Planning your elective-Belarus

Mark Wilson gives you some tips for an elective in Belarus

Belarus can hardly be described as a popular elective destination. In the last couple of years, however, a number of medical students have ventured to this relatively undiscovered country.

Farmers load a cart with sugar beet in rural Ukraine

Situated in eastern Europe, Belarus is a landlocked by Latvia, Poland, Russia, and the Ukraine. Agriculture has become the main resource over the last decade, after the split from Moscow in 1991. The climate in the summer has a pleasant Mediterranean feel; in the winter, however, it can get very cold (−20°C is common; −30°C is severe).

The healthcare system used to be relatively good, but the Chernobyl disaster—in neighbouring Ukraine, in 1986—changed this. Cancer and leukaemia rates increased dramatically. Health care is still free at the point of delivery, but resources are severely limited. Alcohol related disease is also a major burden.

Electives can be organised through the medical schools or directly through hospitals, however, by arranging it through a medical school it will probably be better organised and give you more variety.

If you're interested in getting involved with helping children in Belarus then, as well as the Chernobyl children's project, you can contact Playcom (www.playcom.org.uk)—a charity working to transform old hospital rooms in Minsk into playrooms for children.

If your Russian is not that hot, stay in the cities. Belorussian in the rural areas can be extremely difficult to understand. In the cities there are usually some medical students or doctors who are keen to practice their English and translate for you.

The rural areas bordering the Ukraine are particularly radioactive which may put you off spending six weeks there.

A visa is necessary and can be applied for in person, by post or through an agency. You will be required to fill in a form, have a valid passport and photo, and a formal invitation (from the hospital or medical school) on their headed notepaper. You will also need an address for where you are staying. You have a short interview at the Embassy, and for between £10 and £40 you get a visa, usually within a week. Once in Belarus you have to register, either with the Ministry of Internal Affairs or with your hotel reception.

You must go to Minsk Airport No 2 (about 45 minutes' drive outside Minsk). You can fly via a European city—for example, Vienna, Warsaw, or Frankfurt (one flight per day per city)—or direct from Gatwick with the Belarussian company Belavia. Belavia flies once on Wednesdays and once on Sundays, and must be phoned directly, as UK travel operators cannot book these flights for you. Flights cost from £230 upwards. At the airport you may have to buy national health insurance for foreigners, to be able to get through customs. It is quite cheap, and you can pay in dollars.

Vaccinations

Typhoid, hepatitis A and B, and diphtheria should all be up to date. Rabies and tick borne encephalitis vaccines may be recommended, especially if going to rural areas.

With thanks to Katie Paramore who supplied a number of the addresses and information for this article

Mark Wilson runs www.medicstravel.com