• Good Health And Well-Being

Local Medical & Healthcare Assistant

location
2 - 24 weeks  ·  Age 16 - 50+
rating  Fantastic 4.5  · 
  Verified by Volunteer World
  Excellent response rate

Highlights

  • Get the opportunity to explore different medical specializations, from pediatrics and maternity to mental health and surgery.
  • Earn international volunteering experience by assisting doctors and nurses in treating patients in Ghana.
  • Spend a few weeks in Ghana and immerse in its rich culture and history.
  • Learn skills and techniques from seasoned doctors and nurses.
  • Add to your CV or resume with this great experience

Especially good for

Age 16+
Singles
Couples
Families
Groups
50+

About the program

Observe local professionals and perform routine tasks in various departments as you work directly with doctors & nurses to heal patients in & around cities in Ghana.

Medical care is a necessity of human rights and these hospitals and clinics that we partner with strive to provide the best care. Due to this, they are very welcoming of anyone who is willing to help.

Volunteers will be placed with doctors and nurses in actual care facilities in Ghana. They will ...

About the program

Medical care is a necessity of human rights and these hospitals and clinics that we partner with strive to provide the best care. Due to this, they are very welcoming of anyone who is willing to help.

Volunteers will be placed with doctors and nurses in actual care facilities in Ghana. They will increase their medical knowledge while actively participating in the daily operations of hospitals and medical centres.

Volunteers will provide all due assistance to doctors, nurses and the rest of the healthcare staff in hospitals and clinics in Ghana. Certified doctors and nurses will provide the daily treatment of illness while medical and nursing students are placed as assistants. There are many different departments available including maternity, pediatrics, mental health, surgery, pharmacy, accident and emergency, physical therapy, etc. This is a great opportunity to learn about different techniques from other countries and to improve your own knowledge.

This volunteer experience is a wonderful opportunity for learning and honing skills. You will learn what it is like to work in the daily operations of the hospital as well as the importance of working with doctors and nurses. OGVO medical / nursing programs are found all around cities in Ghana. Volunteer nurses will have the opportunity to be a part of medical outreach work such as visiting local orphanages or traveling to remote villages to provide medical assistance

Your level of involvement at the project is dictated by medical experience, duration of program and willingness to get involved. The medical staffs are accountable for you whilst you’re under their supervision, so it is completely up to them if you are permitted and want to get involved in hands-on procedures. Whilst previous OGVO volunteers have been given the chance to administer IV injections, dress wounds, taking blood pressure etc, we can never guarantee or promote hands-on involvement for participants regardless of their medical experience or background.

Generally speaking, those with little or no medical experience assume a largely observational role. If you are studying medically related degree, then you should have more opportunity to undertake some more basic hands-on involvement. However, to reiterate we can never guarantee or endorse hands-on experience should you choose to get hands-on, as the decision ultimately lies with the medical staff.

Can I use this program as part of a college or university placement? 

It is certainly possible to use one of OGVO’s programs as part of your university or college placement. Project staff can sign off any paperwork required by your course tutors. OGVO regularly receives medical, childcare, psychology and nursing placement students at our projects across Ghana and we have ties with some of the leading universities.

If you’re a course tutor and would like further information about how one of OGVO’s programs could meet the placement requirements for your degree course then please contact us directly.


Benefits as a Volunteer/Intern Abroad          

        Increase Your Employment Opportunities
    • Such global working and living experiences help you build up your resume and stand out from the rest. Potential employers admire the tenacity it takes for someone to leave their comfort zone and challenge themselves.
    • International volunteer experience indicates valuable personal qualities. It shows that you are a responsible global citizen with a helping heart.
    • Knowledge of a second language or a foreign culture can dramatically increase exciting global employment opportunities. It is an excellent way of developing a competitive edge in the global employment market.
       Develop Global Networks
    • Our programs provide you a good opportunity to cultivate long lasting friendships. These networks will contribute to both your personal life and your professional life.
       Increase Your Cultural Intelligence
    • Open yourself to a transformative experience as you immerse yourself in a foreign culture first hand. Expand your world-view, and challenge your personal beliefs. Life’s too short to live in a bubble.
       Access Great Learning Opportunities
    • International volunteer/intern programs provide valuable on-the-job learning opportunities.
    • Many participants have taken our programs to earn university credits towards their degree, to take a co-op term, or to earn volunteer hours for medical school applications and graduate school application.
    • It helps you to enhance your language skills. The most effective way to learn a new language is to speak it in day-to-day life. It is much more rewarding than just learning it in a classroom.
       Travel and Have Fun
    • International volunteer travel is the best way to see the world as it gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself right into the local culture. What is the point of seeing the world in hotels when you can actually be a part of the local society? You will be living and working with the local people and other international volunteers.
    • Endless travel opportunities are excellent ways of exploring more places in the country. Whether you like to join a wildlife/scenery tour or a cultural tour, we can provide you flexible work schedule and free travel advice to facilitate travel arrangement.

