NICARAGUA

The Summer Institute in Nicaragua trains and places up to 26 participants to volunteer in hospitals and clinics. Participants assist with critical medical device repairs, translation of instruction manuals, preventative maintenance, hospital staff equipment training, and other services.

Participants begin with a month in Granada, Nicaragua, taking tailored courses in both Spanish and biomedical equipment. Our partner, the Nicaragua Spanish Language School, arranges homestays and provides Spanish courses. EWH provides instruction on common medical devices and methods for troubleshooting and making repairs in low-resource settings. Participants may also visit the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health's central medical equipment agency for training with equipment under the supervision of EWH staff and Ministry of Health certified biomedical equipment technicians.

After the first month of training, participants remain in Nicaragua to work with an EWH partner hospital in groups of two or three. The partner hospitals are public Nicaraguan hospitals. In addition to the main departmental (state) hospital, participants have the opportunity to work in other Ministry of Health clinics and health outposts around the department/state they are assigned to.

Participants are typically housed in a homestay during the second month to continue building Spanish and cultural knowledge. Some placements are urban cities, while some are smaller or more rural.

Most of the public departmental hospitals in Nicaragua have some form of technical assistance; however, gaps in training and language barriers often prevent effective equipment repair. Participants work closely with Nicaraguan technicians and medical staff in overcoming these hurdles to make equipment repairs, execute trainings, install equipment, or perform other engineering duties for the hospitals. There is usually little to no English spoken in the public hospitals.

 Download application packet here for more details