Overview
The Medical Internship in India will be a highly valuable experience for foreign medical students studying medicine and nursing as they get to gain valuable international exposure. Under our specialized medical internship, students will gain insights into new techniques and be able to clearly distinguish yourself from your peers. The Medical Internship assignment takes place in a large hospital placement in South Delhi area in close proximity to some of the best areas and markets in the city.
Interns are paired along with a doctor/nurse or medical professional during their time at the hospital. The internship is mostly observation based and each intern shall shadow, observe and do basic assistance work in the hospital during the period of the internship. Interns work at a full-service hospital placement which offers very good facilities and infrastructure for patient care and treatment.
The List of departments where the interns can work is as below:-
List of Departments
- Emergency
- IPD Wards
- Laboratory
- Blood Bank
- Pharmacy
- Radiology/Imaging
- OT
- Dialysis Unit
- Critical Care
- General Wards
- Orthopedic
- Nursing
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology
- Physiotherapy
The participants need to give a preference of 3-4 departments in which they would like to work. Depending on their period of internship, the interns shall be able to work on a rotation basis.
Program Requirements
Interns must be 18 years or older at the time of joining the internship. As an intern, you should have an open mind and flexible attitude for working in a new and different environment. Medical interns must provide a clean criminal background check report, CV, Passport Copy as well as other documents and credentials pertaining to their qualifications prior to joining the program. Pre Med, Medical, Nursing students and CNA’s can join the program. All students must adhere to professional attire while at the hospitals.
Intern Roles & Responsibilities
The hospital cannot ethically allow individuals without the proper experience, education, and certifications to actively participate in medical procedures they are not able to conduct. Most interns only observe or help out with very minor tasks. The tasks assigned to the interns will be strictly on the basis of the level of their education and experience. While pre-med students would mostly be observing the doctors and the staff, 3rd and final year medical as well as nursing students can get hands-on experience depending upon their level of work experience and understanding; such as suturing wounds, giving vaccinations, measuring blood pressure, fever, etc. A list of the daily routine of the interns includes general tasks as given below:
- Depending on skills, assist with procedures like suturing wounds, giving vaccinations, etc.
- Shadow the Doctors on critical surgeries and operations.
- Being involved in the daily procedures of the hospital.
- Conducting hospital rounds with the doctors.
- Maintaining files.
- Routine patient check-ups like measure Blood pressure, check fever.
Intern Work Schedule
Medical Students joining the medical internship program in India are required to follow a basic routine on a daily basis. It must be noted that every placement functions at a different pace and on separate timelines making the schedule slightly differ at times. A generic daily schedule for interns is as follows;
- Sunday: Arrival in Delhi
- Monday: Orientation + neighborhood familiarization tour. The orientation session will
- be conducted by the local coordinator, covering topic areas; such as safety, culture, language, places to visit, behavior, food, and other suggestion over things to do in Delhi. Those who chose the Language and Orientation Week will carry on with the same for the entire, rest of the interns will begin their work from Tuesday.
- Tue to Fri: Internship work
- Breakfast - 08:30 am onwards
- Working hours at the placement - 09:00 am to 05:00 pm
- Lunch - anywhere between 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm (interns have to manage lunch on their own expense)
- Dinner - 06:00 pm onwards
Depending upon the working schedule of the paired doctor and area of the hospital an intern is placed, the times and days of work may fluctuate. Your patience and flexibility with these schedule and time shifts are greatly appreciated.
The same work schedule continues from the second week onwards
Weekends: Free to explore the city (No meal is provided on Sunday, as we encourage our interns to try the local cuisines.)
Note: Please note, the schedule may vary depending on the particular project the intern is participating on.
Living
When you choose to volunteer in Delhi, we make sure that your altruistic journey is comfortable and enjoyable. As a VolSol volunteer, you will not have to worry about the airport pick up, your accommodation or your stay.
Airport Transfer
Volunteers are picked up from the Indira Gandhi International Airport by a member of the local coordinating team in Delhi. Pickup will be provided between 6:30am - 10pm on the program start date. Participants already in country or arriving early can also be picked up from a designated meeting point decided beforehand as well.
Accommodation
While volunteering in Delhi you would be staying at one of our Volunteer home base in South Delhi. The accommodations are neat and clean and provide volunteers a home away from home experience. Our homes are equipped with wifi internet, filtered drinking water, geysers, air conditioning, satellite television, modern toilets and comfortable beds. The homes are close to useful amenities like banks, ATMs, currency ex-changers, restaurants, cafes and shopping arcades. All placements are around 10 - 30 minutes from the homes and volunteers travel to the placements everyday and come back home in the evenings.
