|
Case
Studies
|
Abigail
Roseman,
from Birmingham, volunteered on Gap’s medical placement
at a Red Cross Hospital in Japan and answers the
following questions about her experience.
Why did you decide to take a Gap year and why did you
choose to do a medical placement? |
 |
I have always
thought I would probably take a Gap year. A lot of the older
teenagers I knew took them so it has always been part of my
consciousness. I made the final decision on an Open Day at
Leeds University. I became suddenly aware of the rat race I
was in along with the 20,000 other people there and knew
that I needed a year out, especially seeing as the medical
course is so long.
I chose to do a medical placement pretty much because I was
going on to study medicine. It was partly because I thought
gaining more work experience would be great and partly
because I was worried that having a non-medical project on
my UCAS form might be a problem with some universities. In
retrospect, I'm not sure that this would have been the case
but at the time I was less sure. I had thought about doing a
teaching project but it sounded much to scary to stand in
front of a class but I did later change my mind on this (see
below).
Could you detail a little of the work you did on your
medical placement?
We did a mixture of work on our placement from cleaning and
folding towels, serving meals, helping patients move around
the hospital to picking up prescriptions. We were also able
to do some observing with the doctors. Sometimes this was
just seeing the patients on the wards but for the last three
months we watched surgery two afternoons a week. That was
amazing and really interesting. For the last three months,
we also gave an English conversation class to the staff once
a week.
What were the highlights/what did you learn from your
placement?
I think the biggest thing I learnt on my placement was how
to survive on my own. There were so many challenges
including language, looking after myself, being so far from
home and, I'm sure my partner won't mind me saying this
since we get on very well now, getting along with a partner
more different from myself than most people I've met! The
surgery has to be a highlight for me as well as the chance
to experience an entirely different life from the one I had
led up till then and the one I hope to lead from now.
What are your feelings about doing a Gap year - would you
recommend others do it?
I cannot recommend a Gap year enough. I think it is the
greatest opportunity of your life. It has transformed me. I
didn't enjoy all of the work I did on my placement but that
feels almost irrelevant since I got so much out of the
experience. It is impossible for me to include in here all
the things I learnt about myself and my dealings with others
but let me just say to anyone thinking about a Gap year
please don't hesitate for a second. Do it and stick through
it and it will be the greatest experience of your life. I
think a lot of people hesitate taking a Gap year on cost
grounds but this really is unnecessary. It doesn't cost as
much as you think. I probably spent about £1,500 for the
whole six months plus all my living allowance but I wasn't
particularly trying to budget so you could cut down if you
get less living allowance at a particular placement. I had a
job which paid me £2,000 for two months which was good pay
but still you can get a job in the rest of your Gap year and
earn this money even if you don't manage to fundraise all of
the money. Just do it!
Has your Gap year helped you since returning to the UK?
It has helped me so much. I have recently gone to university
and had the most fantastic first term in the world. I've had
no worries about leaving home because university feels so
close to home compared to Japan. It has made me much more
confident about meeting new people - if I can meet people in
Japanese, meeting them in English is an absolute doddle! The
work experience has really helped me appreciate the value of
everyone working in healthcare not just superhuman doctors.
It has also helped me feel like I can cope with a lot as
there were times when the work was particularly boring and
being in unfamiliar Japan felt so hard and yet I got through
and came out smiling. The last two months were really
fabulous and if I can find folding towels and cleaning up
urine marvellous then I think I can have a fair go at most
things!
Any other details you feel are important to pass on to
future Gappers...
It's a good idea to think before you choose what sort of
project you want to do. Make sure you understand what a
medical project really involves. A lot of the work is very
mundane - there is a lot of cleaning and folding and sorting
which can get really boring. You sometimes get to talk to
patients while you do this but there are usually language
barriers which can leave you feeling even more bored! It
does get easier as you learn more and are given more
responsibility so if you think this sort of work won't be a
problem you'll have a fantastic time. I know I was very
scared of the idea of teaching and therefore went for a
medical project but the teaching we did in Japan really gave
me extra confidence. If you plan carefully it's not as scary
as it looks so think about all your options.
|
Jenny
Campbell
was a Gapper in Tanzania and answered the following
questions about her placement and experiences:
Why did you decide to take a Gap year?
|
 |
I decided to
take a Gap year for a number of reasons. Firstly I wanted to
see new places and have a chance to broaden my horizons, but
I didn’t want to spend the year just travelling, I wanted to
do something useful with my time.
I also thought that taking a year off between school and
university would give me a chance to form a clearer idea of
what I wanted to study and what career I wanted to pursue.
What made you choose your particular placement?
My Gap placement was at Kilombero Sugar Company, Tanzania. I
knew I would like to go to a country in Africa, and that I
would like to work with children. The Gap team were very
helpful in suggesting places for me to go and in the end we
decided that this one was most suited to what I wanted to do
and so I spent the year at Kilombero teaching in a primary
school, running a kids club, setting up a library and
running some adult English classes.
