Veelgestelde Vragen (FAQs)

Work the World tailors healthcare placements for students and professionals, whether you’re undertaking your placement as part of your degree or want a new challenge to boost your career prospects.

Yes, you can! As long as you are enrolled in a relevant healthcare degree, you are eligible for a clinical elective placement abroad with Work the World.

Work the World can create tailored placements and electives abroad suitable for those studying (or qualified in) the vast majority of healthcare degrees. 

This is a popular choice, and each year a considerable number of students and graduates travel out to one of our destinations on their own. A massive benefit of travelling with Work the World is that you’ll be sharing your accommodation with other healthcare students and graduates, so you’ll never be on your own, and you’ll make friends quickly.

Thousands of students and professionals travel with us each year, some on their own and some in groups, which allows us to cater to everyone. However, there is a maximum number of placements available in each of our destinations, so we advise booking as early as possible to secure your space — especially if you are travelling as a group. We will also make (where possible) that we place your group together in the same bedrooms.

Work the World's tailored healthcare elective placements abroad run throughout the year and are tailored to your interests, experience and abilities, as well as any course requirements you may be expected to meet.  As such, they can be done at any stage of your training, including during your elective period, as a summer placement, or even after you’ve become a qualified professional.

We have a minimum stay of one week, but the longer you stay, the more you will gain from your experience. You may also be able to split your placement between two hospitals, or undertake a Village Healthcare Week, which will broaden your understanding of healthcare overseas.

If you are studying for or have recently completed a healthcare degree, you automatically qualify for one of Work the World's tailored healthcare elective placements abroad.

If you’ve not already been in touch with a Work the World placement consultant, then we recommend you submit an enquiry. 

If you have already spoken to a team member and you’re ready to book, click ‘Book Now’. To start your application, we ask for a registration fee to secure your place. You’ll receive confirmation of your placement within 24 hours.

Your registration fee secures your placement immediately and allows us to start tailoring your placement. You’ll receive confirmation of your placement within 24 hours and have instant access to MyTrip, your online placement planner.

The planner has everything you need, like a step-by-step timeline, full details of your itinerary, access to our Information Pack, which contains everything you’ll need to know before your trip, packing lists, language guides, visa requirements, and so much more!

You should not book your flights until your placement has been confirmed – you may not be able to reschedule the flights if your placement dates are unavailable. When your placement has been confirmed, we suggest that you book your flights no later than 3 months before your trip begins to avoid any panic or inflated prices.

All of Work the World's elective placements abroad are located in incredible, fascinating countries where you will find plenty to see and do. We suggest that you wait until you arrive before booking any weekend trips — you may decide to travel with other students or graduates, or take the advice of the incredibly knowledgeable staff on site. You will find lots of advice from previous students or graduates on where to go from the comments book at the house.

Our placement consultants have extensive knowledge of all our destinations, both within and outside the hospital. They can help you discover which of our destinations suits your speciality best, and create the most opportunities for you.

Before your departure, we'll be in touch to discuss and help you decide where to specialise, whether to split your placement between two hospitals and which healthcare setting best suits your needs.

MyTrip is an online placement planner - it's personalised and contains all of the information relating to your specific placement. You can access this at any time, and we update it as and when the various aspects of your placement are confirmed. On MyTrip, you will find all the information you need regarding your placement, including details about your hospital or clinic, your supervisor and your location. You can follow your progress via a timeline and receive reminders about when elements of your preparation are overdue.

No - Work the World does not offer paid work.

No - unlike a number of other placement providers, you will not be staying in a homestay. You’ll stay in our private Work the World houses with all the comforts that you’re used to at home. You’ll be living with healthcare students and graduates from all over the world, benefiting your interprofessional learning and meaning you’ll have a new group of friends to travel to placement with, share stories and experiences with after placement, and travel with on the weekends.

Read more about our private, fully-catered accommodation.

With regards to funding, your first port of call should be your university. There are often bursaries and grants available that a student undertaking an overseas placement may be eligible for. A quick Google search may also turn up some third-party funding options.

If you are interested in fundraising for your trip, we have created the Fundraising Hub, where you can find tips, resources, and guides to get you started.

Click the country you reside in to be directed to the relevant page.

