Medical Elective in Thailand – Chiang Mai

A medical elective in Thailand offers an unparalleled opportunity for learning and personal growth, and Med Trips is committed to providing each participant with an extraordinary experience.

Interns in this program will be paired with a dedicated Thai doctor or medical professional, working five days a week (Monday to Friday) from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM approximately.

Please note that the daily shadowing hours at the placement can vary depending on the workload and hospital schedule. Each assignment takes place in an international-standard hospital in Chiang Mai, where interns are paired with a full-time doctor or nurse.

Medical interns are assigned to one of three partnering hospitals in Chiang Mai.There are many different factors involved with the assignment of placement for interns. The biggest factor involved in the process of assignment is the duration of the internship. If an intern signs up for only two or three weeks, then they will surely be assigned only one or two hospitals. If an intern’s project is 4-6 weeks, they may have the ability to intern at three hospitals. However, it depends on the departments they selected. Please note that the information provided about placements is a general guideline and not a guarantee. We will make an effort to inform interns about their specific hospital assignments and schedules before their departure, but be aware that project placements and timings in Thailand are subject to change.

Thailand has become a medical center for much of Asia and westerners travel half-way across the world to receive expert, inexpensive medical care. Thailand’s medical system is well known for its highly qualified doctors, staff and new medical equipment. The medical internship program in Thailand is available in Chiang Mai.

No more than two interns at any one time will be paired with each full-time doctor. This assignment during your medical internship in Thailand is primarily observation based. You’ll follow your doctor or nurse on daily rounds while they consult with patients, administer treatment, and perform operations. Each stage of observation is carefully monitored and regulated to ensure the safety and comfort of the patients involved.

Intern Roles & Responsibilities

As a medical intern, the main roles & responsibilities would be:

Shadow and observe the professional doctors and learn how to handle the patients and treat them with utmost care
Conducting hospital rounds with the doctors and medical staff

The hospitals offer a diverse range of departments and services. Interns may have the opportunity to choose different departments and clinical areas to focus their work on or to explore additional areas during their internship. 

Interns need to choose their preferred department choice from the following available departments  :

• Biochemistry
• Microchemistry
• Community Medicine
• Internal Medicine (Must study in 4 th year of Medicine or above)
• Orthopedics (Must study in 4 th year of Medicine or above)
• Pharmacology (Must Study in this Field)
• Emergency Room (Not Particularly Busy)
• Pediatrics (FOLLOW NURSES) (OPD/Ward)
• General Medicine (FOLLOW NURSES)
• Internal Medicine (FOLLOW NURSES)
• Orthopedics (FOLLOW NURSES)
• Specialized Ward (FOLLOW NURSES)
• OB/GYN (only female students are accepted/FOLLOW NURSES)
• Surgery Ward (FOLLOW NURSES)
• Anatomy (accept Only 1 week/month)
• Dental
• Rehabilitation
• Radiotherapy
• Surgery
• Operating Room
• Physical Therapy
• ENT Department
• Eye Department

It is important to note that the medical internship is an observational based internship only and students are not allowed to perform any hands-on tasks or treatments.

Requirements & eligibility

Interns must be 18 years or older at the time of joining the internship. As an intern, you should have an open mind and flexible attitude for working in a new and different environment. All interns must provide additional documents such as Resume/CV, statement of motivation, list of preferred departments and letter of recommendation at least 45 days prior to joining the internship. All students must submit a reference letter issued on official institutional letterhead and signed by a professor from the medicine, nursing, or healthcare department.References from individuals other than a professor will not be accepted, except in cases where the applicant has already graduated.Interns need to be a current student or recent graduate of a medical studies program to be accepted. This includes pre-med, medical school, nursing, public health, pre-nursing students. Students in Pre medical courses such as biomedical science and health sciences are also eligible to join the internship.