Work the WorldReviews 

I was nervous about going overseas but I jumped in with two feet and it was the best possible thing I've ever done. Work the World organised a trip that meant I spent two weeks at the general teaching hospital. I spent the next two weeks at the paediatric hospital.The team were incredible and I met some healthcare students from around the world who become firm friends. I saw and experienced amazing things that I’d rarely (if ever) see back home.

My elective was such an amazing experience. I made some new great friends who I’m still in touch with, I saw an interesting approach to medical treatments and I got to experience a new country and culture.

Great way to do a healthcare placement! Get to do placement, travel, meet people and not spend too much time organising it (-:

WTW has been an overall disappointment, for me and at least 15 of my friends travelling to all different countries around the world. They are a very money-driven organisation and thrive off taking all they can from medical students who have saved up for years and years for the 'trip of a lifetime'.
WTW are very keen along the way to make sure you pay all of your payments to them on time- with constant emails and calls to remind you of this.
They may also randomly cancel your placement (after 7 months of booking) to say that it is unsafe to go to the country- this happened in October for me with their Peru placement. They offered a change of placement to Mexico, but no offer of flight refunds or insurance help (it varies hugely from one place to the next). They did offer some financial help to change a flight but only after months of trying to go through my insurance.
SPANISH school- It's fantastic- cannot fault them, but whatever you do, DO NOT BOOK IT THROUGH WTW! Again, a huge money-making con from them. It's £196 online for the intensive week to book the Spanish lessons directly through 'La Calle', and what do WTW charge you poor students in the UK? £500...
Once stranded in Mexico due to Corona (which is definitely more unsafe than the reasons they initially cancelled the Peru placement), we received no updates from the Brighton office and only one pathetic email when we asked what was happening- to say no refund will be given if we "choose" to go home. If we had stayed any longer we would have been stranded there, with no flights, as well as no staff, or food at the accommodation (despite WTW staff directly lying to me on the phone that this would not have been the case...).
Of course the other bad reviews on here are testament that WTW don't intend to give any students a single penny back from unused placement time, instead what do they suggest?! That as newly qualified doctors, we should use our unused time at another venue on another date. Please tell me when during a medical career we can take 6 weeks off work and leave the NHS in the time that it most needs us!!
Please, whatever you do, do not book with this money-making team.
Edit in response to their response: I am not 'in contact' with WTW as they last emailed over 3 weeks ago with false allegations about 'choosing' to go home. They have also resorted to 'inviting' ex-students who travelled many months ago to leave positive reviews, as well as deleting the reviews of those leaving negative comments. They will NOT get away with their awful customer service.

I tried to organise my medical elective on my own but I simply didn't have the time. Work The World made it so easy for me (even helped with my uni paperwork). I had a fab 6 weeks in Ghana and I will definitely go back to this amazing country. The food was incredible, the house was huge and the team felt like family. My hospital placement was a challenge at times but my supervisors and staff I worked alongside with were so friendly and helpful. I travelled up North at the end of my placement with another girl I met in the house. I may never get the opportunity to go overseas again in this capacity but I will never ever forget it.

With the unprecedented happenings around the globe, Work The World cancelled my daughters trip to Vietnam. They told her she would have other options for May. At that point we had one day to make the choice to cancel for 50% refund or to risk the entire payment pending the “mystery” trip. We felt our best option was to cancel. We have requested the full refund due to the circumstances and the fact she would not be given the opportunity again in May.
The trip insurance sold to is by WTW (That appears to be an internal WTW division) has also denied our claim. They claim Force Majure. What BS. WTW you have ruined my student opportunity to study abroad by taking her money. I would not recommend Work the World.

I decided to go to Merida in Mexico for my nursing elective as I was keen to improve my Spanish and I’d never been to Mexico before. I did the intensive Spanish course in week in week one which was great and really helped me whilst in the hospital. An added bonus was you could swim each lunchtime! Mental Health in Mexico is a relatively unknown area, so it was fascinating to see their approach to care. My supervisors were great and the Work the World team at the house were so friendly, cooked amazing meals and the house itself is lovely! Merida is a great city and it so accessible to great beaches. I went with a friend from my course but we came back with 15 friends from around the world. One of the best three weeks of my life!

I had a 6 week trip booked to Manila.

This company are not handling the COVID-19 outbreak well at all, I had made a part payment therefore was forced to cancel before my full payment was due in order to not lose all my money, I had asked for an extension and this was denied.

To add insult to injury they haven't given my £300 registration fee back, Philippines has closed its borders down, nobody is going in or out, this cancellation was not by choice. This placement will not be going ahead for anyone, why are they keeping funds from people???.

What an amazing experience! I went to Iloilo for my physiotherapy placement and it was the best decision ever. I met some incredible people in the house and in the hospital. The staff at the hospital were so welcoming and really engaging. Most patients didn’t speak English but the language lessons each week really helped. The only downside was I only went for 4 weeks. Weekend travel was unreal there is so much to do. The Philippines you’ve stolen my heart

Don't book with Work the World

I was meant to go on a 6 week trip to Nepal in April but this is now not possible due to coronavirus. Work the World are refusing to 'cancel' the trip themselves as it would mean they would have to refund me £2490 and, instead, are putting the onus on me to cancel this elective, which would mean that I get no money back.

