Duration & Fees
| 4 weeks | £1,495 |
| 5 weeks | £1,755 |
| 6 weeks | £2,055 |
| 8 weeks | £2,545 |
Please note: The currency conversion is an estimate based on today's exchange rates and is to be used as a guide only. All payments to Amanzi Travel have to be made in Pounds Sterling (GBP)
Start Dates
Project Start Dates are on the first and third Mondays of each month. Volunteers are requested to arrive the Friday before the start of their project for their two day orientation.
Start Dates for 2020
6 Jan | 20 Jan | 3 Feb | 17 Feb | 2 Mar | 16 Mar | 4 May | 18 May | 1 Jun | 15 Jun | 6 Jul | 20 Jul | 3 Aug | 17 Aug | 7 Sep | 21 Sep | 5 Oct | 19 Oct | 2 Nov | 16 Nov | 7 Dec | 21 Dec
Note: Project closed for April
Payment
£180 deposit at time of booking – balance payment of project fee due 12 weeks before departure
What's Included
- Airport transfer on arrival (departure transfer can be arranged through project staff on the ground - approx 5 USD)
- Accommodation during orientation and for the duration of the project
- Breakfast daily and Lunch during the working week
- Two day orientation including half-day city tour, cultural dinner and show
- Support from onsite co-ordinaton
- 24 hour emergency assistance
What's not included
- Flights
- Visas if required
- Insurance to include cover for repatriation
- Police background check
- Lunch at weekends and dinner daily
- Activities during the weekend in surrounding area
- Transport to and from project on working days (approx 2 USD each day)
Highlights
- Take the opportunity to learn from and shadow highly qualified professionals
- Work hands-on with doctors and other medical staff in a new environment
- Intern in Asia’s leading country for medical tourists
- A great chance for pre-med and medical students to add to their curriculum vitae
- Meet and make friends with other volunteers from all over the world
- Live and work in beautiful rural Thailand
- Spend weekends relaxing and exploring the vibrant City of Chiang Mai and surrounding area
Thailand is a country with great appeal with ancient capitals, forests, mountains and exciting festivals that are truly captivating. Chiang Mai, in the north of the country, is one of the most popular cities for tourists from all over the world who come to take cookery or massage courses, to trek to the maountains or to visit remote hill tribes. Volunteers see a different side of Thailand, something that the average visitor misses altogether, and also have the satisfaction of knowing that they have changed lives in small but significant ways during their volunteer placement to this beautiful and exciting country.
Thailand is becoming known as the leading country in Asia to attract medical tourists and private hospitals in Bangkok can attract hundreds of thousands of international patients each year. Although not as busy as Bangkok, Chiang Mai offers volunteers the opportunity to work more closely with the supervising physicians than would be possible in the west and therefore an excellent place to learn and have their internship. Each medical volunteer will be paired with a full-time doctor and will shadow this person on their daily rounds from 8.00am - 4.00pm from Monday - Friday. These doctors are highly qualified professionals, many of whom have been educated in the UK or USA, and volunteers are only placed with doctors who have a good command of the English language so that the experience is as beneficial as possible.
Some of the main healthcare departments include General Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Dermatology Clinic, ENT (ears, nose and throat clinic), Diagnostic Radiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Pediatric and General Nursing, Radiology, Dental, Ophthalmology, Community Medicine and Intensive Care Unit. Dependent on current needs the volunteers may be able to choose the department in which they work, and in most cases it will be possible to work also in a second department, thus increasing the value of the experience. Some departments will only accept volunteers with experience in that particular field and we ask volunteers to remain as flexible as possible. The internship is mainly observation based, although students with some experience will have the opportunity to work more hands on than in western hospitals. Each aspect of the internship is carefully monitored by supervising staff and this project provides a fantastic opportunity for all medical students.
Volunteer placements are at both private and public hospitals in Chiang Mai. The hospitals themselves have colonial architecture, complete with spacious courtyards and tropical gardens with quiet corners - which are ideal for a quick coffee break! The oldest hospital began life in the early 19th century as a humble eight bed clinic, which is now a 400 bed hospital employing dozens of doctors and hundreds of nurses.
Throughout the internship students will focus on contributing to meaningful causes and connecting with real Thai people which will give them a fuller experience.
Volunteers to this project will be expected to work from 8.00am - 4.00pm Monday - Friday. However, this schedule may change from time to time and volunteers who can remain flexible are greatly appreciated.
Accommodation is provided in dedicated volunteer houses near the centre of Chiang Mai where up to thirty-five volunteers can be accommodated in air-conditioned, shared bedrooms. The built in bathrooms have hot water and a western style toilet and there are lounges with access to computers, free wifi and the chance to watch English films.