Location

Ghana is a peaceful and welcoming country; Ghana satisfies one's appetite for both modern and traditional life. Its wide valleys, low-lying coastal plains, and thick rainforests resound with the beat of traditional rituals, while her cities glow and vibrate with all the bustle of the modern world. The Ghanaians are the friendliest people in West Africa: warm, proud yet humble with a contagious and calming sense of funniness.


Ghana is hot. It is always hot. What’s more, it's always humid. Humidity usually lingers between 95 and 100 percent. The rainy season lasts from mid-June to mid-November - sometimes. The rain provides a little respite from the intense heat, but temperatures will still be in the mid-80s Fahrenheit. The south of the country experiences the heaviest rainfall during September.

Typical day

On any given day, you will work shifts alongside your supervisors. These shifts typically take the following form:

  • Morning: 8am - 2pm
  • Afternoon: 2pm - 8pm
  • Night: 8pm - 8am

Each shift starts with rounds as you follow the consulting doctor and learn about each patient's case and course of ...

Typical day

On any given day, you will work shifts alongside your supervisors. These shifts typically take the following form:

  • Morning: 8am - 2pm
  • Afternoon: 2pm - 8pm
  • Night: 8pm - 8am

Each shift starts with rounds as you follow the consulting doctor and learn about each patient's case and course of treatment. Use this opportunity to ask plenty of questions. After rounds, you’ll assist nurses with patient care. You can watch them administer medication and treatment, and help to update patient files. Nurses always appreciate help in general patient care as well such as feeding, bathing, and bed changing.

Please note that hospitals in Ghana are often busiest in the mornings. Don’t be late for the morning shift if you'd like to witness the bulk of the day's work!

Afternoons are a great opportunity to get to know the staff and patients better.

Two days per week, you’ll join one of our community outreaches to assist with doing health checks.

During the hours you aren’t working, you’ll have free time to explore Ghana’s colorful culture and natural beauty with your fellow interns.

Since you will be living with a local host family, breakfast or dinners offer great opportunities to get to know them better and fully immerse yourself in their way of life.

Free-time activities

During weekends Volunteers/Interns have the opportunity to visit all that Ghana has to offer. Weekend trips available include visits to Mole National Park in the Northern Region of Ghana. This National Park offers a great Safari-like experience and is one of the biggest Elephant Sanctuaries in ...

Free-time activities

During weekends Volunteers/Interns have the opportunity to visit all that Ghana has to offer. Weekend trips available include visits to Mole National Park in the Northern Region of Ghana. This National Park offers a great Safari-like experience and is one of the biggest Elephant Sanctuaries in Africa with the chance to spot Lions, Leopards & Antelopes in their natural habitat.
Volunteers can also take a trip to Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana to relax in the beautiful beaches and see the famous Cape Coast castle, the Kakum Canopy walkway and Elmina castle, where slave trade begun.

NOTE: We do provide tours including weekend trips, therefore you can add a tour before or after your volunteer program for an additional cost. We can perform quality tours and can offer discounts to volunteers.

Requirements

Requirements

Minimum Age: 16 years

In order to join the program you need to be at least 16 years old on the program start date.

Language Skills

You need to speak English (basic level)

Education Requirements

at High School / University /College etc. level

Required Documents

No

Nationality Restrictions

No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.

Other Skills

No previous experience is required

Time Commitment

Your helping hand will be required on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 08:00 - 17:00

What's Included

What's Included

Services by Our Generation Voluntary Organization

What's included?

Airport pick-up and transportation from Accra to your project sites - Three times daily local dishes - Introduction to host family and program - Accommodation - Placement and supervision in program - 24/7 Hotline for support - Recommendation Letter / Certificate - In country introduction/orientation - Regular Culture/Recreational Activities (Personal spending not included)

Airport Pickup at Kotoka International Airport

You will be met upon arrival and you will be transfer to your project site, it's about 4 -5 hours drive from the airport, Accra.

Accommodation

All accommodation with a Ghana home-stay family is included. Rooms are private (you can share with other volunteers but the price will remain the same) and have all the basic furnishings you could expect, including running water, electricity & clean bathrooms. The home-stay families have been specially chosen by OGVO and have hosted many volunteers over the course of several years. Our home-stay families form some of the most memorable parts of Volunteer Programs and provide amazing insight.....

Food & Beverages

Three meals a day are provided by the home-stay families and consist mainly of traditional Ghanaian meals with some flexibility for home comforts when available. If you have special eating needs, you can indicate that while applying. Even though special eating needs are not something we can guarantee, we will do our best to meet your needs.

Internet Access

Good access at the project site

What's NOT included?

What's NOT included?

Flight Tickets

The nearest airport is Kotoka International Airport (ACC) in Accra. We assist you to find cheap flights to Ghana. FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS

Travel Insurance

Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - a travel insurance for Ghana provides security and is a plus to have. GET A QUOTE

Vaccines

If you are intending to volunteer in Ghana you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Ghana. VACCINE CHECKER

Details on arrival

This program is available all year round, so volunteers or interns can arrive any day of the week or any month of the year with advance notice!

