My emergency medicine elective in Kathmandu, Nepal

Hi! My name is Natalie and I am currently studying BSc Paramedic Science at Bournemouth University. I will have spent over 1200 hours on ambulances with South Western Ambulance Service by the end of my second year responding to all 999 calls around Dorset ranging from time-critical traumas to medical emergencies. I have picked up so many valuable skills and experiences through my degree however I wanted to experience emergency medicine outside of the NHS.

I have opted to complete an elective in my own time in Kathmandu, Nepal from the 6th of July 2025 to the 2nd of August 2025. I will be spending 4 weeks working in an emergency department (A&E) and alongside anesthesiologists providing emergency medical care for trauma and medical needs in a teaching hospital!

I will have the chance to gain hands-on experience in different departments around the hospital such as paediatric wards, burns unit and specialist wards eg cardiology. I will be providing care for people of all ages, backgrounds and situations. I have been lucky enough to have a successful application with a company called Work the World who organise electives such as this one.

I have the amazing opportunity to witness the differences between UK-based healthcare and a developing countries healthcare practices. I will have the amazing opportunity to see:

Work the World crafts healthcare electives around the world tailored to individual interests. With a decade of experience sending thousands of students abroad, you won't find a service this complete anywhere else.

They employ local people instead of expats, purchase products and food from the communities in which it is based, and give sizeable monetary and equipment donations to local hospitals.

I have chosen to complete this elective in my own time so it is not linked to my degree course or university. As you can imagine, this elective comes with a high cost of around £2000+. I am lucky enough to gain funding from the BU Turing scheme to help aid the costs of my accommodation and living allowances, however, I am having to externally fund:

With the money I raise, I plan on purchasing and donating medical supplies to the hospital where I will be working. Due to the location, the hospital have limited basic resources such as PPE, cleaning equipment etc so I intend on using the money I raise to donate the equipment they lack.

I plan on purchasing and donating gloves, face masks, PPE, cleaning supplies eg hand sanitiser and wipes and any spare donations available.

In my downtime, outside of shifts worked at the hospital, I hope to take part in excursions and activities around Kathmandu such as hiking through the Himalayas, visiting the city of Pokra and a 3-day camping trip enjoying the views of Annapurna Mountain Range and so much more. These activities also require an external cost funded from myself.

With this in mind, I am aiming to raise a minimum of £700 in order to help me fund my four-week elective to Kathmandu and donate supplies and resources to the hospital! If anyone would be kind enough to donate anything (no matter how small!) I will be so incredibly grateful!

If you are interested I have attached a couple of YouTube videos and images below created by Work the World themselves so you can find out a bit more about this amazing company :)

I am so excited to take part in this elective and I thank you so so much for all your support!

Nats xx

WTW Paramedic Science Elective Website link

WTW Kathmandu Nepal Website Link