Volunteer Abroad programs

[bewell24]

I am a current post bacc pre med student. I have free time during the winter break and am really interested in volunteering abroad. I've read lots about the pros and cons of going abroad, and just want to know the legit programs that I can volunteer for?
I understand that I can't really gain clinical experience abroad because I am not trained, but I think it would be an amazing experience to help those in need even if I was just taking vitals or talking to patients and keeping them comforted while they are waiting to see a trained medical professional.

Please give me any advice you may have. Such as good programs to go abroad with.
Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[JuanPabloCastel]

Not only is it not really much of a boost to your app, but it's plainly counterproductive if you actually care about the health of these people. Instead of wasting thousands of dollars on travel which could have been used for paying for medications, organize a fundraiser in that time and donate that money to a group which can really help- msf, oxfam, etc. That's something that would actually help your app.

 

[JoRands]

I read a lot about what people said before I traveled abroad, a lot of it was negative however I decided to do it anyway. And I can honestly say i'm 100% glad I did it. Like the poster above said you can help people anywhere, but the experience I got from travelling was something that I never would have imagined. I volunteer with IVHQ(Intentational Volunteer Headquarters), and it was a relatively cheap program compared to others I saw. Besides airfare, it was about 300-400 for 3 weeks which pays for the program, room and board, and although you can't do many of the medical programs without experience, they have a lot of other volunteer programs such as teaching English, working in an orphanage or doing outdoor work. Other volunteer abroad programs cost over a thousand dollars not including airfare, for no experience medically related work which I don't see as worth it. Anyway, back to my point, volunteering abroad added an entirely different perspective to my life, from the people I met who lived there, to other volunteers I met, I feel as if it's not something I could have gotten from volunteering in the hospital at home. And just as much as people say you shouldn't volunteer for your resume, I feel like not volunteering just because of your resume is just as bad because its really something different from going on vacation, or just studying abroad.

 

[talinnlove]

I think that the idea with threads like this http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=994079 advocating for not going on "voluntourism" programs is that pre-meds who do them sometimes try to play them off as acts of high altruism. The problem is that in many cases, the motivation behind the trip is clearly personal benefit/resume building, which makes the applicant seem like they're blowing hot air when they talk about how much they care about service and uplifting humanity or what have you. The problem isn't the fact that it's benefiting them personally (they paid for it, so they might as well get something out of it), it's that they're not calling a spade a spade.

Your perspective is much more realistic. Describing the experience as something that allowed personal growth, and being upfront about the fact that it wasn't purely for the good of the people of the host country, does not seem disingenuous. It's a matter of framing it so the applicant doesn't come off sounding manipulative.

 

[Noggin]

Volunteer abroad if you are truly interested in volunteering abroad. Do not do it if you think it will boost your app in any way. However, the argument that schools dislike students who volunteer abroad is hard to believe, as many of the schools that I have completed secondaries for have programs that try and get students to do global health work.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Volunteer abroad if you are truly interested in volunteering abroad. Do not do it if you think it will boost your app in any way. However, the argument that schools dislike students who volunteer abroad is hard to believe, as many of the schools that I have completed secondaries for have programs that try and get students to do global health work.

I've seen pictures on medical school websites where their students have gone abroad to help others. I guess the schools might be doing it themselves to look good, but who knows?

 

[FutureOncologist]

Just travel abroad if you want to. Don't do volunteer work. I'm not saying it's negative, but it isn't a huge boost. It's all on how you sell it.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Just travel abroad if you want to. Don't do volunteer work. I'm not saying it's negative, but it isn't a huge boost. It's all on how you sell it.

I agree with traveling abroad on your own terms. For the money you'd spend going on a mission trip, you can probably get a nice airfare + hotel package to a way more exotic location, thus having way more fun. If you genuinely care about the native population that you would volunteer to help, then do it. But don't kid yourself if you don't. It's not going to be a boost to your application unless it's a very long term commitment, you went multiple times, or did stuff after to keep a long term commitment with the organization. I'm guessing a majority of pre-meds don't do any of these, and just check the box to get it done and over with.