Medical & Nursing Healthcare Volunteer Program Sri Lanka

Pre-Medical & Nursing Programs (Level 1):

Level 1 participants get broad-based rotational exposure across various units, including:

•     Surgery / Maternity
•     ETU
•     General Medicine / Paediatrics
•     Surgery Observation (general + orthopaedic)
•     Laboratory

Level 1 participants also have the opportunity to view live surgeries from time to time conducted by experienced doctors.

Medical & Nursing Students (Level 2):

    In the public hospital, university students and experienced medical and nursing participants will have the opportunity to get exposure across a range of wards (subject to availability), such as:

•     Medical ward
•     Surgical ward
•     Emergency Treatment Unit (ETU)
•     Paediatric ward
•     Maternity ward
•     Psychiatric ward
•     Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation (Maliban)
•     Additionally, advanced medical students have the opportunity to work in a range of specialized units, including (but not limited to):
•     Vascular surgery
•     Nephrology
•     Paediatric cardiology
•     Oncology
•     Neurosurgery

It is important to note that the experience in the hospital is mainly observation-based, where participants will get exposure to a wide range of cases and patient types. Some participants may get the opportunity to get more hands-on experience where they are allowed to interact directly with patients but that is entirely at the discretion of the medical and nursing staff based on their comfort level with the particular student.

Additionally, all medical and nursing participants (Level 1 & 2) are supported by our medical coordinator, an advanced medical student, who provides regular guidance and support) to further enhance learning and knowledge development.

Saturday: Arrival in Colombo airport - transfer to Galle included

Sunday: Orientation + neighbourhood familiarization tour. Orientation session will be conducted by the local coordinator, covering topic areas; such as safety, culture, language, places to visit, behaviour, food, and other suggestion over things to do in and around Galle.

Mon to Fri: Volunteer work placement at appropriate medical institution (schedules can be somewhat flexible by an hour or two either way, based on ground realities at the time) 

• Breakfast - 06:30 to 8:30 am

• Working hours at the placement - 09:00 am to 12:00 noon (Beginner Students) 

• Working hours at the placement - 09:00 am to 02:00 pm (Advanced Students)

• Lunch - 12:00-2:30 pm (Provided at the accommodation) 

• Dinner - 6:30-7:30 pm onwards (Provided at the accommodation)

The same volunteer work schedule continues from the second week onwards 

Weekends: Free to explore the city, all the nearby beaches and also travel around Sri Lanka. Bing a small island with a very good public transportation system (buses, trains), it is easy to take weekend trip to the mountains, tea plantations, rainforests, cultural sites, various beach towns, etc.

Note: Please note, the schedule may vary depending on the particular project the volunteer is participating in.

At Volunteering Solutions we ensure that all our international volunteers are provided the utmost comfort so that they can have a home away from home experience while working with us. We ensure that your stay, meals and other personal requirements are looked after well.

Airport Transfers
Volunteers are picked up from the Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport Airport by a representative of the local coordinating team on the program start date during scheduled airport pickup hrs. Participants are also dropped off to the airport upon completion of the program during the scheduled airport drop hrs. For any participants requring the transfers at any other times, extra charges shall be applicable.

Accommodation

Volunteers joining the programs in Galle, Sri Lanka, will get to stay in the quaint Unawatuna neighborhood, overlooking the famous Unawatuna Beach and the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. The volunteer house has 11 bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms.Most of these rooms have ocean views! There's a private 40-foot outdoor swimming pool surrounded by tropical greenery. The house also has 3 kitchens as well as 3 living/common rooms (one each per floor), a prominent dining area, and a private outdoor garden with seating/lounging areas.

The office is located on the ground floor of the house near the main entrance – this is where the local team operate from every day. The house is located in a peaceful, nature-filled neighborhood adjacent to a small Buddhist temple (nestled away from the main tourist areas). To ensure the safety and security of the participants, there are CCTV cameras installed, and an in-house security guard for night-time surveillance. Hot water and high-speed Wi-Fi are there and you can opt for air-conditioning and laundry facilities at an additional charge.

Other than that, we'll also be glad to provide single/double/family private room upgrades. The beach is just about 5 minutes walk from the stay and you can reach the Galle Fort in about 15 minutes.

Orientation

A detailed program Orientation will be provided before you start your volunteering program.All volunteers on arrival get a welcome presentation including health and safety training, culture presentation, project specific presentation and area orientation tour. Our staff will also assist you with the lessons and planning the curriculum, as and when required. You will also have access to our in-house teaching library consisting of manuals, books, and various teaching materials to help with lesson planning and providing general guidance.

Meals

We provide 3 freshly cooked meals per day all week long (Monday to Sunday): Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Fresh ingredients are purchased from local markets to prepare these meals. We have two lady chefs (a head chef and an assistant) from our community who come daily to cook fresh, homely and tasty local meals for the volunteers. We can cater to a range of special diets including vegan, gluten free, nut free and lactose-intolerant diets. If there are any other allergy or food requirements mentioned to us beforehand, we always do our best to accommodate those needs.

During Free Time

There is plenty to do during the freetime and weekends for the volunteers.The following activities are provided free of charge and included in your program fee:

• Evening Rooftop Yoga Session (weekly)
• Movie nights on large screen projector at the house (weekly)
• Bike tour across paddy fields and local villages (monthly)
• BBQ for volunteers and staff in the garden (monthly)
• Night Fishing for anyone into fishing (on demand)

The following are popular weekend (or even daily) activities which our volunteers love to do around the area (at an additional charge):

• Surfing lessons
• Elephant safari
• Whale watching (during season)
• Rainforest hiking
• Beach hopping
• Local cooking class
• Galle Walking Tour
• Local spice market visit
• Galle Fort visit