Radiology and Rad Tech Internships Abroad

You learn under supervision. Pre-rad tech students mainly shadow technologists and radiologists and may help with simple, non-invasive tasks where the department allows. Do not expect to operate imaging equipment or take X-rays yourself.

Outside the hospital you attend lectures and simulations, help at community clinics and teach health lessons in schools.

IMA’s program pages list X-ray, CT and MRI. What you see depends on the equipment in service at the hospital, the cases that day and your level of training.

You list your interests when you enroll, and your department is confirmed in your acceptance email.

Most days run from about 8 AM to 4 PM, with six to eight hours at your placement. Afternoons can bring a lecture, a community clinic or a hygiene lesson.

Weekends are open for treks or extra hospital time. Here is a sample program schedule for Mombasa.

From two weeks up to 12, year-round. Programs start every Saturday.

Most interns stay four to six weeks, and IMA suggests at least two.

You receive a certificate of completion, and you can request a letter of recommendation. Your hours are logged by role and shift and validated by IMA’s U.S.-based Medical Director.

Academic credit is your school’s decision. Many students have earned it, and IMA supplies confirmation of hours, evaluation letters and an outline of your duties. Settle the approval before you enroll.

That is up to each program. Radiography programs set their own admission rules, including whether they want observation hours and who must sign them.

Check the rules for each school on your list, including whether hours abroad count. Treat this program as one part of your experience, alongside any observation at home.

Not before you apply to a program. Registered technologists earn an associate degree or higher from an accredited program and pass a national certification exam, as the ASRT explains.

Clinical training is built into those programs. For radiography, ARRT publishes the didactic and clinical competency requirements that students complete.

Radiographers work with X-ray equipment, and most technologists enter the field that way, according to ARRT. An internship abroad is one way to see the work before you commit to a program.

No. Radiologists are physicians, and IMA’s guide to becoming a radiologist sets out their path.

After medical school comes a clinical base year (PGY-1), then a four-year radiology residency. Residents are paid a trainee salary.

This program is for students and technologists who want to see a hospital imaging department. Pre-med students can compare IMA’s pre-med internship.

IMA’s placements are all overseas, and IMA does not run radiology internships in the United States. If you are enrolled in a radiography program, start there: clinical training is part of every ARRT-approved program.

Looking for an X-ray tech internship before you enroll? Try hospital imaging departments, outpatient imaging centers and your college career center. Ask each site whether a supervisor can sign your hours.

Neither. These are not paid positions, and you pay a program fee to attend. Need-based and merit-based scholarships can cover part of it.

Paid radiology internships are hospital jobs, listed on hospital career pages and job boards. Read each posting’s eligibility rules before you apply.

Two weeks in Mombasa costs $3,995, and eight weeks costs $7,895. A separate $995 program deposit applies to every program.

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

• Hospital placement and clinical mentorship
• Orientation, the Global Health Lecture Series and clinical simulations
• Shared housing in a gated residence with 24/7 security, three meals a day and 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 graduate school admissions support

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

Yes. IMA offers need-based and merit-based scholarships. 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 on sites such as GoFundMe and FundMyTravel. Some interns also use financing through Uplift.

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. The Masai Mara safari starts at $3,595.

Most purchases in Kenya are in cash. Bring newer U.S. bills from 2009 or later, because older ones get a lower exchange rate.

IMA reports a 100% safety rating, 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 and travel only in private program vehicles. Staff are on call around the clock.

Orientation covers health and safety before your first day. Post-exposure prophylaxis is available at no cost, and families have a 24/7 U.S. contact.

Radiation safety is part of every technologist’s training, as the ASRT notes. Interns are still learning, so you do not operate equipment or make exposures.

Orientation covers the hospital’s safety protocols. In the department, follow the staff’s instructions on where to stand during an exam. If you have a health question about radiation, ask your own clinician and your Program Mentor before you travel.

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.

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

Only in Mombasa, Kenya. This program has one destination, and IMA does not run radiology internships in Europe, Asia or the United States.

Mombasa is IMA’s largest and longest-running program, and IMA recommends it for most college students. It runs in English and year-round, so it fits most calendars.

Whichever program you consider, ask five questions. What will you do, and who supervises you? What teaching is included, what is the full cost and who helps if something goes wrong?

This page answers each one for IMA.

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

You can read accounts from interns and parents on the alumni testimonials page. Every intern is covered by $1,000,000 in travel medical insurance.