Emma Clementson

I was inspired to do an overseas nursing placement after seeing a presentation from a student in the year above me. She spoke about her experience with Work the World, which sounded amazing!

As part of my course at university, I had to organise a placement. Work the World made this so much easier – offering an organised placement, accommodation, catering, and so much more. 

I loved staying in the Work the World house and made so many new friends because of it! The house had everything you’d need — storage, nice rooms, fridges, a living room and social area, and a large dining room, so we all ate together in the evenings after placement. 

The Work the World team came to visit me while I was on placement in the hospital to check that everything was going well. I felt very supported throughout my whole trip, and I knew that if there were any issues, I could let the team know. 

One of my favourite parts of the orientation day with the team was seeing the local area and visiting the hospital to meet the staff before my placement started. 

The healthcare in Sri Lanka was very efficient. Wait times in the emergency area were short in comparison to at home. 

They also had very limited resources in the hospital, so they cleaned things such as face masks and tubing between patients — at home, these were single-use only. 

During my first weekend in Sri Lanka, we went to Sigiriya and Dambulla, where we climbed both Sigiriya Rock and Pidurangala Rock. During my second weekend, we visited Ella. On my final weekend in Sri Lanka, we travelled to Trincomalee and spent time snorkelling and relaxing on the beach. 

We explored Kandy during the evenings after placement. I really enjoyed visiting the Temple of the Tooth — it's a must-see! 

The people and new friends I made while in Sri Lanka will stay with me forever. We are already planning to visit each other in our home countries!