About the Program
This internship is perfect for anyone interested in gaining work experience
in midwifery. It will add value to your CV, and give you interesting points to
talk about during interviews and in essays and applications. You can also use
your midwifery work experience in Ghana to decide whether a career as a midwife
is the best option for you.
You don’t need previous experience to join. You’ll have an observational
role, and the midwives you shadow will answer your questions so you can learn.
Please note that if you don’t have experience, you’ll work at a clinics or small
hospitals. The midwives here have more time to help you and answer your
questions. For those who are already studying midwifery, you’ll be based at a
large hospital in Kumasi.
All interns will be allowed in the maternity ward. However, hospital
regulations only allow students in their third year of studies to be allowed
into the delivery wards.
You can join our Midwifery internship for a minimum of two weeks, but we
encourage you to stay as long as possible. This internship runs all year round
so you can join whenever it suits your schedule.
While in Ghana, you’ll be learning from and assisting midwives at a hospital
or clinic. You’ll be involved in the following activities:
Your work
will focus on the following areas:
Observe the
work of qualified midwives
You’ll
learn through shadowing the midwives as they go about their day-to-day tasks.
Follow them around during hospital rounds, watch them as they treat patients,
and ask questions if there is anything you are unsure of. Your qualifications
and experience determine how much responsibility you’ll be given.
Provide
assistance to the midwives
Although
your main focus will be to observe and shadow the midwives, you may be given
the opportunity to take on more hands-on responsibilities. This will depend
largely on the initiative you show and your level of experience. Under
supervision, you may be allowed to carry out basic consultations and health
checks on patients in the maternity ward.
Learn
more about midwifery in a developing country
As you
work in the maternity ward, you’ll learn more than just how to deliver babies.
You’ll learn how to treat patients from the start of their pregnancy right
until the end. You may even come across some conditions that you would not
normally see back home. Pregnant women sometimes come into the hospital
experiencing malaria symptoms or the early onset of diabetes. As you observe
the midwives, you’ll also learn how to comfort and treat these patients.
Can I use this program as part of a college or university placement?
It
is certainly possible to use one of OGVO’s programs as part of your
university or college placement. Project staff can sign off any
paperwork required by your course tutors. OGVO regularly receives
medical, childcare, psychology and nursing placement students at our
projects across Ghana and we have ties with some of the leading
universities.
If you’re a course tutor and would like further
information about how one of OGVO’s programs could meet the placement
requirements for your degree course then please contact us directly.
Location
Ghana is a peaceful and welcoming country; Ghana satisfies one's appetite for both modern and traditional life. Its wide valleys, low-lying coastal plains, and thick rainforests resound with the beat of traditional rituals, while her cities glow and vibrate with all the bustle of the modern world. The Ghanaians are the friendliest people in West Africa: warm, proud yet humble with a contagious and calming sense of funniness.
Ghana is hot. It is always hot. What’s more, it's always humid. Humidity usually lingers between 95 and 100 percent. The rainy season lasts from mid-June to mid-November - sometimes. The rain provides a little respite from the intense heat, but temperatures will still be in the mid-80s Fahrenheit. The south of the country experiences the heaviest rainfall during September.