Health & Safety
Safety during the COVID pandemic
In the health-related programs (Medical, Physical Therapy, Physician’s Assistant & Dentistry) the participants need to be fully vaccinated prior to arrival. For all health-related program participants a negative Rapid test (€10) is needed on the first day before starting your program, conducted at the hospital following strict government regulations and you will be notified by the hospital if any change occurs.
For the rest of our programs, there is no requirement to be vaccinated against covid. If the participant is having symptoms or has been in contact with a confirmed case then there is a requirement for a PCR test (€50). If you test positive at any stage then you are required to self-isolate for 5 days at own cost and then return to the internship site..
Will the Israel or Ukraine Conflicts affect my in-person internship?
Both Israel & Ukraine conflicts are a shocking and heartbreaking situation as with any conflict around the world. At this stage both remain isolated and geopolitically targeted situations, very very far from any of our internship sites and we are monitoring them closely. We can reassure you that we have no information to suggest that there is any immediate or future threat to Greece. There are no travel advisories in place, which warn against travel to Greece due to these or any other conflicts. Nor is there any state of emergency in the country.
All in-person program participants need to be well prepared before embarking abroad. They need to have a clear understanding of the potential risks and how to avoid them in order to enjoy the program and decrease the chance of anything wrong happening. All our programs a designed with safety in mind as a number one priority but in most cases the biggest potential risk is in the activities that the interns participate in their free time rather than during their internship. We have a systematic approach to manage our program’s health & safety policies in order to reduce all risks, we:
- Frequently review and update our procedures without affecting the positive impact on our interns & host teams
- Regularly visit our host sites to coach the staff with the latest policies and validate that interns & staff follow our risk management guidelines
- Will provide the interns with sufficient advice on the local risks and how to avoid them
- Offer a 24/7 in-country emergency support across all our programs
Nevertheless, the participants themselves are responsible to play an active role in their health and safety. The most important step towards this is to get a travel insurance (at their own cost) to cover any health related issue including admission to public or private hospitals. European Union citizens can issue, free of charge the European Health Insurance Card, which covers for free most of their health related costs in Greece. Even for EU citizens we will require you to purchase a travel insurance policy. The travel insurance policy should include an adequate coverage for medical emergencies, travel disruptions, personal property that is lost or damaged whilst traveling, and last-minute trip cancellation (due to unforeseeable events that are out of your control).
- Prior to arrival interns receive an orientation pack that outlines their program, host site and accommodation specifics
- On airport arrival a team member welcomes our participants and transports them safely to their accommodation
- At the accommodation the program coordinator gives a detailed briefing about the location specific risks, culture and program details
- Program coordinators are available to reach throughout the day and quickly and a 24/7 emergency support is included in the fees
- The diversity of our internships requires us to create annually-reviewed program specific risk management policies and not generic ones
- All Cerca Abroad staff have undergone in-depth background checks prior to employment
- Program participants are given, prior to arrival, detailed information on how to act & respond in the unlikely event of an emergency
- Local teams, supported by skilled professionals, can offer assistance 24/7
- Interns have access to several communication channels to reach their program coordinators regardless of how big or small or the type of need it is
- All emergency response plans are frequently reviewed and optimized to offer reassurance to all our interns
When designing a new program, our experts alongside the host team conduct a thorough investigation to ensure that the new site complies with our risk management, health & safety requirements and emergency response procedures. During the course of a placement we constantly review the participant’s experiences in order to optimize our policies accordingly and identify/respond to risks. We focus firstly on training hosts with the necessary policies/procedures to reduce risks while handling incidents safely and secondly on raising participant’s awareness on the measures we take to keep them safe and health during their internship.
The specific risks identified in our program assessments vary from program to program, but typically include risks relating to:
- Accommodation
- Transportation
- Emergencies and serious incidents
- Participant illness and physical harm
- Assault and theft
- Alcohol and illegal substances
You can expect the following practices and procedures:
- Detailed risk assessments for every program
- First aid equipment and first aid trained staff available at every program
- Thorough incident management plans
- Clearly displayed evacuation and emergency information
- On site security measures
- Support available for mental health concerns
