Volunteering abroad

[blackness99]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I was wondering if anyone has had good experiences with medically related volunteering abroad programs. basically i'm looking for a program ideally where you pay to go with the organization to volunteer in a country that lacks well-developed health care and assist in clinics to provide basic medical assistance. I'm trying to find a program also that doesn't really care about transcripts, letters of rec, etc. and instead are willing to find pre-meds that just wanna pay.

Thanks

 

[NickNaylor]

These programs don't seem to be looked at very favorably here. The main argument seems to be that you can get much better experiences by just doing something at home over the long-term. Plus these travel programs tend to be very expensive.

 

[cowsgomuon]

Personally, I feel like if you actually wanted to help people in that country, you'd donate the money so they can get medical care instead of using it for a plane ticket so you can pad your app. I know that's a strong statement, but I've become pretty disillusioned about that type of program. There are plenty of ways to help underserved patients and communities in the US. There are also plenty of sponsored ways to do medical service abroad, like the Peace Corps. There have been a lot of articles about how pay-to-go-abroad-and-give-people-stitches programs don't help the patients there at all, since all the volunteers are premeds who aren't that useful. Volunteering abroad as a medical student or paramedic, sure. As a premed? Questionable.

However, if you have a background in international health or public health, and want to implement some sort of cool project, it might be a good idea. I don't know your background, so I don't want to come across as harsh without knowing the full story.

 

[cmwhite11]

Check out Global Brigades!
"Global Brigades is the world’s largest student-led global health and sustainable development organization. Since 2004, Global Brigades has mobilized thousands of university students and professionals through nine skill-based service programs to improve quality of life in under resourced communities." - globalbrigades.org

I founded the Emory chapter of GB at the end of my freshman year and participated in two week-long summer trips to Honduras in 2009 and 2010. Groups are responsible for recruiting medical professionals and collecting needed medications to bring on "medical brigades" to rural, underserved communities. We spent three days setting up temporary clinics in villages (usually in schools), and student volunteers had the opportunity to participate in patient intake and triage, as well as shadow physicians and fill prescriptions. Spanish is very helpful but not required. The cost is $750-$850 plus airfare. It's pricey but several volunteers covered their costs through fundraising alone. GB currently has programs in Honduras and Panama and is expanding to Ghana this year!

Basically, GB is an incredible organization and was definitely my most meaningful experience during undergrad. I would highly recommend looking into whether your school has a chapter, and if not, starting one yourself. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it! You could also consider joining a brigade from another school.

Good luck! 🙂

P.S. Glad I read the replies before I posted.. I definitely feel that this was a worthwhile program, both in terms of the experience I gained and the assistance provided to the communities we served. One of the cool things about GB is that we don't visit communities once and never come back - groups keep returning again and again to provide medical care and other forms of assistance, and also encourage self sufficiency by leading public health workshops, etc.

 

[Lil Mick]

The ACTS clinic in White River, Mpumalanga, takes students (not sure how often they take an out-of-country pre-med), but it is an awesome place to work--great people, making a difference to villages struggling with HIV, and providing room and board in exchange for labor. If you're able to get air fare to South Africa, I'd highly recommend it 🙂

 

[SarahBellum1]

http://www.vidavolunteertravel.org/

Loved it.

 

[NKChemEng]

The main argument seems to be that you can get much better experiences by just doing something at home over the long-term.

Really true. There are so many places that need help here at home that it irks me when people go abroad to volunteer for a couple of weeks.

 

[SarahBellum1]

If you saw the level of poverty and living conditions they have in these countries, you'd understand. I'd rather be homeless here in the US than live in some of the houses (if you can call it that) they have down there.

And let's just say that you would NOT want to ever be admitted to the hospitals there.

 

[Web MD]

Global Brigades is a solid choice. My second major is public health and we implemented a few awesome projects down in Honduras over the past 3 years. Combined with the engineering students to make water filters and smoke free ovens. I also translated for the medical brigades. If you're interested/studying global health, definitely go, it's the best way to make material and case studies come alive and to actually experience the systematic disadvantage and obstacles to care that you always read about. If you can translate, that's also a solid reason to go. If you're going to watch the docs work and wear scrubs for 2 weeks, not so much

 

[NKChemEng]

If you saw the level of poverty and living conditions they have in these countries, you'd understand. I'd rather be homeless here in the US than live in some of the houses (if you can call it that) they have down there.