Availability
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Program fees

2 weeks (min. stay) 567€
3 weeks 666€
4 weeks 765€
5 weeks 865€
7 weeks 1,064€
9 weeks 1,263€
24 weeks (max. stay) 2,754€
Average fees 199€/week

Program fees

199€ per week 2 - 24 weeks Age 16 - 50+

Payment methods

Visa Master Card Maestro American Express PayPal

NO CREDIT CARD FEES

Duration

2 - 24 weeks

Deposit

The deposit is simply to reserve your volunteer placement. Payments are handled by PayPal, our trusted global payment provider. If you don't have a PayPal account, you can also pay using a credit card.

Final Payment

Your final payment will be agreed with Our Generation Voluntary Organization during the application process. Common solutions are either via bank transfer or a cash payment at the project site.

Meet your organization

Our Generation Voluntary Organization

Fantastic 4.5 rating (44 reviews)

Non-profit - founded in 2004

Verified by Volunteer World

  Excellent response rate

Coordinated by

Frank

Spoken languages: English

About the project

Our Generation Voluntary Organization (OGVO) works to foster cross-cultural understanding through travel and volunteer work experiences in Ghana, Africa.

Meet your organization

The Our Generation Voluntary Organization (OGVO) was founded in 2004 in order to enable young people to use their leisure time for international volunteering, interns, cultural exchange programs etc. in Ghana. Our Generation Voluntary Organization is a non-profit and non-governmental African Organisation. Our volunteer programs/projects are suitable for anyone on a Gap Year, Career Break or for anyone looking to do a short term volunteer program.

Our Generation Voluntary Organisation provides safe, unique, flexible, meaningful and extremely affordable volunteer programs and non-paid internships work-experience in Ghana. We have a variety of programs on offer at affordable prices. Our projects are designed to cater to the needs of people from all backgrounds. 

Since its inception in 2004, OGVO has delivered great experiences to thousands of volunteers across the ten regions of Ghana. Our Medical and Healthcare internships are much admired amongst the medical students, and this is where medics get hands-on knowledge into complex medical procedures. Be it for college credits or an internship or volunteer certificate or even a service learning trip - schoolies, gapers and numerous high school students enroll for our programs throughout the year.

Our Generation Voluntary Organisation's volunteer and intern programs are available in both urban and rural areas. OGVO has flexible start dates and durations that runs from 1 week to 6 months depending on the program of your choice. Extensions can be arranged with advanced notice. You can arrive any day of the year with advanced notice as well. During this time, you will be staying in the home of a local Ghanaian family. Our host families are carefully screened, socially respected and experienced with hosting international volunteers.  Accommodation is simple but clean and includes 3 meals a day of local cuisine. Typically, volunteers eat breakfast and dinner at the host family and have lunch at their project.  

OGVO believes that home stays offer you the best experience during your time in Ghana by allowing you to save money, while providing you with an easy way to integrate into Ghanaian culture. In most cases, you will share a room with volunteers (of same gender). Your weekends are free to explore some of the amazing sights that Ghana has to offer. Volunteers regularly travel together and our team will help you plan weekend trips. Our staff visits volunteers regularly and always happy to help our volunteers in any way needed.

At Our Generation Voluntary Organisation  our programs are designed to help the local communities at the same time of providing a valuable learning and cultural experience to our volunteers and interns. We invite you to volunteer or intern in Ghana with us, and have the experience of your lifetime!

As a volunteer or intern in Ghana you will have the opportunity to work in number of different capacities including Teaching English & other subjects to kids, Medical & healthcare internships, Dental electives,Veterinary, and many more!

44 reviews · rating4.5

Overall very pleasant experience working with OGVO. Frank, our program coordinator, was very helpful and made sure that we had a rewarding experience while we were in Ghana. I spent four weeks volunteering at Aniniwah Medical Center where I was exposed to many areas of health care from ...
My experience in Kumasi was instrumental in my successful application to medical school in Australia. Based in a small, hands-on clinic in Kumasi, I was actively learning from day one. It was hot, humid and the small waiting room was full of prenatal women, patiently waiting their turn with the ...
Alexander rating4.4

2016 at Local Medical & Healthcare Assistant

As a westerner coming to Africa for the first time, Ghana has provided an excellent introductory experience to the continent. While the spirit of Africa is certainly alive and well here, Ghana's people are welcoming, and give off a certain friendliness and hospitality that is not to be found in ...
I chose this program because I was immediately taken by the personalized responses I received from the program director. I had contacted multiple organizations and felt like a little fish in a big pond. Also, most of the larger organizations I contacted were outside of Ghana and I really wanted a ...
I learned a lot and was very impressed with all the doctors. Dr. Addison, Dr. Mawuse, and Dr. York were particularly excellent, and please thank them for letting us follow them around! Being with a host family is a wonderful experience. Thank you to everyone for helping us. Frank & OGVO – ...
Alex Unknown rating5

2013 at Local Medical & Healthcare Assistant

Volunteering as a premedical student with OGVO was an extremely worthwhile and enlightening experience. As an inexperienced Westerner, the tasks and duties for which I was responsible were challenging, educational and ultimately very rewarding. I learned a huge amount not just about the science ...

Location

Africa > Western Africa > Ghana > Kumasi

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Contact Frank
  Excellent response rate
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