• UK
• Australia and New Zealand 
• USA & Canada 

Please visit the pricing page to see a full price list. You'll also see a list of inclusions and exclusions. Work the World offers affordable, tailored healthcare elective placements abroad, letting students and recent graduates gain more experience while travelling in Asia and Africa.

You don’t. 

All we need to secure your spot and start planning your placement is your registration fee. You can then spread the cost of your placement by breaking it into smaller payments and paying in instalments. You can pay in as many instalments as you wish, whenever you wish, as long as your full balance is clear 90 days before departure.

The majority of participants register at least 9 months in advance. This helps to ensure you’re guaranteed your first choice of destination and also gives you plenty of time to save or fundraise for your placement.

You may be in a position where you have a shorter-than-expected window to organise your overseas placement. Don’t worry — we can arrange a placement for you in as little as a couple of weeks, thanks to the infrastructure we have set up on the ground.

Once you have paid your registration fee, you have a 14-day cooling-off period during which you would qualify for a full refund if you changed your mind. You can view all our Terms and Conditions here.

Yes, you can. Work the World involves you in the tailoring process of your healthcare elective placement abroad at every stage. You choose the destination you want to travel to and the clinical departments you want to get experience in. Your dedicated placement consultant will be in touch two to three months before departure to go through your clinical interests and help you decide which departments to rotate through to meet your clinical goals.

No. 

You don’t need to be able to speak the local language in any of our destinations. 

When preparing for your placement, learning a few everyday phrases can help you build relationships with hospital staff and get the most from your time overseas. To help you with this, we’ve created comprehensive language guides and videos. Once you’ve registered with us, you’ll get access to this section of MyTrip.

To give you an even deeper understanding of the local language and customs, a language teacher will provide twice-weekly language lessons in our Work the World houses. Designed with your clinical placement in mind, these language lessons are a bonus to help you get to grips with clinical words and phrases.

The staff teams in the Work the World houses speak English exceptionally well, and most senior consultants in the hospitals and clinics we partner with are required to study in English-speaking countries as part of their learning, so they’re likely to have a good level of English too. 

Yes. We’ve been operating since 2005, so we have extensive experience in supporting students with university documentation. This can range from items such as hospital allocation letters, proof of your placement, health & safety audits, etc. Once you've registered, our administration team will support you throughout this whole process.

Your university may offer credits for participating in an overseas elective. Work the World collaborates with hundreds of universities around the world, and we can provide any information required by your faculty to make sure your placement counts towards your degree.

Yes. 

Indemnity protection for your particular field of healthcare is essential for completing a placement in a hospital or other clinical setting. Some healthcare students can obtain free indemnity protection through their university or their professional body.

Yes, everyone who takes part in one of our placements will need to ensure they have a travel insurance policy in place to cover them for the duration of their trip.

Yes. Unlike other providers, our expert team will have detailed conversations with you before your placement starts, meaning we can guarantee exactly which departments you’ll be based in throughout your whole placement.

Visa requirements vary depending on the destination you have chosen and the type of passport you hold. Your dedicated MyTrip portal will have all the relevant information you’ll need, including online embassy application forms, visa costs, the type of visa you’ll need to apply for and most importantly, the time frames in which you'll need to complete this by. Work the World has been building healthcare placements abroad since 2005, so we’ll be able to guide you every step of the way, should you need any further visa application assistance.

The destination you have chosen and the vaccinations you have previously received will affect which vaccinations you need, and it may be that you don’t need any vaccinations at all. Our advice is that you check with your local travel clinic or GP, who will have access to your medical files and who will be best placed to advise you on what you’ll need.

Yes.

Our longstanding relationships and formal agreements with our partner hospitals and clinics mean you get guaranteed supervision and support for the duration of your placement. We also follow guidelines laid out by regulatory bodies and professional associations to ensure each placement is structured according to each student’s level of skill and particular interests. 

Many universities have specific requirements regarding overseas electives and placements, and want a more formal agreement to guarantee standards. We have contracts in place with several institutions and are happy to provide audit information and complete risk assessments if your university requires.

All the countries we work in have been selected primarily because they are considered stable, secure and safe for international healthcare students. We pay close attention to Government travel advice, not only the destinations we work in, but their neighbours too. For more information, visit our safety and security page.

In each of our destinations, we have spacious and secure private accommodation, which will be your base for the duration of your tailored Work the World healthcare elective placement abroad.

