Beware of this program! Do your research wisely May 05, 2021
By Peter S. (University of Colorado - Boulder) - abroad from 08/12/2015 to 05/31/2021 with
Child Family Health International (CFHI): Healthcare Challenges in South Africa, Cape Town
Honestly, not much
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program site coordinators literally informs you that the program is advertised wrong as it has changed. There was only one hospital that you can shadow in, and you shadow the same internist the whole time. For me, that was six weeks. You don't get exposure to other fields of medicine |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Living arrangements were also not great as you are very removed from Cape Town. The only ways to move around is either rent a car, pay for uber everywhere, or take the bus/train (risky). Also the driver that takes you to the hospital is often distracted while driving... |
| * Food: |
Food was provided by host family. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
You do get a tour of the city and gain a sense of the history of Cape Town. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
You can only learn as much as who you shadow. The doctor that I was assigned was originally from Libya and trained there. So he spoke little English and I was not able to communicate with him well. |
| * Safety: |
The host family was right next to a township in Vanguard Estate, and it was not safe to walk around. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I should have done more research on this program as my experience is almost exactly the same as another reviewers. The program coordinators were inflexible as they would not allow me to change the doctor that I was shadowing. The program advertised that you could shadow numerous doctors from across different disciplines. However, I was stuck with an internist that was raised and educated in Libya who could not communicate in English well. This made it difficult to learn from him. When I brought this up to the coordinators, they tell you to be grateful for the opportunity. However, I felt scammed in a sense as the experience is very far removed from the description |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
Difficult as it was difficult to get around the area and experience South Africa since the host family was located 30 minutes away from the city. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | This program has serious issues |