What were the highlights of your placement?
It’s difficult to pick out the best parts of my placement
because I had such an amazing time. However, one of my
favourite parts was singing with the children. The kids had
so much energy and enthusiasm and lessons were just so much
fun. The kids can now even entertain with their own versions
of “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions”
Did you travel after placement and if so, where?
I travelled both within school holidays and after my
placement had finished. During the school holidays we
climbed Mount Kilimanjaro – and made it to the top!! We went
on a safari, and spent Christmas on Zanzibar. After my
placement I travelled through further parts of Tanzania,
through Zambia to Victoria Falls, where I completed the
Victoria Falls 111m bungy jump and then travelled in Malawi
before returning back to Tanzania.
What were your feelings about doing a Gap year - would
you recommend others do it, what did you gain from it, why
is it better than just travelling, etc?
I had an amazing time on my Gap year. I gained so much from
it – the chance to see more of the world, a chance to have
the experience of actually living in a different country, a
chance to meet so many new people. One of the most
important things I have gained from my year is the chance to
make new friends. You go away as a group of people not
knowing much about each other only having met a few times
before, and come home with some of the best friends you will
ever make. You also get the chance to meet people from all
over the world who are travelling or working in the country
of your placement.
Having done a
Gap placement and having spent some time travelling, I would
highly recommend a Gap placement for anyone taking a year
out. The placement provides you with a chance to actually
live in a country and become a part of it, rather than just
being someone who is passing through. It also gives you a
chance to do something useful with your time, and contribute
something back to the country. Travelling is lots of fun,
but if you have the chance to take a Gap placement I would
highly recommend it as it is a really rewarding experience
which I’m very glad I did.
|
Amberlee
Foote,
from Saltash in Cornwall, was the first Gap volunteers
to do an environmental placement with the Chesapeake Bay
Foundation in the USA.
As part of
her work, Amberlee worked with the Chesapeake Bay
Foundation’s education programme. |
 |
The Bay’s
natural capital – stocks of oysters, crabs and the woods,
wetlands and underwater grasses has been depleted and the
Foundation’s aim is to restore habitat, reduce pollution and
increase the Bay’s fisheries.
As part of the Foundation’s work to raise awareness of the
damage to the Bay and educating people on what needs to be
done to address this, Amberlee helped to lead environmental
education field trips for students, teachers and adults. She
explored various ecosystems, examined plant and animal
species, analysed water quality and discussed the
socio-economic issues facing the residents of the Bay
watershed in general and local watermen communities in
particular. Her work included fishing, crabbing, dredging,
trawling to identify Bay creatures, art (fish printing),
night hikes, canoe trips and sunrise activities.
Amberlee talks about her decision to take a Gap year and
how she ended up volunteering at the Chesapeake Bay
Foundation:
“I knew at 16 that I wanted to take a Gap year. For me there
would be no way I could cope with going into another three
years of education. Since forever I have wanted to go to
America, there was just something about the country that
amazed me and after searching the internet, Gap Activity
Projectsseemed the best choice as it had placements all
over America and it also wasn’t as expensive as a lot of
other organisations.
Since I had studied biology and geography for my `A’ levels,
I was offered the chance to be a ‘guinea pig’ on a new
placement that had just been set up. Gap had partnered up
with an organisation called the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a
group whose motto is to ‘save the Bay’. The placement gave
you the chance to intern for six months at one of CBF’s
education centres, which happened to be on islands in the
middle of the Chesapeake Bay. They run education programs
for three days where participants come and stay and get to
learn how to protect the watershed and experience green
living and life as a waterman. These trips included getting
up at sunrise and setting crab pots for dinner, scraping for
soft crab and other bay wildlife, going marsh mucking and
getting completely dirty from head to toe in the saltwater
marshes that surround most of the islands. This sounded like
a dream, I love the water and being outdoors and to be able
to combine that with teaching was the perfect placement.
So I have been living on Smith Island one of the last
inhabited islands in the bay in a small town called Tylerton.
Tylerton has a population of about 60 people, one small
store and a church and the only mode of transport is golf
carts! On the island the Bay Foundation own two houses that
you share with the participants for the three days. It is
the only education centre out of the four that is in the
middle of the community so I am one of the lucky few that
get to be part of this unique fishing town and the lives of
the people that live there.
I have learnt so much from this experience, it has amazed me
not just about the Chesapeake Bay and the lessons that we
teach, but how to live more environmentally friendly and
that I can survive without having a shower for three weeks!
I have also learnt a lot about me - I have learnt how to
live away from home and am now an expert at using the
washing machine (my mum will be so pleased!) and how to be
confident around so many different types of people. This
year has given me the biggest confidence boost in so many
different ways and I feel that I am now more focused and
ready for what ever lies ahead at university.”
|
