Medical Volunteer Guide | Questions & Answers | Healing in Vietnam | Patients
A Look at the Benefits of Medical Volunteer Work and Key Areas in Need
A small group of committed people truly has the ability to change the world, and this is apparent to everyone who has ever volunteered their time and skills abroad to help those in need. Volunteering abroad as a medical professional is an experience unlike any other. Every year, thousands of doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, dentists and other healthcare providers serve the community in a way that most people cannot, serving in communities that are most in need of specialized care.
Pre-health students, aspiring medical professionals, working physicians and those who have already retired are all able to gain experience and take part in bringing first-rate healthcare to people who typically are unable to see a doctor in any other way. If you are considering volunteering abroad, you have the opportunity to both improve your own skills and experience a new culture while bringing services to those in desperate need.
Why Volunteer Abroad?
While every man, woman and child has the right to live a health life, millions are in need of help, and this is where volunteer work comes in. With or without a medical degree, there are countless ways to improve healthcare access around the world. According to the World Health Organization, people with the least amount of health programs are also those with the best means to afford healthcare. Areas in Asia, Africa and South America, however, have the most widespread health problems without the knowledge, technology, stability and means to prevent outbreak or even treat existing problems. Every year, more than 100 million people become impoverished attempting to pay for healthcare.
Volunteering abroad is a popular alternative to learning and working abroad. For some, it is an inexpensive way to gain college credits or gain international work experience, but its benefits go far deeper.
Experience Another Culture
Volunteering allows you to learn about a community, its people and the issues they face firsthand. You will usually be living among locals, often with a host family, which means you will live as the locals do, with or without access to heat, hot water and other comforts you are used to.
Work Off the Beaten Path
Many programs involve working in a remote or exotic location that would be inaccessible as a tourist or visitor. You will eat meals with project members, community sponsors or your host family and live in the community in which you will work and serve.
The Satisfaction of Giving Back
As a healthcare provider, your career revolves around helping others. However, volunteering overseas is truly meaningful in this area. While all patients likely appreciate your skills and care, individuals in a foreign culture likely understand that you have given up creature comforts to help, and the act of giving becomes even more meaningful. You will be directly helping people who would otherwise goes unaided, perhaps giving children the ability to smile or eat comfortably, or allowing a woman who has been terribly burned to once more look in the mirror.
Gain Language Skills
Overseas volunteers often learn a new language during their stay, or gain a greater appreciation of their native tongue.
Professional Benefits
Volunteering medical skills in a foreign country shows that you have an ability to think outside of the box and work outside of your comfort zone. It also improves teamwork, an invaluable skill in any profession.
Qualifications
Most medical volunteer abroad programs do not require a medical degree, contrary to popular belief. This means that students and even pre-med students are able to volunteer abroad and improve their skillset before beginning their careers. Requirements vary by program, although some programs do accept volunteers who are merely interested in providing aid. If you do not have clinical experience or a degree, your role may be providing administrative, logistic, or lingual assistance.
There are hundreds of medical volunteer abroad programs currently in operation, some of which are long-term projects such as Doctors Without Borders or the Peace Corps. There are also programs designed for medical professionals and students with a short-term goal and a project that may last for just weeks.
Be sure to carefully read the general requirements for any volunteer program you are considering. To work in the field with Doctors Without Borders, for example, every applicant must have at least two years of relevant professional experience, availability for up to 12 months (except surgeons and anesthesiologists, who may be assigned for one to two months), relevant travel or work outside of the U.S., and a commitment to the principles of the organization.
The following individuals may volunteer with an overseas medical charity group:
- Pre-med/medical students typically interact with patients and may observe nurses and doctors at local clinics.
- Nurses may assist staff with minor procedures.
- Doctors may volunteer to work directly with patients in coordination with local doctors and staff.
- Dental students/dentists may work in local clinics.
Depending on your qualifications and interest, the following are broad ranges of volunteer programs available:
- HIV/AIDS Awareness. There were more than 1.7 million AIDS-related deaths in 2011. Despite improvements in prevention education, there is still much work to be done. You may work as a volunteer to travel to infected areas to work in orphanages, hospitals and clinics.
- Disabled Care. Hospitals, orphanages, schools and homes need medical volunteers to help with disabled children, who are often abandoned in many communities with little in the way of resources or rights.
- Hospital and Clinical Work. Volunteers with a medical degree may work to diagnose and treat patients.
