This internship is ideal for anyone who wants to see medicine in practice. You’ll get first-hand experience of working in a hospital in a developing country.

You can use this internship to add work experience to your resume before applying to medical school. You can also talk about all you saw, learned, and how you overcame challenges during interviews or in application essays. It’s also a great way to explore different departments within a large hospital. This is especially useful if you’re a medical student deciding on a specialization.

Remember that you’ll be shadowing doctors and nurses in a busy medical environment. It’s important to be proactive, ask questions, and demonstrate initiative. This will ensure that you develop a good relationship with the staff, and that you learn as much as possible during your medical placement in Ghana. 

Our medical internship in Ghana runs throughout the year, and you can join at any time from a minimum of 2 weeks. We encourage you to stay longer, so you can see and learn more.

Working under the supervision of medical professionals, you will:

Join doctors and nurses on their daily patient rounds

You will shadow doctors and nurses on their daily rounds. They’ll teach you about Ghana’s prevalent diseases, their diagnoses, management, and treatment. You should be prepared to to encounter patients who suffer from diseases and conditions that you don’t see at home, such as Malaria and Typhoid.

During your time as a medical intern in Ghana, you’ll also spend some time in different departments of a large regional hospital. This will give you insight into various specializations and could help you choose your own later in your studies.

Do health checks during community outreaches

In Ghana, many rural and disadvantaged areas lack access to healthcare services. Most people cannot afford to travel to clinics or pay to see a doctor. We organize regular outreaches, where you get involved with tasks like:

• Treat wounds and ringworm infections at schools
• Do health checks in rural communities, focusing on measuring blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and run free malaria tests

This is important work, that gives you the chance to help others while learning and using basic medical skills.

Take part in health education campaigns

You will help us raise awareness about key healthcare issues around the country. We do this by holding talks in schools, care centers, or local communities. Typical topics will include:

• Good hygiene practices
• Malaria prevention
• Sexual education

Sexual education is critical, as this is still considered a taboo topic in many schools. You could also focus on healthy lifestyle choices to prevent illnesses like heart disease and diabetes.

There are many different departments available including:

Adolescent Counselling, Community Health Education, Dentistry, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), General surgery, Laboratory, Nursing, Maternity & Midwifery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Paediatrics, Pharmacology, Physical Therapy, Physiotherapy, Prenatal, Psychology, Radiology, Ultrasound.

Participants are likely to have the opportunity to observe within more than one division. However, it is recommended that interns spend a minimum of one week per department.

During orientation, you will receive a full introduction to the hospital. A staff of OGVO will lead a tour around the whole institution, allowing you to become familiar with the hospital’s layout, and also meet staff members within each department.