Hi,
I graduated college a year ago and I'm working as a research assistant at a cancer center. My passion is in working in third world countries in diverse (or new) cultures. I wanted to look for any opportunities to volunteer, especially for underserved areas. I looked into volunteering abroad, but these programs sort of don't fit into what I want. I've once joined a medical volunteering program while I was in school and went to Costa Rica/Panama for 10 days. Bunch of college students + cheap food and drinks just turned into more of party days and the actual working and learning days. Out of 10 days, we worked with patients for only 4 days, which I wasn't really happy about. I spent around $1,500 for this trip and I didn't feel like it wasn't any different that normal backpacking I would do (and I had worked extra to save $ for this!).
To experience what I want in the future, I wanted to look into volunteering opportunities in Central/South America area for my 2 weeks vacation days. But I don't think they will serve as a busy learning experience, especially since I'm only a pre-med with no actual medical skills.
I am pretty sure that there are places in Houston, TX (where I live) that I can start volunteering as long as I stay in Houston. But I just didn't know where to start. Could anyone give me an advice as to how to find these places in Texas? For example, I looked into Planned Parenthood, but the positions weren't open. I would love to volunteer for anything, but the clinical experience is what I need the most.
I still have desire to travel to Central/South America for clinical volunteering experiences. So any information shared on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
I graduated college a year ago and I'm working as a research assistant at a cancer center. My passion is in working in third world countries in diverse (or new) cultures. I wanted to look for any opportunities to volunteer, especially for underserved areas. I looked into volunteering abroad, but these programs sort of don't fit into what I want. I've once joined a medical volunteering program while I was in school and went to Costa Rica/Panama for 10 days. Bunch of college students + cheap food and drinks just turned into more of party days and the actual working and learning days. Out of 10 days, we worked with patients for only 4 days, which I wasn't really happy about. I spent around $1,500 for this trip and I didn't feel like it wasn't any different that normal backpacking I would do (and I had worked extra to save $ for this!).
To experience what I want in the future, I wanted to look into volunteering opportunities in Central/South America area for my 2 weeks vacation days. But I don't think they will serve as a busy learning experience, especially since I'm only a pre-med with no actual medical skills.
I am pretty sure that there are places in Houston, TX (where I live) that I can start volunteering as long as I stay in Houston. But I just didn't know where to start. Could anyone give me an advice as to how to find these places in Texas? For example, I looked into Planned Parenthood, but the positions weren't open. I would love to volunteer for anything, but the clinical experience is what I need the most.
I still have desire to travel to Central/South America for clinical volunteering experiences. So any information shared on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
