Gain Medical Experience In
A Busy Government Hospital

Background to the medical programme

The Sri Lankan medicine system dates back thousands of years and has a rich history stemming from their extensive kingdoms. It is widely believed that the concept of a hospital was actually introduced by the Sri Lankans, with their kings demanding to have their own hospital homes built with their own practitioners.

The healthcare system in Sri Lanka is universal to all local citizens, offering both traditional Ayurvedic and modern healthcare for free across government hospitals - a similar system to what we experience in the United Kingdom. Many citizens in Sri Lanka will choose to follow Ayurvedic medicine practices for certain illnesses or accidents and western medicine for others.

The ancient practice of Ayurveda is deeply rooted in the Sri Lankan medical system. It is known as being one of the oldest healing sciences around the world, originating in India over 3000 years ago. Using holistic and natural health practices, Ayurveda places great emphasis on prevention and encourages the maintenance of health through close attention to balance in one’s life, right thinking, diet, lifestyle and the use of herbs.

The majority of hospitals do follow a more "western medicine" approach, using procedures and medications that are seen worldwide. As you spend time across the multiple medical settings, you will see that services are still fairly basic and outdated. Along with this, there are often long waiting lists with a very limited capacity, low staffing numbers and scarce resources. Despite this, Sri Lanka does have a higher life expectancy and lower infant death rate when compared to the neighbouring countries.

Where will I be volunteering?

We have partnered with several government hospitals in the local area to ensure you get the best experience on your elective placement. The hospital(s) you will be placed at will be dictated by the departments and specialities you have requested and space / logistics at the time. All transport to and from the hospital is provided by the local team by car / bus and is included as part of the programme fee.

Balapitiya Base Government Hospital - Balapitiya Base Hospital is just a short 15 minute drive from the volunteer accommodation. This government funded hospital is the leading and largest base hospital in the whole of the Southern Province and provides services to over one third of the population living in the Galle district (220,000+). The large hospital currently has over 500 stations, with 20 doctors, 2 surgeons and over 190 nurses. During an average month, the hospital had over 4,100 inpatients, just under 14,000 outpatients, carried out 1,200 surgeries and successfully delivered over 215 babies.

We can place participants in the following departments: General Medicine, Paediatrics, Obstetrics, Gynaecology, Antenatal, Postnatal, Labour Room, Surgery, Emergency Treatment Unit and Outpatients.

Elpitiya Base Government Hospital - Although slightly smaller than Balapitiya, this busy government hospital is located close to the express road to Colombo, making it a first point of call for emergencies. The hospital provides services to just under 70,000 people living in the area, but even more from adjacent districts due to the exceptional service it provides. The hospital is a 35 minute drive from the volunteer accommodation.

The hospital boasts 338 beds, to which patients are looked after by 16 specialist doctors, 180 nurses and 44 medical officers. During an average month, the hospital had over 3,900 admissions, 11,000 outpatients, 1,000 surgeries and successfully delivered 275 babies.

Within Elpitiya, we can place participants in the following departments: General Medicine, Paediatrics, Obstetrics, Gynaecology, Labour Room, Postnatal, Antenatal, A&E, Emergency Treatment Unit, Surgery, Outpatient Unit, Eye and Psychiatry.

Karapitiya Teaching Hospital - During busier times or for students looking for a particular speciality that is not possible in the above two hospitals, you may be placed in Karapitiya Teaching Hospital. The hospital is located close to Galle and the journey takes around 45 minutes.

The hospital serves as the primary tertiary health centre for the Southern Province and nearby regions, offering specialised services except for maternal treatment. The hospital plays a significant role in medical education and provides training facilities to approximately 1,700 local undergraduate medical, nursing and physiotherapy students every year.

The following departments are available: General Medicine, Paediatrics, Emergency Treatment Unit, Outpatients Department, Surgery and Psychiatric.

Village Ayurveda Government Treatment Centre - All volunteers will get the exciting chance to learn more about the traditional Ayurvedic medicine (also called Ayurveda) by spending one day at the special local clinic. Ayurvedic medicine is one of the world’s oldest medical systems (dating back over 3000 years) and promotes the use of herbal compounds, special diets and other unique health practices. During your time here, you will get to observe how patients are treated, learn all about it’s history, what it’s role is within the healthcare system in Sri Lanka and have the chance to ask any questions to the specialist.

Student elective placements

Our medical programmes are primarily aimed at university students who are looking to undertake their elective placement abroad. The following elective placements are available for Sri Lanka: medical, midwifery, nursing and physiotherapy.

We host many students every year and have built up strong relationships with most universities around the United Kingdom and Ireland who actively recommend us. We also host students from around the world.

Once you have signed up to the programme, you will gain access to your personal My Trip account. Within here you can specify which clinical elective you wish to undertake along with preference on departments. The TMR Sri Lanka team will then have everything planned and organised for your unique rotation when you arrive.

