finding work placement or internship in medical physics

[DerekMcMullen]

Myself and my girlfriend, we are both irish, want to head out to south africa in jan 09, she is a civil engineer with good experience and has contacts so she will find a job prettty handy but im a college student studying medical physics trying to get a 7 month work placement in a hospital as part of my college course. So far all of the placements i can find are through rip off third party companys who provide internship and volunteer work to students at massive expense to the student. Some of these placements (quoted in american dollars) start at about $1600 for 4 weeks with each additional week costing $200 dollars the whole thing would cost about 6400 dollars and thats just for food and board. Does it really cost $200 a week to live in cape town before the weekend even kicks in. or could i do it cheaper if i try to sort the placement myself. Does anybody know of any hospitals in any South African City that would take me on, any response would be greatly appreciated?

[Unseer]

Hi Derek

I'd suggest doing it yourself. Search for the private hospitals in Cape Town (for instance) and contact them directly. If you've got any professors you can ask to make a few calls then that'd be the way forward. The agencies will take you for a competitive ride (they all want your money) and although I'm not in the medical field I must say that I have rarely used agencies without attempting it myself first.

[Michele-In-SA]

Originally Posted by DerekMcMullen

Myself and my girlfriend, we are both irish, want to head out to south africa in jan 09, she is a civil engineer with good experience and has contacts so she will find a job prettty handy but im a college student studying medical physics trying to get a 7 month work placement in a hospital as part of my college course. So far all of the placements i can find are through rip off third party companys who provide internship and volunteer work to students at massive expense to the student. Some of these placements (quoted in american dollars) start at about $1600 for 4 weeks with each additional week costing $200 dollars the whole thing would cost about 6400 dollars and thats just for food and board. Does it really cost $200 a week to live in cape town before the weekend even kicks in. or could i do it cheaper if i try to sort the placement myself. Does anybody know of any hospitals in any South African City that would take me on, any response would be greatly appreciated?

Yes, Unseer is correct. You can do it yourself. Do you have a work permit? If not, it would be harder to find work, but with perserverance, I am sure something will come up for you. All the best!