At the heart of all our hospital partnerships is our unique mentoring system.
Our mentoring system provides clear transfer of accountability for student safety from our staff to medical doctors at the point they enter the hospital. If an individual mentor has to leave students for any reason, he or she transfers their supervision to another appropriately qualified health professional before doing so.
Placements are strictly observational, as a protection for both students and patients. Students do not have any physical contact with patients, or any participatory involvement with clinical procedures for which they are not trained and qualified.
We also provide you and your mentor with Personal Protective Equipment, such as face masks, eye protection, and scrubs, which are worn every day that you are in the hospital. The medical scrubs we provide are branded for the program to clearly distinguish students from hospital staff.
All of your experiences, in the medical or community settings, will be guided by members of our team.
You will be supported by our selected team members for every aspect of your experience, whether it be at the hospital or clinic or going on local excursions.
We don’t outsource anything. We provide all the transportation and select your mentors and guides. This way we know you are safe at all times and can help answer any questions you have.
We operate all of our own student guesthouses, rather than using hostels or homestays, to give us direct control of safety and security.
We are continually risk-assessing all of our houses to ensure they are safe and secure for every program.
We have at least one staff member on duty at every house 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and access is controlled to only allow our own students and staff inside. On our High School Program, there is always a female member of staff on duty at the house overnight.
Within the house, bedrooms are single-sex, and out of respect for personal privacy we ask students not to enter rooms other than the one to which they are assigned. Personal security boxes are provided next to all beds.
Our houses and gardens are enclosed by security fences, and we have a security guard on the gate 24 hours. Overnight additional guards are on patrol for added peace of mind.
We rely on local experts at each program location to make sure the country and region is safe for you.
Our local staff, who is selected and trained by us, are a key part of ensuring your safety. Their knowledge keeps us apprised of news from the region and community where we host our programs.
We also continue to monitor the U.S. State Department and British Foreign and Commonwealth Office for any travel advisories or restrictions at our locations. We are also in contact with the local embassies so if a situation changes, we know immediately.
We are there to help you prepare for your program and as soon as you step off the plane, we take care of everything.
Providing you with great hospitality and support is what makes us stand out from other doctor shadowing and global health programs. We create wonderful teams of people who are passionate and have the knowledge to give you a comprehensive, safe experience abroad.
We have a higher level of age-appropriate supervision for our High School programs. High school students will have a staff member with them at all times to ensure their safety.
Our over 18s program will also have 24/7 support from our team, but will not be required to have a staff member supervising during their free time.