- Health Education. Many volunteers who do not have a medical degree or healthcare experience can still help by focusing on prevention. Many people in developing countries do not know how to prevent illness.
Underserved Communities In Need
There is a need for medical care throughout the world, from simple vaccinations and check-ups to surgical intervention. Many areas of the world have a shortage of healthcare providers, compounded by limited access to healthcare. Depending on the nature of the program you join, you may be treating pervasive disease such as hepatitis, typhoid fever and dengue fever, providing basic healthcare services, responding to natural disaster or providing surgical care.
1. Peru
Best known for its magnificent Machu Picchu, Peru has much more than a rich history; it also has a large rural population in need of basic healthcare. Many villages in Peru are being ravaged by illness like typhoid fever and hepatitis, and medical volunteers here typically provide care such as check-ups for low-income families while learning about the local culture. There is also a great need in the communities for education on preventative healthcare and nutrition.
Volunteer programs working in Peru include:
- Doctors Without Borders, an international medical humanitarian organization that helps people around the world facing disaster, epidemic, conflict and other types of crisis
- Ayachucho Mission, a nonprofit organization that provides culturally sensitive medical care to the impoverished Andean community of Ayachucho, Peru
- A Broader View Volunteer, a nonprofit organization that arranges volunteer trips for spring break journeys and humanitarian missions
- Operation Smile, an international children’s charity that performs cleft lip and cleft palate surgery with postoperative and ongoing therapy
2. South Africa
HIV/AIDS is still a major concern in South Africa, and many volunteers to the region work to create awareness and improve education. Volunteers may also work in rural healthcare programs and clinics to treat prevalent disease like bacterial diarrhea, typhoid fever and hepatitis.
- Doctors Without Borders, an international medical humanitarian organization that helps people around the world facing disaster, epidemic, conflict and other types of crisis
- A Broader View Volunteer, a nonprofit organization that arranges volunteer trips for spring break journeys and humanitarian missions
- Operation Smile, an international children’s charity that performs cleft lip and cleft palate surgery with postoperative and ongoing therapy
3. Thailand
Many rural areas of Thailand lack access to even basic healthcare, with advanced care being nearly nonexistent. Volunteer programs in the country involve community-based projects that offer healthcare to small villages in the mountains.
Programs working in Thailand include:
- Doctors Without Borders, an international medical humanitarian organization that helps people around the world facing disaster, epidemic, conflict and other types of crisis
- Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS), a nonprofit that addresses critical global issues through volunteer work in communities
- Operation Smile, an international children’s charity that performs cleft lip and cleft palate surgery with postoperative and ongoing therapy
4. India
While India is now a destination for medical tourists from around the world, millions of Indians lack access to medical care and infectious disease is persistent. In fact, 20% of new tuberculosis cases in the world are attributed to the subcontinent. Volunteers often work in hospitals to learn from local doctors or provide care in rural areas where residents cannot afford health care.
- Doctors Without Borders, an international medical humanitarian organization that helps people around the world facing disaster, epidemic, conflict and other types of crisis
- Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS), a nonprofit that addresses critical global issues through volunteer work in communities
- Operation Smile, an international children’s charity that performs cleft lip and cleft palate surgery with postoperative and ongoing therapy
5. Costa Rica
While Costa Rica has higher healthcare standards than many other Latin American countries, there are still many Costa Ricans without access to even basic care with a shortage of medical resources. Many volunteers to the area work by giving vaccinations in villages to prevent disease.
Medical volunteer programs working in Costa Rica include:
- A Broader View Volunteer, a nonprofit organization that arranges volunteer trips for spring break journeys and humanitarian missions
- Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS), a nonprofit that addresses critical global issues through volunteer work in communities
- Operation Smile, an international children’s charity that performs cleft lip and cleft palate surgery with postoperative and ongoing therapy
6. Ghana
Ghana faces a shortage of healthcare providers and there is a great need for help in local hospitals to treat disease like typhoid and malaria. Volunteers also work to improve education on sexual and reproductive health for young adults. Medical volunteer programs working in Ghana include:
- A Broader View Volunteer, a nonprofit organization that arranges volunteer trips for spring break journeys and humanitarian missions
- Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS), a nonprofit that addresses critical global issues through volunteer work in communities
- Operation Smile, an international children’s charity that performs cleft lip and cleft palate surgery with postoperative and ongoing therapy
7. Honduras
HIV is a serious threat in Honduras, which has about 60% of all recorded cases in Central America. Honduras has one of the least developed health care systems in the region with a huge need for volunteers to help in hospitals and raise awareness for HIV prevention. Medical volunteer programs working in Honduras include:
- Doctors Without Borders, an international medical humanitarian organization that helps people around the world facing disaster, epidemic, conflict and other types of crisis
- A Broader View Volunteer, a nonprofit organization that arranges volunteer trips for spring break journeys and humanitarian missions
- Operation Smile, an international children’s charity that performs cleft lip and cleft palate surgery with postoperative and ongoing therapy
8. Vietnam
Vietnam has struggled to regain its position in the world since the 1970s and it welcomes medical volunteers, particularly those who are willing to care for disabled children and orphans and improve education in the country. Volunteer programs operating in Vietnam include:
- Operation Smile Vietnam, which accepts medical volunteers and non-medical volunteers to repair childhood facial deformities.
