(Updated for 2017)
Are you a doctor, dentist, nurse, veterinarian, physical therapist or other healthcare provider with an interest in serving a community in a way that most people can’t?
Are you a pre-health student (pre med, pre dental, pre veterinarian) or aspiring medical professional looking to enhance your skill set and/or gain experience in another community across the globe through a healthcare volunteer abroad trip?
Are you willing to take part in the effort to bring first-rate healthcare to people who usually don’t have the regular opportunity to see a doctor or other healthcare provider?
If any of these applies to you, medical volunteering may be the perfect chance for you to volunteer abroad while also putting your hard-earned, specialized skills to use for people who don’t have reliable access to advanced medical care.
Medical Volunteer Abroad Programs for Doctors, Nurses, Pre Med Students
When most people think about volunteering, they think about going to a foreign country and doing something they’ve never done before, like teaching English or helping expand school buildings. Of course, while these may be incredible projects that are of great use to a community, some volunteers don’t always consider that they may be able to play a different role as a specialized volunteer, like a medical or healthcare volunteer.
Many volunteers don’t realize that they may be able to use their specialized skills and that these skills could give them the ability to serve an at-need community in a way that most volunteers could not. Medical volunteer abroad trips can be extremely rewarding, and are a great chance for people with specialized skills to participate in a volunteer project that, because of the nature of their projects, can only accept people with very specific qualifications or interests.
To participate in a medical volunteer abroad program, you don’t necessarily have to have a medical degree, as requirements vary by programs. Some programs, like affordably-priced International Volunteer HQ and Maximo Nivel, are able to accept volunteers and healthcare interns who are simply interested in medical placements while others require a degree and clinical experience. In these roles, volunteers have the opportunity to shadow licensed practitioners while providing administrative, logistical, or lingual support.
There are even pre med volunteer abroad programs specifically for undergraduates and graduate medical student volunteers. As an example, Volunteering Solutions offers participants in its Tanzania program different placements depending on whether they are pre-med, in medical school, or in dental school.
Additionally, many programs specialize in the types of programs they offer. For example, one program may have medical, nursing, dental, and physical therapy volunteer abroad projects while others only specialize in a certain area (i.e. dental volunteer abroad projects). As we go through the programs spotlighted below, we make it clear who can apply to which programs and what kind of specialized projects they offer.
You have probably heard about long-term medical volunteer abroad projects, like Doctors Without Borders (arguably the best known doctor volunteering abroad program) or the Peace Corps. However, there are also plenty of volunteer programs targeted towards medical professionals and students looking to serve in short-term projects ranging from just a few weeks to a few months.For example, the Maximo Nivel medical internships in Costa Rica, Peru, or Guatemala only require a minimum duration of four weeks.
The need for medical volunteers exists almost anywhere around the globe. Although many countries have adequate health care for most of their populations, this access doesn’t always extend to the marginalized groups or other under-served populations.
As a medical volunteer, you’ll be asked to use your skills to the betterment of those who need them most, doing work that transcends regional borders and ethnic groups. Also, it's important to realize that programs aren't just limited to doctors volunteering abroad!