The Sri Lankan team and international team based in the UK can help complete any paperwork required, provide risk assessments and sign off on hours to ensure the placement complies with your university requirements.

What is my role?

Your role on the medical programme will be largely observational, however, you may be assigned some very basic hands-on involvement. This could include taking blood pressure and sugar levels, dressing wounds, taking temperatures etc. and will be undertaken under the supervision of a medical professional. Please note, we cannot guarantee any level of hands on involvement and it is at the sole discretion of your local supervisor.

During your time in Sri Lanka, you will discover new perspectives and cultural attitudes towards medicine, learn how to collaborate with people from a different culture and develop a range of new skills.

You will gain hands on training, supervised by experienced English-speaking medical experts. This is your chance to vastly increase your own knowledge by being fully involved in the day-to-day activities of the hospital, observing the doctors and nurses and helping out in simple but practical ways.

You will encounter different scenarios that are not so common back at home, including dengue fever, rabies, snake bites and motorcycle accidents.

You will have the opportunity to be placed across several departments so that you can receive a broad overview (a full list can be found above). Our local team will do their best to match any specific requirements, but this cannot always be guaranteed. We recommend a mixed timetable in order to maximise your experience.

What will a typical day look like?

Your varied role and the ever-changing scenarios that come with a busy hospital will mean no two days are the same. You will generally be at the hospital from Monday to Friday between 8am and 12pm, but depending on your course requirements this can be increased if required. Throughout your time in the hospital there may be major surgeries or labours occurring and you will have the chance to stay longer and observe.

At least once per week, you will spend the morning at the Village Ayurveda Government Treatment Centre to learn all about this local medicine practice.

Where will I be staying?

We cannot think of anywhere better to stay when volunteering in Sri Lanka! Our volunteer accommodation is just a stones throw away (10 second walk) from a quiet golden sand beach that is lined with palm trees – paradise! It’s the perfect place to come and relax each evening and witness some incredible sunsets. Not only this, but you can snorkel in the crystal clear waters that have an abundance of colourful fish swimming around the coral reef and you may even see a sea turtle swim by!

The touristy backpacker town of Hikkaduwa is just a 10 minute tuk-tuk ride away where you can visit many restaurants and bars that back right onto the beach. A favourite town amongst most volunteers, there are many supermarkets, quirky shops and water activities on offer – including surfing. The fishermen town of Ambalangoda is just another 10 minute tuk-tuk ride away in the other direction and offers a more local and traditional way of life. You can visit markets, devil mask museums and also see the largest laying down Buddha statue.

The accommodation is also conveniently located close to the historic town of Galle and well known beaches including Mirissa and Unawatuna.

Other things to consider

Level of involvement - Your role at the hospitals will largely be observational as per the Ministry of Health guidelines in Sri Lanka. At times you may be able to to conduct basic hands-on tasks such as taking blood pressure and blood sugar levels, dressing wounds and recording temperatures, but please note, we cannot guarantee your level of involvement.

University students only - Our Sri Lanka medical experience welcomes people who are currently studying something relevant at university and are looking to undertake their elective placement. We are afraid we are unable to host trained professionals or anyone who is not currently at university.

Start dates - We have standard start dates in place to ensure the arrival processes run smoothly and that we have larger groups arriving together. However, we appreciate that universities have their own set dates / periods to which you need to undertake your elective placement. With this in mind, we can of course be flexible with our start dates and we would recommend getting in touch so we can provide further information.

Return airport transfer - Your transfer back to the airport after your placement has finished is not included as part of the programme fee. However, you can easily arrange this with the local team whilst in Sri Lanka for a small additional cost - which can be split between anyone else travelling at the same time.

Top destination - Sri Lanka is widely considered by our volunteers to be our best volunteer destination. The majority of our feedback suggests that this is due to the superior local support offered by Ayomi and our local team, the volunteer programmes making a real difference, value for money and accommodation location. With this in mind, we believe that Sri Lanka is the perfect destination for first-time travellers, under 18's and families.

Helping on multiple projects - Whilst in Sri Lanka, you will also have the opportunity to get involved with our teaching or childcare programme for no additional cost. You will also be welcome to help with our sea turtle conservation efforts or street dog project for a small additional fee.

Weekends and free time - You will have every weekend off from volunteering and this is the perfect time to explore everything this beautiful island has to offer. You are more than welcome to simply relax around the accommodation and enjoy the nearby beaches, but most volunteers will use this time to travel and see the country. Further down this page you will come across many suggestions and ideas on where you could go. Alternatively, if you are looking to see as much of the country as possible during this time, travel with other volunteers and be accompanied by one of our local team members, then you may be interested in one or more of the organised weekend trips we run.