The medical and nursing work experience projects in Mexico are based in Guadalajara at a number of partner hospitals, ranging from large multi-disciplinary hospitals to small rural clinics. During your time on this placement you will be able to work with or shadow doctors in various departments, work alongside paramedics, care for children with cancer and assist nurses with patient care.
Many of the hospitals we work with are part of the Red Cross or Green Cross organisations. Unlike in the UK, medical provision in Mexico is not free. These organisations provide hospital and medical services to those who are unable to afford it. They are also on hand to provide assistance in the event of natural disasters such as the earthquakes and hurricanes that occasionally hit the region. As these organisations are non-profit organisation they are always in need of funding and volunteers.
Depending on your previous experience, volunteers often start the project with an induction. The first week will cover basic first aid so that you are able to provide a positive input in to the programme rather than just shadowing doctors on ward rounds. Our partner hospitals and clinics will look to you to make a positive input to the programme so this is not a project where you will be just observing. You are encouraged to play an active role helping the medical practitioners. You can then choose to spend your time shadowing doctors in various wards, assisting the nurses in trauma care or accompanying the paramedic crew on their busy shift which makes the programme well suited to budding medical students, those interested in becoming nurses and those keen on a career as a paramedic.
Several of our past volunteers on this programme have elected to work weekends and evenings rather than during the days as this is usually when the hospital is at its busiest and when the most help is needed. Therefore, it helps if you have a flexible attitude to your working day!
Volunteering in hospitals and clinics in Mexico will mean that your time on this project will be quite varied. As well as spending time with the doctors, nurses and paramedics, you will also be asked to help with other tasks also. This may include fundraising for the hospital, helping maintain the building (painting children’s wards) and assisting on outreach programmes.
Although all our projects in Mexico include a basic Spanish course, it is useful if you have at least some basic Spanish before joining the medical project in Mexico. If you have no Spanish or are not confident that your Spanish is quite up to scratch we would recommend combining programmes and joining a teaching or orphanage project first. Alternatively, we are happy to recommend a good one week Spanish course. Many on our medical projects spend time helping in orphanages or schools in the afternoons. This is a great way to give something back to the community that is teaching you so much.
Optional rural outreach programme: The Huichol Project
We also have opportunities to spend part of your time delivering medical care in rural communities caring for the indigenous Huichol. The Huichol community predate the Spanish conquistadors and are located in isolated communities high in the Sierra Madre Mountains. On this project, you will have the opportunity to work alongside the community doctor as well as learn more about traditional indigenous medical practices. This placement is very different to life in the cities or even towns. You will live amongst the Huichol community in the mountains in very basic living conditions. Part of this additional programme includes learning Wixarika, the dialect spoken by the Huichol.
The main base of our projects in Mexico is Guadalajara but we also operate projects in satellite locations in Puerto Vallarta. The accommodation depends on where you are based but it is either with local families or in group, hostel type, accommodation. We have home stay accommodation at our main base in Guadalajara and group accommodation in Puerto Vallarta. You will share this accommodation with others on our medical, media and volunteer projects.
The standard of the accommodation will be basic but good by local standards. It won’t be quite what you are used to at home so please don’t expect all mod cons, but it will be clean and tidy. Accommodation usually has hot and cold running water and electricity, but both occasionally fail so cold showers may take some getting used to! Hot water for showers is not always important for local people used to hot climates and cold showers can be quite refreshing after a hot day at work.
We will place you with other volunteers, which means that you are never far away from someone to socialise with in the evenings. All our project locations are within easy travelling distance, so volunteers from all the projects usually get together at a central meeting point to go travelling at weekends or just chill out by the beach.
Our staff will be on hand during office hours if you have any general queries and only a phone call away outside office hours if there’s something much more urgent.
Guadalajara is in the state of Jalisco, and home to Mariachi, The Mexican Sombrero and Tequila!
The town of Tequila is a popular weekend trip. Visit the factories and farms to see how the drink is made and maybe even try a drop – the good stuff is a lot smoother than the fire water you may have tried before!
Mexico sits on one of the most active fault lines in the world and the Jalisco countryside is dotted with volcanic domes. The more adventurous amongst you can trek the dormant volcano at Paricutin or the active and still smooking volcano at Colima!
Climate
Guadalajara usually experiences 322 days of sunshine a year and average temperatures between 68F (20C) and 85F (30C). Sometimes in the morning the humidity can make things a little uncomfortable, but this almost always eases off by the middle of the day. Rainfall is heavier in June and October, often, in these months, falling for one or two hours in the afternoon.
Money matters
You will have weekends free to travel and visit the sights so do take some spending money for food, accommodation and souvenirs.
Exactly how much to take is a matter of great debate but most who have travelled to Mexico recommend that you could probably get by allowing £75-£100 per weekend spending money. If you can, take a little extra just in case to allow for emergencies or those ‘must have’ souvenirs.
You cannot get Mexican currency outside of Mexico so it’s best to take your spending money as pre-loaded travel cards or cash. Credit and debit cards are also widely accepted in Mexico. You can usually draw money out on credit and debit cards from most ATM machines at banks in Mexico. This is probably the easiest way to access your spending money but shouldn’t be relied upon and bank charges for this can be high.
You can take cash as sterling, Euros or US dollars. All are easy to change in Mexico.
Arrival Information
You should arrange your flights to arrive at Guadalajara International Airport (GDL). A number of international carriers fly to Guadalajara, including Continental, American Airlines and Alaskan Airways. During the summer it’s also possible to find cheap deals from some UK airports direct to Guadalajara.