- Project Vietnam, a nonprofit organization run by Vietnamese health professionals to provide free healthcare to children.
- A Broader View Volunteer, a nonprofit organization that arranges volunteer trips for spring break journeys and humanitarian missions
Resources
- International Face to Face program:
Face to Face is a humanitarian surgical exchange program conducted for the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS). Surgeons working with Face to Face help those with facial deformities due to congenital birth defaults or trauma, particularly children. - Doctors without Borders: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
Doctors Without Borders is an international medical humanitarian organization that helps people around the world facing disaster, epidemic, conflict and other types of crisis with emergency medical aid. - MedRecruit: http://www.medrecruit.com/
MedRecruit partners doctors and hospitals to give hospitals the skilled doctors they need. - ProjectsAbroad: http://www.projects-abroad.org/
ProjectsAbroad is the largest international volunteer abroad program in the world operating in 35 countries. - Seed Global Health: http://www.seedglobalhealth.org/
Working with the Peace Corps, Seed Global Health trains physicians and nurses while making a human investment in health education throughout the world. - International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers: http://www.iamat.org/index.cfm
IAMAT is a nonprofit organization that promotes travel medicine and health by providing travelers with health information and a global network of doctors. - Voluntary Services Overseas: http://www.vso.org.uk/
VSO is the leading independent international development organization in the world. Volunteers work in communities around the world with local professionals to improve quality of life for locals. - Merlin: http://www.merlin.org.uk/
Merlin provides medical relief after conflict, natural disaster or epidemics across the globe. - Yucatan Adventure Eco-Cultural Travel Guide: http://www.yucatanadventure.com.mx/
Yucatan Adventure is a volunteer Eco-Travel Guide by the Maya Foundation In Laakeech (In Lakech) a sustainable civil society association in Yucatan, Mexico. - Internation Medical Corps UK:
Provides humanitarian relief around the world where it is most in need. - National Institutes of Health: http://www.nih.gov/
NIH is one of the world’s leading medical research centers and an agency of the U.S. Department of Health. - U.S. National Library of Medicine: U.S. National Library of Medicinehttps://www.nlm.nih.gov/
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is the largest medical library in the world. - U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/
HHS, or the Health Department, protects the health of all Americans and offers human services. - HealthFinder.gov: http://www.healthfinder.gov/
Access health information from the federal government.
Societies and Associations:
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons: http://www.plasticsurgery.org/
ASPS is the largest plastic surgery specialty organization in the world. Founded in 1931, the Society has over 7,000 members. - American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: http://www.aafprs.org/
The AAFPRS is the world’s largest association of facial plastic surgery with over 2,7000 surgeons. - American College of Surgeons: American College of Surgeonshttps://www.facs.org/
The ACS is an educational and scientific association of surgeons founded in 1913 to improve quality of care for patients with high standards. - American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery: https://www.entnet.org/
AAO-HNS is the largest organization in the world representing specialists who treat the ear, nose, throat and related structures, representing over 12,000 specialists. - American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery: http://www.surgery.org/
Founded in 1967, ASAPS is the leading professional organization of plastic surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery specializing in cosmetic surgery. - American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery: American Academy of Cosmetic Surgeryhttps://www.cosmeticsurgery.org/
A nonprofit organization that offers information on cosmetic surgery for physicians and patients.
- International Confederation for Plastic Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery: http://www.ipras.org/
IPRAS promotes plastic surgery clinically and scientifically to improve friendship between physicians across the world. - International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery: http://www.isaps.org/
ISAPS is a worldwide organization created at the United Nations and representing more than 2,400 plastic surgeons in 94 countries.
