This medical volunteer program is located in a very friendly beach town called Da Nang in Vietnam. Whilst healthcare provision has improved enormously in Vietnam over the last 20 years, there is still a huge amount of healthcare issues impacting many communities. Your placement will be in a busy hopsital where you will get a chance to interact with patients and local doctors and learn a lot.
Tam Tri Danang Hospital has a staff of 200 doctors. It is a 150 bed facility that sees between 400-500 patients per day. Tam Tri has the following departments - Ob, Gynecology, Surgery, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Paediatrics, ENT, Dermatology, Traditional Medicine, and Physiotherapy and you can get a rotation in any department of your choice.
The Surgery Dept in Tam Tri Da Nang General Hospital has urinary surgery, general surgery, gastroenterology surgery, and musculoskeletal surgery. They conduct open surgery and laparoscopy.
The advantage of doing a global medical placement in Vietnam is that you may find the way in which patients are treated in different ways to what you may be used to in your own country, but this is a great opportunity to learn and support rather than to seek to change or criticise the local methods used.
Your role at the hospital will vary tremendously depending on your skills and experience and the ailments being treated by the staff when you are there. All your work is directed by the professional Vietnamese staff at the clinic and whilst they enjoy greatly the support and commitment from volunteers, they do understandably request that you show high levels of cultural understanding and respect the fact that they are fully qualified under the Vietnamese Healthcare system.
Da Nang is a typical, vibrant Vietnamese town and whilst not as developed as many Western towns it is packed with character and charm. The people are friendly, the food is sublime and during your weekends you can relax at one of Da Nangs many beaches or go for local excursions to Hoi An - the city of Lanterns or Hanoi over the weekend.
Medical Electives in Vietnam Gallery
What is involved
Local medical Students have been learning and assisting at the hospital for several years and both the clinical teams and the visitors have found the experience to be mutually beneficial – with volunteers supporting the small medical team with the regular duties and the volunteers learning about the challenges and differences of healthcare provision in Vietnam.
The hospital runs several core health programmes and initiatives throughout each year and the precise activities you can observe and become involved in of course are driven and set by the clinic itself. Please be understanding about this – the hospital is a fully operational modern set up and run for the benefit of the locals and their needs rather than those of the staff or volunteers.
Whilst the duties that you are able to assist with will depend very much on your training and skills, and the judgement of the local professional medical staff (who of course have the last say over everything anyone does at the clinic) examples of the activities you can expect to be a part of during your time include:
- Conducting general health checks including the on-going recording of weight, height and waist measurements.
- Participating in regular hypertension clinics
- Participating in regular diabetes clinics
- Learning about the local health challenges and efforts to ensure that the community takes responsibility for remaining fit and healthy – common areas focused on include prevention of Dengue fever, issues around planned pregnancy and birth control etc
- Child development assessment clinics
- The treatment and dressing of wounds, sutures etc
- Assisting the local team with the diagnosis of medical conditions (subject of course to your training and skills)
- Packing and distributing medications and medical materials
You can expect to start around 8 each morning (sometimes earlier depending on the activities that day at the hospital) and return home between 2:30 and 4:30 pm each day – depending again on how busy the hospital is and what work is being done that day. Whilst it can be tiring working in the hot and often humid climate, there is plenty of time at the end of each day to rest up and of course, explore the town and local area.
Some details
2024
2025
Jan 20,27
Jan 4,11, 18, 25
Feb 3,10
Feb 1, 8
Apr 6,13, 20, 27
Apr 5, 12, 19, 26
May 4,11,18, 25
May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
Jun 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Jun 7, 14, 21, 28
Jul 6,13,
Jul 5, 12,
Sep 21, 28
Sep 6, 13, 20, 27
Oct 5,12,19,26
Oct 4, 11, 18, 25
Nov 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Nov 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Dec 7, 14
Dec 6, 13, 20
What your first week looks like
Arrival day
Weekdays
Weekend
Weekend activities
Hoi An
Hanoi
Halong Bay
Ho Chi Minh
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