Pre-Med Internships Abroad

You observe and learn under supervision. Interns shadow physicians on ward rounds, in consultations and in the operating room, and they rotate to a new department each week. Outside the hospital you attend global health lectures and clinical simulations and help run community clinics and hygiene lessons in schools. Under the AAMC guidelines, you do not diagnose, prescribe or perform procedures.

Most days run from about 8 AM to 4 PM in the hospital, six to eight hours in your assigned department. Mornings often start with rounds and physician-led teaching. Afternoons can bring more time on the wards, a mobile clinic or a hygiene education session.

After clinical hours you have free time at the residence or in town. You can ask your Program Mentor for one night shift a week, and weekends are open for treks, extra hospital time or outreach. Here is a sample program schedule for East Africa.

Most interns start in the emergency department and move to maternity next. Stays longer than two weeks open other departments, including internal medicine, pediatrics, general surgery, orthopedics, cardiology, anesthesiology, epidemiology and tropical medicine, where the site offers them. You list your preferred departments on your enrollment form.

In Mombasa, most interns train at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital, a 750-bed public hospital with an emergency ward, an ICU and a maternity theater. In Cusco, the main site is Hospital Nacional Adolfo Guevara Velasco, a 250-bed teaching and referral hospital with internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN and geriatrics.

From two weeks up to 12 in Kenya, which runs year-round. Cusco runs fixed summer and winter sessions of two to four weeks. Most students stay four to six weeks: two weeks covers the emergency department and maternity, and four or more gives you time in several departments. Choose your full length before you go, because extensions after arrival are rarely possible.

You receive a certificate of completion and a letter of recommendation from IMA. Academic credit is a separate decision that belongs to your university. Many interns earn it through general internship credit or an independent study course, and IMA holds affiliation agreements with many universities. IMA supplies syllabi, learning objectives, evaluations and proof of hours for your school’s review. Settle the approval before you enroll.

Yes, as documented shadowing hours and service. Your record lists dates, departments and hours, signed by your supervising physician and validated by IMA’s U.S. Medical Director. Medical schools decide for themselves how to classify experience. Most of your hospital time is physician shadowing and the community clinics are service, so enter them that way in the AMCAS Work and Activities section.

Most pre-med students combine clinical experience, service and, for some, research. Clinical internships and shadowing programs like this one put you in a hospital, and IMA interns can add research experience through ongoing research projects led by local medical teams. Full-time research internships and summer research programs put you in a lab. Hospital volunteering, medical scribe and EMT jobs build clinical hours near home, and scribe and EMT roles are paid. IMA’s guides to types of internships for pre-med students and 10 ways to get clinical experience walk through each route.

IMA’s placements are all overseas. For internships near you, whether in New York, California or anywhere else, start with your college’s pre-health advising office and career center, then contact local hospitals’ volunteer offices and university research labs. Many students do both: clinical work at home during the year and an internship abroad over the summer.

Shadowing means following one physician for a set number of hours. A pre-med internship is a full program built around hospital time.

In this one you rotate through a new department each week, working alongside physicians under supervision, with an orientation, lectures, simulation sessions, a mentor and signed hour logs.

Choose Kenya for the widest dates and no language requirement: Mombasa runs year-round in English for 2 to 12 weeks. Choose Peru if you have two years of Spanish and want fixed sessions of two to four weeks in Cusco.

Two weeks costs $3,995 at either site.

No, these are not paid positions. You pay a program fee to attend. Two weeks costs $3,995 in both Mombasa and Cusco. Eight weeks in Mombasa costs $7,895, and Cusco sessions run up to four weeks, at $5,995. A separate $995 program deposit applies to every program.

If you are looking for paid work, IMA’s guide on how to find paid medical internships covers where to look.

Your placement, teaching, housing, meals, transport and insurance:

• Hospital or clinic placement, structured rotations and clinical mentorship
• Physician-led orientation, the Global Health Lecture Series and clinical simulation sessions
• Shared housing in a gated residence with 24/7 security, three meals a day and unlimited Wi-Fi
• Airport transfers and private daily transport to your placement
• Travel medical insurance with $1,000,000 in coverage
• 24/7 in-country and U.S.-based support
• Weekly community outreach and local cultural outings
• Alumni admissions support after the program

It does not cover international airfare, vaccinations, visa costs, the optional laundry service or personal spending. IMA-branded scrubs are required and bought separately. The $995 program deposit is additional.

Yes, though IMA does not advertise fully funded places. It offers a limited number of need-based and merit-based scholarships, so apply early. IMA offers flexible, interest-free payment plans, and Program Mentors give specific guidance on the plans available for your program dates.

IMA’s Funding Guide covers outside scholarships, grants and fundraising, and many past interns have raised part or all of their costs. Some interns also use financing through Uplift. A 529 college savings plan can be used only if you are earning academic credit for the program.

Plan on $50 to $100 a week. Meals, housing and program transport are covered, so spending money goes on meals out, souvenirs and weekend activities. Optional treks cost extra: in Kenya, the Masai Mara safari starts at $3,595 and the Watamu marine park trip at $1,250.

Most purchases in Kenya are in cash. Bring newer U.S. bills from 2009 or later, because older ones get a lower exchange rate, and staff will show you the nearby ATMs.

IMA reports a 100% safety record, with no incidents involving interns or staff in any of its programs. The details are on the program safety and security page.

You live in a gated residence with 24/7 security, travel only in private program vehicles and have staff on call around the clock. A physician-led orientation covers health and safety before your first shift, post-exposure prophylaxis is available at no cost and families have a 24/7 U.S. contact.

In a shared IMA program residence near your hospital. Residences sit in gated communities with 24/7 security staff. Rooms hold two or three interns, and common areas include Wi-Fi, a kitchen, a dining area and a lounge, with a pool in Mombasa.

An in-house chef cooks three meals a day and housekeeping staff look after the house. In Kenya, an optional laundry service costs $155 for the first two weeks and $55 for each extra week.

Look at five things: what you can do, who supervises you, what teaching is included, the full cost and who helps if something goes wrong. A good program answers all five before you pay anything.

Here are IMA’s answers. Your role is observation under the AAMC guidelines. Licensed clinicians and a Program Mentor supervise you. Lectures and simulation sessions run every week. Fees and the deposit are published for every location. Staff are on call 24/7.

As for which country is best, IMA recommends Mombasa, Kenya for most college students. It is IMA’s largest and longest-running program, it runs entirely in English and you can rotate through surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN and emergency medicine. Cusco, Peru suits students with at least two years of Spanish who want primary care, women’s health and community health.

Yes, and you can check the specifics yourself. International Medical Aid Foundation is a federally registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the United States, based at 1629 K Street NW in Washington, DC. It launched in 2012 and its alumni come from more than 1,250 universities.

IMA has more than 400 alumni reviews on GoAbroad, and you can read accounts from interns and their parents on the alumni testimonials page. Every intern is covered by $1,000,000 in travel medical insurance, and program staff complete training from The Forum on Education Abroad.