of community work students have done, ranges from teaching local women how to breast feed to running first aid workshops for schools. Just ask us how to go about setting up a dual nursing-care placement.

Volunteer Overseas as a Qualified Nurse

Depending on which country you choose, your background and your interests, your nursing placement will vary accordingly. You could choose a placement in a rural setting, where resources are extremely sparse, or work in a more specialised area, such as with children suffering from disability. If you are a volunteer who likes to feel useful, and really use your skills to contribute in a meaningful way, then volunteering with Projects Abroad overseas is the perfect opportunity. From operating on a community level improving primary health care outcomes for rural villagers, to working at major hospitals in the emergency department, the skills of nurses are in demand everywhere. Please just ask us about what is available in the various countries, and we can work out where you fit best.

Australian nurses have a hard-working and thoughtful attitude, which goes a long way in many of the disadvantaged settings Projects Abroad operates. It can be quite confronting to start working in a place where almost everything is done differently, and with half the resources!

Your skills and experience will be respected and appreciated by local staff, but you may also find that you have something to learn from your new co-workers. The most important thing is to have an open mind and a tolerant attitude, and be prepared to help out however you can. This can be an extremely rewarding part of volunteering, and many returned volunteers nominate this process of learning and growing as being one of the most valuable aspects.

To get the most out of the placement, you will need to be able to use your initiative, and identify areas within the clinic or hospital where your skills can be put to best use. Once you show your team how committed you are to the placement, your areas of responsibility start to grow.

Some work you may be involved in includes:

Helping existing staff to treat patients
Dressing wounds, monitoring pulse, blood pressure and temperature etc.
Checking and administering drugs and injections.
Setting up drips and blood transfusions.
Coordinating medical outreach programmes within nearby towns and villages.
Observing and assessing the work of local student and junior nurses and teaching them new skills where appropriate.
Helping with training clinics for Projects Abroad volunteers working with other hospitals
Care placements

Many nursing volunteers also combine their placement with some time at a local orphanage or care centre, where your training in healthcare can be put to good use with children who are really in need of basic support and care. The simplest assistance can make a big difference to many of these children, and if you are willing to be a loving presence in their lives, there is an opportunity to contribute outside of a clinical nursing setting during your placement. Please let our staff know if you would like to do a dual placement-care role.

Volunteer Work in Care Centers

If you are interested in nursing, but would like a less medically orientated internship, you could be perfect for our Care Projects. We have volunteers working in all sorts of capacities, providing support, guidance and a huge amount of love for some of the neediest people in the developing world. Please visit our Care Projects.

“I have been living and working in Sri Lanka for six weeks now and I work at the Chandrasekara Home in Moratuwa. Each day at work brings new challenges and rewards - experiences and adventures I will never forget. It is very hard work, both physically and mentally, but I am working with some of the kindest, most special children not just in Sri Lanka, but anywhere.”

- Ruth Malthouse, Volunteer in Sri Lanka