Home · Clinical Elective & Placements

Clinical elective, internships & nursing placements

Gain clinical experience in Quito and learn Spanish along the way. Free of charge, certified in Spanish and individually combined with your language course.

For medical & nursing professions

Gain clinical experience & use your Spanish

In public and private hospitals in and around Quito you work alongside doctors, dentists and nursing staff and get to know the Ecuadorian healthcare system right where it happens. Personal Spanish tuition comes on top, so you can hold your own on the ward.

  • Placement free of charge, certified by the hospital in Spanish
  • Elective / internship from 4 weeks, combined with the compulsory Spanish course
  • For all levels, close cooperation with the German bvmd
Open info sheet (German)
Who it's for

Medicine & nursing welcome

Medical students

Clinical elective (higher semesters).

Doctors

All specialties, observership & internship.

Dentists

Placement in dentistry depending on the hospital.

Nurses & trainees

Nursing staff and trainees in nursing professions.

Placements

Hospitals for your clinical elective

Two hospitals in Quito, each with its own focus. Placement depends on availability.

Private · central, close to the school

Hospital Inglés

Quito · Santa Prisca

Private hospital with 24-hour emergency department, intensive care, operating theatres and laboratory.

Possible specialties

  • Internal medicine
  • Surgery & OR
  • Traumatology
  • Gynaecology & obstetrics
  • Plastic & reconstructive surgery
  • Dermatology
  • Gastroenterology
  • Neurology
  • Intensive care & emergency
  • Rehabilitation
Specialist centre · 24-hour OR

Hospital San Bartolo

Quito · South

Specialist hospital with emergency department, intensive care and operating theatres around the clock, around 30 specialist doctors.

Possible specialties

  • Internal medicine
  • Surgery & OR
  • Traumatology
  • Gynaecology
  • Cardiology
  • Gastroenterology
  • ENT
  • Ophthalmology
  • Nephrology
  • Intensive care & emergency

Further specialties and dentistry by arrangement.

How it works & requirements

How your placement works

  • Apply early: ideally 2–3 months in advance so we can secure a place and hospital
  • Spanish level: for the clinical day-to-day we recommend at least A2–B1
  • Compulsory Spanish course: at least 2 weeks (40 h), either before the placement or in parallel with it, extendable anytime
  • Elective / internship: min. 4 weeks, max. 3 months (tourist status); extension possible on site
  • Usually Mon–Fri
Medical Spanish

The right words at the bedside

In medicine in particular, the right language is key to avoiding misunderstandings. In the language course we practise specifically for the clinical day-to-day, among other things:

  • Patient history & consultation: complaints, pain (location, duration, intensity), pre-existing conditions, allergies, medication
  • Body parts, organs & symptoms and the 0–10 pain scale
  • Clear instructions for patients: “breathe in deeply”, “relax”, “please lie down”
  • Numbers, dosages and units as well as negations, common sources of error
  • Polite, trust-building forms of address. Also with indigenous patients and Andean expressions
  • Clinical & emergency terms and typical “false friends” (e.g. constipado = having a cold, not “constipated”)

So you can communicate safely in the hospital from day one.

Good to know: practical details

  • Certificate & recognition: the hospital issues a certificate in Spanish. According to the bvmd, the placement is usually recognisable as a Famulatur. Final recognition depends on your university or state examination office, so it is best to clarify this in advance.
  • Stay: max. 90 days on tourist status (no visa). For longer stays, please contact the Embassy of Ecuador in Berlin.
  • Preferred hospital: state it in your enrolment. We take it into account subject to availability.
  • Bring: your own medical/OR clothing and stethoscope.
  • Attach to your enrolment: your CV in English. You enter your medical details (level of training, experience, skills) directly in the enrolment form.
  • Donations: the hospitals appreciate a small donation in kind (list on request).
  • Vaccinations: you are responsible for adequate vaccination protection. Common ones include hepatitis A/B, tetanus and typhoid, plus yellow fever for jungle regions. Please get travel-medicine advice. More under Land & People.
  • Insurance (mandatory): international health & travel insurance with repatriation, plus accident insurance. The clinical elective is part of the language training, so you need your own insurance for it. All insurance is arranged by the student themselves. The school and hospitals accept no liability for damages during the placement.
Documents

Info sheet & forms

All fillable online. The questionnaire and enrolment go straight to our inbox.

Info sheet: clinical elective & placementsAll key information at a glance (German) Open ↗ CV. OnlineFill in for clinical elective & placements & send Open ↗ Donation list for the hospitals. OnlineTick what you can bring & send Open ↗

Ready for your clinical elective or internship in Ecuador?

Send us a non-binding message about your plans. We'll get back to you with a suitable proposal.

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