Orientation
A half day orientation will be provided by our staff on the next day after your arrival. We cover areas like culture, greetings, locations, transportation etc. Start your volunteering experience by taking the 1 week Language & Culture Orientation Program in Delhi.
Meals
Indian food is famous around the world for its diverse flavours, colors and aroma. While staying at the homes, you would be provided with freshly cooked breakfast and dinner, we have cooks at the home who prepare meals for the volunteers. A sample of the meals you can expect are mentioned below.
Breakfast - Parantha, Bread, Tea (chai), Jam, Butter, Porridge etc.
Dinner - Dal (lentils), vegetable, rice, roti (indian bread), pickle, yogurt may be provided along with some sort of curry.
For lunch volunteers usually eat somewhere close to their placement at a local restaurant, our coordinators would show you around at the time of orientation. This also gives you a chance to eat a variety of food that India has to offer. You would be able to have a comfortable lunch for around $3-$4.
During Your Free Time
During the free time volunteers can visit the local markets, visit internet cafes and the different restaurants in Delhi and try out the different Indian cuisines. During weekends volunteers visit the neighboring states of Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. Our specialised Travel Desk can help you to book tours to any part of India or to neighbouring countries like Nepal or Sri Lanka.
Program Cost
Please Note: -An application fee of $199 is charged over and above the program fee as an application payment. (A 4% international banking fee is charged at the time of payment)
What are you Paying for?
- 24 hrs Assistance and support from staff
- Comprehensive Pre- Departure Information
- Pick up from the airport
- Orientation
- Food (2-3 times a day)
- Accommodation
- Travel & Medical Insurance (Available at an extra cost)
- Certificate Of Completion (Upon Request)
What's NOT included?
- Airfare
- Return Trip to Airport (Can be arranged at extra cost)
- Local Transportation
- Visa Fees
- Vaccinations
Program Dates
Months | 2021 | 2022 |
January | - | 0216 |
February | - | 0620 |
March | - | 0620 |
April | - | 0317 |
May | - | 0115 |
June | 0620 | 0519 |
July | 0418 | 031731 |
August | 0115 | 14 |
September | 0519 | 0418 |
October | 0317 | 0216 |
November | 0721 | 0620 |
December | 0519 | 0418 |
FAQ's
FAQ's Application and Program Details
Volunteers must be 17 years or older at the time of joining the project. Medical Program volunteers must be at least 18 at the time of joining.
16-year-old volunteers can participate in Childcare projects with a Letter of Consent from their parents.
Volunteers need to have an open mind and flexible attitude for working in a new and different environment.
Participants must be in good health.
India is a country of different cultures and traditions, though it is modernized, the cultural sensitivities need to be kept in mind before volunteering in India. The volunteers should bring energy and enthusiasm to make a difference.
Volunteering Solutions India program has hosted large student groups as well as families coming to volunteer in the program. We have hosted groups from universities in UK, Europe, and USA as well as other countries, in Delhi.
To add to the project experience, you can also join the Language and Orientation Week in Delhi before beginning the program. It's an optional week, besides that we recommend participants to brush up their Hindi skills (learn basic terms and phrases, greetings) before traveling.
Flights and Visa
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air India, Jet Airways, Etihad Airways, United Airlines, Swiss Air, KLM Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Austrian, Air France, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Finn Air.
Health and Safety
If you already have a valid Travel and Medical insurance, you can email us a copy of the same. It is also advised to bring along the Insurance documents during your trip.
Accommodation and Living
You will be told about the directions to the project from your accommodation as well as the best and the most affordable mode of transport you can use. Volunteers use a variety of modes of transport to commute to different locations in Delhi. Major modes of transport are Delhi Metro and auto rickshaw (tuk-tuk?).
On Sunday, volunteers eat out and explore the different gastronomical delights that Delhi has to offer. Accommodation is shared amongst volunteers on the ‘same gender sharing’ basis rooms. Air conditioning facility is provided during the night in the volunteer home accommodations. Wifi internet is also available for volunteers’ convenience. Some volunteers are also provided accommodation in the project premises itself. For example - volunteers working in orphanage project can be provided accommodation in the project premises itself in a separate room that is allotted for volunteers. All meals will be provided to the volunteers in that case.
Connect with Past Volunteers
Volunteers can also view the volunteer testimonials of Delhi program participants by clicking here.