Costa Rica internships

Private dental clinics in Santo Domingo

Location: Santo Domingo, about a 15 minute walk from the Praxis Center.

These are small private dental clinics. Students may shadow procedures, help to sterilize instruments, and generally assist with all the work of the clinic. In addition to general dentistry, at some clinics students may also be able to observe orthodontic procedures one day a week.

Private nutritionists

Location :Various private offices in Heredia and Tibas, within a 30 minute bus or train ride from the Praxis Center.

These nutritionists generally work together with a primary care clinic, giving advice and creating nutritional plans for patients with diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cancer. Requires an intermediate level of Spanish.

OIJ Crime lab

Location: Downtown San Jose, about a 15 minute train ride from the Praxis Center

This is the FBI of Costa Rica.  Students with a background in chemistry and advanced Spanish skills can accompany the investigators in all of their daily activities.

Private Medical Clinics – Santo Domingo

Location: Santo Domingo, about a 20 minute walk from most homestays

These are several small clinics with private physicians. Students observe primary care physicians, and are able to ask questions about different diagnoses as well as taking vital signs. Physicians are able to take time to explain the diagnosis to students and invite them to learn how to do a physical exam, vital signs, some basic tests and the uses of a wide range of medicines. Students with a high level of Spanish may also be able to do some parts of an initial patient interview.

Clinica Cristiana La Carpio

Location: La Carpio, La Uruca, about a 50 minute bus ride from the Praxis Center.

This is a primary care clinic run by a faith based organization, located in a low income immigrant community, primarily people from Nicaragua. Past students have assisted with taking vital signs, helping to organize the pharmacy and the preliminary parts of a patient interview. The doctors on staff are Costa Rica, although they do have visiting doctors from the United States from time to time. Only students with an advanced level of Spanish are eligible for this internship.

Hogar de Esperanza

Location: Paso Ancho, about an hour train and bus ride from the Praxis Center.

This is a group living residence for people who have been diagnosed with HIV infection and may not have anywhere else to go because they have been rejected by their families and communities. The ultimate goal is to reintegrate them back into their communities. The residents may or may not have full-blown AIDS.  Many of the residents are also dealing with addictions.The full range of sexual orientations and gender identities are represented here.

There is an opportunity at Hogar for students to learn about the “Reduction of Damage” approach to addiction treatment.  Past interns have assisted with odd jobs, with accompanying residents to their medical appointments and generally listening to their stories.   There is also an opportunity to work directly with the center's nurse, assisting in distributing medications and monitoring residents' overall health.

Residencia Geriatrica “Camino Dorado”

Location: About a 15 minute walk from most homestays

This is a privately run assisted living center for the elderly, the “ciudadanos de oro” (“golden residents”)   Some of the residents have Alzheimer's or Parkinson´s or some type of dementia. Two are bedridden. A few are completely lucid and simply don´t have family with whom they can live. It's a good place to learn about older adult issues. Students are allowed to assist the staff in feeding patients and distributing meds, and they can practice a lot of Spanish talking to the residents and staff. 

Blood bank, UNIBE Hospital

Location: Tibas, about a 15 minute bus ride and then a 10 minute walk from most homestays.

This is a phlebotomy center within a private teaching hospital. Students who have previous certification as phlebotomists in the U.S. can assist in drawing blood samples. Intermediate level of Spanish required.

Instituto Nacional de Meteorología (National Weather Institute)

Location: Downtown San José, about a 15 minute train ride.

This is the government institute in charge of monitoring, predicting and reporting on all weather related activities in Costa Rica.  Past interns have been invited to share in many aspects of the team's work, including preparing the daily weather report used by all the TV networks.

Laboratorio de Plasma, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica

Location: Cartago, about an hour and a half train and bus ride.

This is a very high level nuclear plasma research institution, housed within the premiere public technological university. Currently they are researching many civilian uses for nuclear plasma, including for disinfecting surfaces. Since the commute is long, past students have lived with host families closer to the university in Cartago. 

Caipad Santo Domingo

Location: Santo Domingo, about a 20 minute walk from most host families

This is a day program for teens and adults with mental and physical disabilities like Down's, autism, etc. There is an occupational therapist who works with the participants and they also have programs like cooking classes, dance, etc.

Private Optometrist in Santo Domingo

Location: Santo Domingo, about a 15-20 minute walk from the Praxis Center

This is a small optometry office which offers the full range of services.  The student would learn about all aspects of optometry and different options for correcting poor vision.

Longo Mai and Finca Passiflora    

Location: Perez Zeledón, about 4 hours southeast of San José.

This is a rural community populated primarily by Salvadorans who came to Costa Rica as refugees fleeing from the civil war in the 1980s. Past interns have been involved with the work of families involved in organic agriculture, with an environmental organization and with the local school, tutoring in math and English. Students often greatly enjoy the rural setting and the opportunity to learn about sustainability on a very grass roots level. An enterprising student skilled in video editing could perhaps do a special project interviewing some of the older residents in the community about their experiences during the war in El Salvador in the 1980's and their general outlook on life and advice to young people. An added plus is that the community often hosts young adult interns from several European countries, so there is a chance to interact with them as well.