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Country Director – Ariel Duenas
Ariel Duenas is one of the most experienced overseas managers at Global Medical Projects. He has been arranging overseas placements in Mexico for over ten years.
A keen conservationist, Ariel was instrumental in setting up our turtle projects on the Pacific coast of Mexico and often visits the turtle camp with his family and faithful dog to help out at weekends, the ideal weekend getaway for those on our medical projects.
Ariel is passionate about Mexico and deeply committed to ensuring everyone who joins us in Mexico thoroughly enjoys the experience.
During his ten years arranging projects in Mexico, Ariel has built up and extensive network on contacts throughout Mexico which has enabled us to offer such unique and demanding programmes.
Accommodation on your project will be with either local families or in group accommodation. You exact accommodation depends on the number of volunteers and your project.
All accommodation is checked by our overseas staff and host families vetted. If you don’t feel comfortable in your accommodation, do please let us know as soon as possible and our overseas staff will do their best to make you more comfortable.
However, please keep in mind that you will be living in lesser economically developed countries so please don’t expect the same standards as home. Access to running water, electricity and other things that we take for granted WILL be limited but we’ll do our best to make sure you have the best that’s possible.
Our UK team is on hand to answer any questions that may pop up before you go. Please don’t hesitate to call or email to chat about anything that may be concerning you. You should especially not worry about asking any questions you may consider that we’ll think is stupid. The chances are that we probably asked exactly the same questions before we headed off on our travels!
You will receive pre-departure information that will tell you more about your accommodation and placement. This will arrive about 4 weeks before you depart. We can’t send you this immediately as exactly where you stay depends on the numbers that join us. However, by 4 weeks before you depart we will have a good idea of how many people are joining us and we’ll finalise the details of your accommodation.
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Arriving in a new country for the first time can be quite daunting so our overseas team will be there to meet you with a big sign and even bigger welcome!
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We think that it’s important to give you a thorough introduction to your new home for the next few months therefore, our overseas team will give you an induction and orientation covering everything you need to know from basic customs to where to change money.
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Our overseas team are not just there to meet you at the airport. They’re also not there to molly cuddle you either. Our overseas team is on hand during office hours to do anything they can to help you get the most out of your experience. You will also be given out of office contact details to be used in the event of emergencies, so please rest assured that in the unlikely event that anything goes wrong, our overseas team will be there to help in whatever way they can.
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We have worked carefully to develop links with medical staff at hospitals and clinics in all our partner countries. It takes time for our overseas teams to develop and maintain these links so that we can continue to offer you the best medical experience possible.
We think it’s fair that the hospital should receive something in return for supporting you and Global Medical Projects so part of the project cost includes a donation to your host hospital.
During your time with us we will make sure that your food is provided. Please note that sometimes this will be provided by your host family and sometimes by your host organisation. Where this is the case it is extremely likely that this food will be local food. Most of the time this will not quite be what we’re used to and can take some time to get used to. Rest assured it will be hygienically prepared and nutritious but it will be difficult for them to prepare foods which you are used to at home.
We’re sure that for most of you, eating the local food is part of the experience. If you don’t like the food, we urge you to try to persevere. Ultimately, if you are just not enjoying the experience we will do our best to make alternative arrangements. Please keep in mind however, that the availability of western foods maybe extremely limited and/or expensive so it may not always be possible to change things that much!
Most people elect to go travelling at weekends, so food isn’t always available at this time, particularly in those locations where we have our own accommodation as we often give the cooks the weekend off.
We’re not a travel company, and as such we do not arrange flights. However, we can help you to make the necessary arrangements and suggest people to speak to.
Additionally, many people join us as part of a world trip so it’s often easier for you to arrange your travel as part of a round the world ticket.
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like help arranging your flights.
As many people join us as part of a world trip, we do not include insurance as part of the projects. However, we are happy to introduce good companies that can provide you with excellent and affordable cover.
You will need additional spending money for travel to work, weekend excursions and gifts. Exactly how much to take is a matter of great debate but contact us and we’ll be happy to give you a rough guideline on how much you will need.
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Many of the destinations require you to purchase a visa. We can arrange the visas for you but this will be an additional cost of up to £100.
Most of our countries will require you to be inoculated against diseases that have been eradicated at home. We can advise on which inoculations you will need but will encourage you to visit your doctor or a local travel clinic where they will discuss the best vaccinations for you.
Some of these vaccinations will incur costs so budget accordingly.
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We’re happy to provide food when you are on a projects with us or staying in our accommodation but when travelling you will need to buy your own food. In most countries good local food is incredibly cheap. Western food is a luxury and is priced accordingly!
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Suitable for:
Pre-university students
(min age 17 years old)
Medical students
Elective students
Medical professionals
Previous medical experience is not necessary but the projects are tailored to your interests and experience. An elective placement will be very different to a Pre-university project. We will ask for a CV and a statement of objectives when you join us so that we can match the project to your experience and aims.
Start Dates
Every Friday
Please aim to arrive on a Thursday afternoon or Friday morning so that your induction can be conducted on Friday. You can arrive on other days by appointment but additional fees may apply. Please avoid arriving on a weekend. Accommodation spaces throughout the year are limited so reserve your space now.
Contact us to chat about which programme would be best for you.
Discounts
We’re highly seasonal and our summer projects are very popular. This does mean that we have lots of capacity in our accommodation during our quieter times. Therefore, we offer discounts for those joining us during our quiet periods.
Like us on facebook to be kept informed when we offer these discounted projects.