The Work the World houses provide a welcoming, comfortable and private space where you can relax or socialise with other international students and graduates across all disciplines. The houses are great social hubs where the legendary Work the World weekly barbecues are but one of the many highlights.

Bedrooms are split into male and female, with 4-6 beds in each. It is not possible to arrange private rooms, as that would mean turning other students away. 

Our locally hired staff team are on-site, and includes a Destination Manager, Assistant Manager, Housekeeper, Caterer, and Security Guard who all work together to keep everything clean, tidy and efficient.

Read more about our accommodation.

Yes. Each of our Work the World houses has the best Wi-Fi available in the local area. Given that we work in developing countries, it can be intermittent at times, but generally it works well as long as no one is streaming/downloading movies.

Our caterers are experienced in cooking both local cuisine and dishes from home that you're more familiar with. So, while you're abroad, you can try both local delicacies and traditional meals as well as home favourites.

When we say your placement is tailor-made, we mean every aspect, including the food. Whatever your dietary requirement - vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, to name but a few - our chefs will whip up a dish you can enjoy after a day on the wards.

Our houses, depending on destination, accommodate between 20 and 40 people. This means there’s a maximum number of places available in each house, so booking as early as possible is always advised.

Work the World houses are for students and professionals on paid placements only. However, we will always try to recommend somewhere close for friends or family to stay if they are visiting.

Shortly before your placement begins, your MyTrip portal will be updated to show everyone who will be living in the house with you. Their placements may not start on the same date. However, you will be living in the house together for at least some, if not all, of your time overseas.

The placements we create are inclusive of accommodation and in order to get the full experience of being overseas we strongly recommend you stay in the Work the World house.

We’ve been operating since 2005, and our in-country operation is what makes our service unparalleled. A huge part of the service we offer is the on-the-ground support from our in-country teams, and they are there to provide as little or as much support as you require.

Each destination has the same team structure. That includes the management team, caterers, cleaners, security teams and even gardeners. Your team will offer as much or as little support as you need, as needed. And they're available 24/7. You’ll get support from the moment you land to the moment you depart.

You will be fully supported from the moment you arrive. All you need to do is upload your flight details to MyTrip, and one of our friendly members of staff will be at the airport to greet you. You’ll recognise them by their blue Work the World t-shirt.

Don't worry if you get delayed - we check the arrivals every day so we can keep track of your flight and arrive at the correct time to meet you.

You can, but it is likely to be expensive if you’re not using Wi-Fi. On your first day in-country, our local team will take you to a shop that will sell local SIM cards at a very cheap price. This is a much more cost-effective way of keeping communication channels open with the Work the World team and fellow housemates.

Our Work the World houses are based as close to your placement hospital or clinic as possible, after taking into account the safest and most suitable neighbourhoods to live in.

In most cases, the easiest way to reach your placement hospital or clinic is to take public transport or a taxi. Our staff will show you exactly how to do this during your orientation. Most of the time, you will be travelling with other Work the World students and professionals.

The typical placement hours across the majority of our destinations run Monday - Friday. You are also welcome to try other shifts, such as weekend or night shifts, if you wish. Typically, our students and professionals are based in the hospitals on average 35 hours per week. If you have a set amount of hours to complete, we can guarantee this for you.

Yes, subject to availability. All elective placements within departments are limited and are highly dependent on each individual's interests and objectives. All will be confirmed before you depart.

It varies depending on where you go, but in general, you can expect the cost of living to be significantly cheaper than in your home country. To give you a rough idea, £100 GBP,  €120 Euro, $135 USD or $200 AUS can (as long as you are sensible with your money) cover travel to and from placement, weekend trips away, including accommodation and spending money, and mid-week drinks and meals out if you decide not to dine at the house.

The supervisor you are placed with will sign off your hours in the hospital/clinic you are based in.

There is a vast variety of different travel options in each of our destinations, and it’s easy to arrange trips once you have arrived.

Our knowledgeable staff will always be able to give you some ideas. Each house also has a comments book from previous students with top travel tips.

Our in-country management team are always on hand to ensure any issues are dealt with quickly and efficiently. We also provide you with a 24/7 emergency contact number while on placement, which will be answered by our Head Office team. 

If you have a medical emergency, we will ensure you get the best treatment, and a member of staff will accompany you to a preferred private hospital.