In addition, students interested in large animal veterinary medicine may opt to work with some of the local farmers, learning from them about how they manage their cows, pigs and chickens.

Finca Didactica Integral Loroco      

Location: BriBri, Talamanca, Limón   about 4 hours northeast of San José.

This is a working organic farm primarily run by women of indigenous BriBri heritage. The intern could be involved in planting, harvesting, processing products, saving seeds, making chocolate and preparing items for sale at the weekly farmer´s market in Puerto Viejo, Limón. The staff of Finca Loroco also give workshops from time to time on organic agriculture and BriBri culture and customs for local universities. One past intern skilled in digital media assisted with marketing of the farm's products and its social media presence. 

Equipo Verde, Universidad Bíblica Latinoamericana

Location: Cedros, San Pedro, about a 45 minute train and bus ride from the Praxis Center.

This is an urban community gardening project sponsored by a faith based university.  Past students have been involved in composting, preparing raised beds, planting and harvesting a wide range of vegetables and tropical fruits.

Centro Diurno de Adultos Mayores (Daytime Senior Center)

Location: Santo Domingo, about a 15 minute bus ride and 10 minute walk

This is a senior center where patients come to do physical therapy and exercise, crafts, and other activities.  There is a physical therapist on staff and there are exercise machines and other equipment.  Students learn how to guide both individual and group exercises with older adults.

Centro Educativo “La Pitahaya”

Location: Sabana Norte, San Jose. About a 45 minute bus ride from the Praxis Center

This is a school for children and youth with physical and developmental disabilities. Most are in wheelchairs. There is a therapeutic pool and past interns have worked with the physical therapists and also to maintain and make adjustments to wheelchairs. Some students have also accompanied teachers to visit students in their homes to assess the kinds of physical and social barriers they face in their own communities. One student who was a mechanical engineering major helped adapt wheelchairs to the particular students' needs.

Private Physical Therapy clinics in Santo Domingo

Location: Santo Domingo, about a 15 minute walk from the Praxis Center.

These are small private physical therapy offices. Students will be able to observe and learn about the full range of physical therapy treatments and exercises.  

Global Fitness

Location: Tibas, about a 20 minute bus ride from the Praxis Center

Global Fitness is a private physical therapy clinic and fitness center. About 95% of the patients are retired women who are physically active. Although most of the therapy sessions occur during the afternoons, there is work that can be done during the morning such as helping the patients in a number of group classes that include cardio-dancing, Taichi, belly dance, yoga and pilates.During some mornings, the therapists also carry out evaluations on nutrition, posture, equilibrium, stability, and mobility of the patients, which students can participate in.

Costa Rica Solar Solutions

Location: Downtown San Jose, about a 20 minute ride on public transportation from the Praxis Center

This is a small solar energy company that does assessments and installs solar energy systems. The intern would be invited to learn about a wide range of issues within the solar energy business in Costa Rica.

Blue Valley School

Location: San Rafael de Escazu, an hour bus ride from Santa Rosa

This is a private school that teaches most subjects in English. They also have International Baccalaureate. A student did his student teaching here for an entire semester in 2018, in a physics classroom. There are opportunities for a student to assist in chemistry and biology as well. 

The European School

Location: San Pablo de Heredia, a 20 minute bus ride from the Praxis Center office.

This is a private school that teaches most subjects in English. They also have International Baccalaureate.  Students may work with teachers of mathematics, chemistry and biology. 

Private veterinary clinics in Santo Domingo

Location: About a 15-20 minute walk from the Praxis Center

These are a small private veterinary clinics that mainly work with cats and dogs. The environment is very friendly and warm.  Possible volunteer responsibilities: The senior veterinarian and assisting staff require volunteers who care about animals; helping with daily activities and routines such as medical procedures and standard check-ups and vaccinations.  There is also an opportunity to observe castrations and other surgeries.

Wild Animal Rescue Center, Alajuela

Location: Alajuela. Students normally live right at the center, in dormitories with other volunteers.

This is a center that receives exotic animals that have been injured or who have been rescued for the illegal pet trade.  They care for the animals and try to prepare them to return to the wild.  Previous interns have been invited to share in all of the daily tasks involved in caring for the animals, including some animal behavioral training.  After doing this internship, one previous student got a job at the zoo of a major US city.  Since there is an extra cost involved with this internship, most previous students done this as a week long special rotation in exotic animals (working the rest of the time at a small animal veterinary clinic).

AyA Wastewater Treatment Plant

Location: La Uruca, about a 45 minute bus ride from the Praxis Center

This is a government operated waste water treatment plant. Students would learn about all the processes and mechanisms involved in treating waste water in an urban area in a tropical country with high levels of rainfall. Recommended for chemistry, biochemistry and civil