The volunteer co-ordinators are friendly and knowledgeable and work from the project office which is just a short walk from the volunteer houses. They are on hand at all times to make sure the volunteer projects run smoothly and help the volunteers in any way they can.
Volunteers will be provided with a breakfast each day at the volunteer accommodation. This will include toast, cereals, eggs, oatmeal, yoghurt, fresh fruit and fantastic aromatic Red Cliff Coffee from the highlands of northern Thailand. Lunch will be provided during working days but dinner is not included. Inexpensive and delicious Thai food restaurants along with many international eating places are only minutes for the volunteer house and provide a great way to socilalise and get to know your fellow volunteers. Some volunteers take the chance to enrol on one of the many Thai cookery courses available in the city and then show off their culinary skills in the kitchen to their fellow volunteers.
Thailand
Thailand overview
At the centre of Indochina, is the Kingdom of Thailand – as it officially known. Thailand nestles between Burma, Laos and Cambodia above and Malaysia below, with the Gulf of Thailand to the south and the Andaman Sea to the west.
Thailand’s second largest city of Chiang Mai is known as the Rose of the North and visitors can experience homestays in local villages, rural jungle treks and 13th century Buddhist temples. The islands on Thailand’s east coast consist of Koh Phangan, Koh Toa and Koh Samui, which are famous for Full Moon parties, diving and tourism respectively and of course white sandy beaches and coral reefs. While Koh Phi Phi was hit by the 2004 Tsunami, it is also the home of ‘The Beach’ and iconic limestone cliffs. Other synonymous activities with Thailand are Muay Thai boxing, Thai cooking courses, mountain climbing, elephant riding, river rafting, canopy walking, learning to dive and holistic retreats.
The capital city Bangkok is the country’s political, commercial and cultural hub, as well as being the gateway to Thailand for most travellers arriving by air. The city is a mixture of old and new, with high rise skyscrapers, old temples, the Royal palace, wide dominating motorways and little shops on street corners. The city is used as a hub to travel around the rest of the country and its many islands, as well as the surrounding countries. Thai people are, as throughout Asia, extremely warm and welcoming and cannot help but wear that huge Asian smile.
Highlights of country
- Includes jungles, mountains, islands and beaches
- Warm and friendly Thai people
- Learn to dive in Koh Tao
- Legendry Full Moon parties on Koh Phangan
- Easy access to other Asian countries for further travel
Climate
| Seasons | Max | Min |
|---|
| Summer |
38 °C |
230 °C |
| Winter |
28 °C |
22 °C |
Thailand has a tropical climate almost all year round. Southern Thailand has two seasons; the wet season and the dry season, which are the different on the east and west coasts. The east coast has rain between September and December, while the west has heavy storms from April through until October. The south of Thailand receives the most rain, with around 2,400 mm falling each year, which is 1,000 mm more than central and northern Thailand.
Northern Thailand’s seasons are more defined. Between November and May the weather is mostly dry, except for expected rain between February and March. From November to March, there are cooling breezes in northern Thailand while the temperatures rise between March and May.
Key Facts
Population – 66.80 million
Capital - Bangkok
Currency – Thai Baht (THB)
Official languages – Thai
Time difference – GMT + 6
Telephone - +66
This was one of the best summers I could’ve hoped for. I already knew this would be a one-of-a-kind opportunity to work alongside doctors and expand my medical knowledge, but I never thought I would also have the chance to build such strong relationships/friendships with everyone here during my 5-week stay. I truly enjoyed my time at both McCormick and Maharaj, and loved meeting all the friendly doctors.
I got to see surgeries that I had never even heard of before, such as an abdominoperineal resection of the rectum. Although it was slightly overwhelming at times to have to take the public transportation to and from our workplace, I look back at it now and feel that it only enriched my experience here in Thailand. I had a great time with everyone at the volunteer accommodation, and it made it even more interesting that most people had different projects so we were all able to share stories from our own workplace at the end of the day.
It was also great to see mountains everywhere I go in Chiang Mai, and I loved exploring outside the city on weekends. The experience overall was humbling and unforgettable, and I don’t regret a second of the 30 hours I flew to get here! (Medical Internship in Chiang Mai)
Brenda, Canada (Medical Internship in Chiang Mai)
I can still vividly remember seeing my first surgery ever - a hysterectomy. Standing only 2-3 feet away from where the operation was being performed was a dream that I had longed to come true for many years.
Connor, USA (Medical Internship in Chiang Mai)