Elective Africa provides a nursing program with an emphasis on the unique healthcare delivery in developing countries where nurses have more care-provider time to patient-care time than any other medical professional

This placement is suited for nursing students seeking an opportunity to apply theory to practice under supervision. Our program, based in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and is suited to meet nursing elective, clinical preceptorship, independent study or internships abroad requirements. Check out our blogs and testimonials for the different learning experiences by our past students.

The program integrates various learning components such as:

• Hospital volunteering shadowing nurses and doctors
• Students encouraged to participate in group discussions, case presentation and teach?in conferences
• Community volunteer work

Our nursing program is designed for students in nursing programs at accredited colleges and universities.

The program is ideal for nursing students seeking any of the following:

• A unique way to meet a nursing program clinical elective requirement
• An independent study project abroad
• Opportunity to integrate various theoretical concepts and knowledge in a clinical setting with substantial hands?on experience
• Opportunity to observe and practice delivery of nursing care based upon the goals of health restoration, maintenance and promotion
• A means to volunteer in underserved communities in both hospital settings and community based projects
• Experience healthcare in a developing world setting

Among other duties our nursing program participants are expected to; 

• Assist in the various bedside procedures such as IV cannulation and fluid administration; wound management; giving medication already prescribed by doctors through various administration routes and taking care of patients general comfort
• Those attached in the obstetrics department will assist with labour and delivery; among other nursing procedures
• Provide support in history taking, interviewing, arriving at diagnosis and creating a nursing plan including its execution by working under the supervision of qualified doctors and nurses
• Support health education to the patient and family

A nursing placement in our hospitals or community health facilities is a good opportunity to gain hands on experience and also learn how healthcare is provided in a different setting in a developing country.

Because hospitals and clinics are often understaffed, students are likely to assist in a variety of duties. As any nurse in a developing country would attest – the significant healthcare demand coupled with extremely limited resources, particularly in rural areas, requires nurses to learn and perform tasks beyond what is expected of traditional nursing in developed countries. In larger hospitals, particularly teaching hospitals, the demands upon their times and skills are still highly stretched due to the high patient load. Working alongside such highly stretched medical professionals offers a very rich learning experience for student nurses.

While we will work with you to assist you in designing your own program, our standard nursing elective provides nursing students at the tail end of their nursing studies with a 4 week clinical preceptorship to practice medicine in a supervised medical setting and in regularly scheduled sessions, usually in government community health facilities.

Depending on your need, our program can meet several clinical rotation requirements such as Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics, Emergency Care, Ob/Gyn, among others

We also organise for the students safari add ons at the end of the program to parks in either Kenya or Tanzania, including a hike to Mt. Kilimanjaro. See the safari link at http://electiveafrica.com/safari