Johannesburg Clinical Immersion

The ExSAMed Johannesburg Immersion Program is an intensive two-week observational clinical experience open to registered, qualified or student doctors, nurses and paramedics seeking real-world exposure beyond the familiar. Whether you are a student, early in your career or an experienced clinician, Johannesburg will challenge and transform you.

Participants are embedded alongside South African clinicians — in pre-hospital emergency services, major trauma units, specialist hospitals, and community health settings — observing and learning from a clinical environment that simply cannot be replicated at home.

Itinerary

The program runs for two full weeks. Participants arrive on Saturday, with Sunday reserved for rest and an evening orientation session. Clinical shifts run Monday–Tuesday and Thursday–Saturday. Wednesdays and Sunday are dedicated activity days.

Participants complete 10 clinical shifts across a diverse range of placement sites, working in pairs throughout. Shifts are allocated to ensure every participant experiences the full breadth of clinical environments available. Specific shift allocations are confirmed and distributed prior to departure.

Documentation for your CPD portfolio

This program is designed to align with the CPD requirements of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and its respective Boards.

All participants receive documentation to support their CPD claims, including a program completion certificate and clinical placement record. Participants are responsible for lodging claims with their relevant registering authority.

Where you will be placed

Participants rotate through a curated mix of clinical environments across Johannesburg, selected to provide the broadest possible observational exposure to emergency and critical care. All placements are supervised and observational in nature.

Johannesburg beyond healthcare

The program includes dedicated activity days designed to provide balance and cultural immersion. South Africa is extraordinary — we make sure you experience it.

Game Reserve Day Trip

A full-day excursion to a Johannesburg-area game reserve — your chance to experience South Africa's iconic wildlife up close. A welcome break mid-program and a memory that will last a lifetime.

Soweto Cultural Experience

A guided half-day tour of Soweto, one of the world's most historically significant townships. Essential context for understanding the society you are working in. Visit sites of deep historical importance and gain insight into the community that shapes so much of Johannesburg's clinical reality.

UJ Rescue Centre — Full-Day Immersion

A full-day, hands-on immersion at the University of Johannesburg's four-storey, 3,000m² Rescue Centre — designed and commissioned by the Department of Emergency Medical Care and one of the most advanced rescue training facilities of its kind. Unlike a standard facility tour, this is a structured, immersive, patient-centric experience built specifically for medical rescue — participants move through realistic scenarios, in a high-fidelity simulated environment.

Facility Capabilities

Survival Pool & HUET Training

A five-metre-deep survival pool used for aquatic and helicopter underwater egress training, with patient extraction and water rescue scenarios run in the pool and overhead winch.

Helicopter Simulator

Wet and dry hoisting operations, rotor-wing aircraft safety, and in-flight patient-care simulation.

Urban Search & Rescue (Basement Level)

Configurable confined space tunnels, shoring systems, and heavy lifting jigs — used to run entrapped-patient access and extraction scenarios with a clinical care focus throughout.

Mass Casualty Simulation

A 30-seater aircraft fuselage used to run multi-patient triage and mass casualty scenarios — practising the prioritisation and care decisions of a real incident.

Trench Rescue Simulator

A three-metre-deep trench rescue simulator — fully immersive scenario training under realistic environmental stress.

With environmental systems replicating rain, wind, waves and darkness, this experience is run in partnership with UJ's Department of Emergency Medical Care and is one of the standout experiences of the program — combining world-class rescue infrastructure with a clinical, patient-focused approach that mirrors the realities of pre-hospital and rescue medicine.

Team Dinner

A group dinner near the end of the program — a chance to reflect, debrief, and share your experiences with fellow participants before departure.

There is so much more to see

South Africa has much more to offer beyond Johannesburg. ExSAMed can assist participants who wish to extend their stay — whether for additional clinical shifts or to explore what South Africa has on offer. Extensions can be added before or after the program.

Program fee & what's included

Eligibility

The ExSAMed Johannesburg Clinical Immersion Program is open to a select group of healthcare professionals and students. To be eligible you must meet one of the following criteria:

Secure your place

Multiple program dates are available across 2026 and 2027. Places are strictly limited and allocated in order of deposits received. Select your trip, complete the booking form below, then pay your $1,500 deposit by bank transfer to lock in your place.

From booking to departure

We're here to help

If you have any questions before booking — eligibility, rooms, flights, or anything else — contact Trevor Glass on 0424 026 329 or info@exsamed.com.au.

Payment by bank transfer (EFT)

All ExSAMed payments are made by bank transfer to the account below. Use the payment reference format shown so we can match your payment, and email your receipt to info@exsamed.com.au after paying.