One continent. Six months.
September 16, 2010 8:20 PM

So I'm in my final year of medical school. I have about 6 months of extraneous time on my hands. Help me find something both interesting and useful to do in Asia for those 6 months.

After three and a half years of med school I feel that I might have some skills that would be useful to a healthcare-oriented organization somewhere. I want to go to Asia. I have about 6 months. Two programs in India have already fallen through on me, and I'm totally at a loss as to how to find something. Any ideas?
posted by genmonster to Travel & Transportation (4 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
I went trekking through Nepal with a group of people who included an experienced doctor. He carried a big back of medicines, bandages and other medical stuff, and provided basic services for people in villages we went through (who were incredibly ignorant of medical knowledge, even the need to keep wounds clean).

This is probably not something you're ready for, but may be something to keep in mind if the interest in Asia continues.
posted by zachawry at 9:27 PM on September 16, 2010


(My son's name is Gen, by the way.)
posted by zachawry at 9:30 PM on September 16, 2010


A friend volunteered in Cambodia for a few months after finishing her medical degree and loved it. I think she travelled around to different villages with a group of other recent graduates offering basic treatment and advice (under the auspices of an established charity). They really, really needed it. Having been there as a tourist I can highly recommend the country, it was beautiful and the people very hospitable. If I was you, I'd get in contact with a charity like this and they may able to offer suggestions.
posted by Wantok at 11:14 PM on September 16, 2010


In my final year of med school (I graduated last year), I went to Nepal for a clinical elective in a Pokhara hospital for a couple of months. I found it very educational and eye-opening although the language barrier limited my ability to be as useful as I would like to be; something to bear in mind when travelling to Asia. One my coursemates did an internship with WHO in Manila.
posted by ianK at 11:15 PM on September 16, 2010


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