I have heard many other people having similar experiences and losing thousands of pounds.

This is a very unprofessional and untrustworthy agency who are taking advantage of students. Very poor.

**DON'T BOOK WITH WORK THE WORLD**

Refused to refund £2290 when they cancelled elective and took over a week to notify. Hearing many similar stories of people losing thousands of pounds with this company.

Best experience ever. I went for a 4 week nursing elective to Takoradi in Ghana and it was unbelievable. Although I was super nervous before I left as I was going alone, I made friends for life in the work the world house. We all got on so well and we were placed in the same hospital so we travelled in together every day. We also did weekend trips as a group - a highlight being a visit to the historical Cape Coast. The work the world team in Takoradi become a second family, with fun BBQ nights and always the most delicious food. Just wished I could have stayed longer, I will certainly go back one day.

Best experience of my life!
Very good organization, helpful staff and
educational internship

Absolutely shocking! My student daughter's physiotherapy placement has been cancelled by Work the World due to COVID-19 and they have refused to repay the £300 deposit.
They state:
'...due to the amount of time between now and your scheduled start date, you are not due a refund of your registration fee directly from Work the World...'
and yet the placement wasn't due until August 2020. How much time do they need to allow for a refund? WtW should do what they know is the decent thing and refund the deposit. They are taking advantage of the situation to the financial detriment of hard working students.

Absolute disappointing company with very poor morals. I have heard about people helping people under the most trying times we are ever going to experience in this century. My daughter paid £300 for an elective that her University has cancelled. There is no date just indefinitely. Work the world who say my daughter can book another one in the coming 18 months is quite frankly unacceptable. She will sit her final exams in 11 months so please advise what you are going to book - as the prime minister is unknown territory. I am hoping people are reading this as you are a company that is capitalising on students that have been at University for a long time, costing a lot of money and are the futures doctors that invade you haven’t noticed we need at the moment. Do the right thing and live up to your terms and conditions you cancelled hence refund the students.

I was due to undertake a three week placement in the Philippines at the beginning of April through my university as part of an elective international module. I booked through Work the World thinking that it would be safer to travel through a large, well-established company. With the current coronavirus pandemic, my university decided that it would be no longer suitable for us to travel abroad and cancelled all international trips. As this is a time of uncertainty it would be expected that Work the World would be in contact with regular updates to ensure our safety and to give us a piece of mind on our travel arrangements. Since the beginning of the outbreak I have had no communication from Work the World regarding the matter, which I have found extremely disappointing. I am quite frankly glad that the university cancelled my trip as i would not feel safe travelling through Work the World under these circumstances. Not to mention the fact that the Filipino government have closed the boarders of Manila, where my flights were booked. This has not been communicated to me via Work the World, or the travel agents they recommended to me. In whole I have had such a poor experience with this company in the current global climate. Very disappointing.

Work the world Brighton - lovely, friendly team but disappointingly did not make us aware that we did not need to pay for a study visa or that we could apply for one on line. Instead I had to make two trips up to London to the Vietnamese Embassy; once to submit my visa application and show necessary documents and a second trip, five days later when visa was ready to collect and pay £68 for it. Two trips, meant two return tickets to London at near on £15 each. Furthermore, I noticed I had been issued with a tourist visa as opposed to a study visa (the difference of one letter of the alphabet!). No amount of pleading would get them to change it and I was forced to pay £72 for another visa!!!

Additionally, their packing list was completely wrong and I needn’t have gone out and bought long sleeved clothes and trousers, so as not to offend the locals, as they were all wearing far less clothing than we were and we were ridiculously hot and uncomfortable in the humid weather.

Additionally, I did not need to buy disposable gloves, masks or hand gel as there were boxes and boxes of these that previous students had left at the Work the World house and so each of us in our group simply added ours to the pile when we left. As students on limited income, it was really frustrating. Communication between the two offices would have identified what stock was actually available to us. Either way, we felt that one box of gloves/masks would be ample for 3-4 students for two weeks

Work the world Vietnam - fantastic, could not do anymore for us if they tried.

As a whole, It's a once in a lifetime experience from the hospital you're working at, the people you meet, the country etc. The Work the World staff are amazing and friendly, they're always ready to support and help you. The caterers never fail when it comes to the food, and completely understand and cater for your dietary requirements. There's also plenty of oppprtunites to socialise and learn the culture e.g. their dancing and the swahili language (taught by the teacher that comes every week). I can't fault it.

I had an amazing experience in Nepal! The staff was really friendly and helpful. They made it feel like home and did everything to help us out with organizing treks and activities.

Placement in the hospital was completely different from home. I expected to be there for a whole day, but we mostly left at two o'clock because there was not much to do. However, the trip was definately worth all the effort. I would recommend it to everyone!

I had an awesome time in Ghana with work the world and The whole team in the house over there went above and beyond. Thank you to the UK team as well for the massive amount of prep work they did before the trip!

Was genuinely the experience of a lifetime and I can’t recommend these guys more highly.