Good point - I think I should clarify. I very much respect people genuinely going abroad for a while, and making a significant change. However, there are some 2-3 week programs to Europe or other areas which are VERY expensive, and the kids that do it generally don't really help out significantly. It's like going in to save lives in a village, and leaving 2 weeks afterwards. I understand that many countries have horrible living conditions, but short "mission" trips that just fulfill "traveling abroad" and "volunteering" do not seem genuine to me.

 

[SarahBellum1]

Good point - I think I should clarify. I very much respect people genuinely going abroad for a while, and making a significant change. However, there are some 2-3 week programs to Europe or other areas which are VERY expensive, and the kids that do it generally don't really help out significantly. It's like going in to save lives in a village, and leaving 2 weeks afterwards. I understand that many countries have horrible living conditions, but short "mission" trips that just fulfill "traveling abroad" and "volunteering" do not seem genuine to me.

I can understand what you're saying. I went to Costa Rica/Nicaragua for 2 weeks (they have options for longer) and if it were possible for me to stay for a longer period of time, I would have. And I would go back again in a heartbeat if I could. But I don't think it's really fair to say that only being there for 2 weeks did not or could not make a difference. You don't have to cure the entire world to make a difference to someone or induce a change. To me, at least, even if I can help just one person and maybe make their life a little bit happier, it's worth it, and that IS making a difference, even if it is just to that one person. And sometimes it's just not possible to stay longer, so that doesn't mean that the volunteer's intent isn't genuine. We had about 60 +/- people a day come in to our clinic, and over the two weeks we held 8 clinics. That's almost 500 people. I'm not trying to exaggerate and say that we saved all these people's lives or whatever, but I still think it's significant and meaningful.

 

[NickNaylor]

I can understand what you're saying. I went to Costa Rica/Nicaragua for 2 weeks (they have options for longer) and if it were possible for me to stay for a longer period of time, I would have. And I would go back again in a heartbeat if I could. But I don't think it's really fair to say that only being there for 2 weeks did not or could not make a difference. You don't have to cure the entire world to make a difference to someone or induce a change. To me, at least, even if I can help just one person and maybe make their life a little bit happier, it's worth it, and that IS making a difference, even if it is just to that one person. And sometimes it's just not possible to stay longer, so that doesn't mean that the volunteer's intent isn't genuine. We had about 60 +/- people a day come in to our clinic, and over the two weeks we held 8 clinics. That's almost 500 people. I'm not trying to exaggerate and say that we saved all these people's lives or whatever, but I still think it's significant and meaningful.

But for the price of your airline ticket and accommodations, you could've done some MAJOR work in your local community.

I'm not denigrating your work. But there's some serious loss in doing stuff abroad just for the sake of doing stuff abroad.

 

[SarahBellum1]

But for the price of your airline ticket and accommodations, you could've done some MAJOR work in your local community.

I'm not denigrating your work. But there's some serious loss in doing stuff abroad just for the sake of doing stuff abroad.

Yeahhh, thats true. The money that was actually given to the organization after those expenses would go a longer way there than it would in the US though, I would think? Like on all those feed the hungry commercials say that you can feed a family for a year for 7 cents a day or something ridiculous like that...obviously that can't be done here. I see your point, though.

 

[Lil Mick]

I don't know. I worked abroad for a while, and it helped me decide that I wanted to go into medicine and public health for at least part of my career. I doubt that the week-long excursions can make a difference or change people, but working in an area with 70% HIV rates in some villages and being able to genuinely help those people--education, treatment, and setting up infrastructure to provide for their needs in the long term--really impacted me. I'd recommend taking a semester or year to do something like that (especially if you are working--less problems financially).

 

[Narmerguy]

But for the price of your airline ticket and accommodations, you could've done some MAJOR work in your local community.

I'm not denigrating your work. But there's some serious loss in doing stuff abroad just for the sake of doing stuff abroad.

As someone that did some work abroad...I completely agree.

If you're dead set on going abroad, find a way to do it through a well managed local organization and not the American-based ones that jack up the prices MUCH more.

There's a lot of value in going abroad for these trips, but if your aim is simply to help people than don't go. You have no useful training and your being American doesn't mean you can follow instructions in a way that some local nurse couldn't. These medical trips are the worst in my opinion because of that--you have absolutely no skills and are literally paying to just be another warm body that can help follow instructions.

Why do people always feel compelled to make these trips medically related? Working to teach English somewhere, helping to improve infrastructure, lending some expertise you may have in IT or grant-writing...these are all valuable things that a premed can actually contribute.

 

[PlacentaSac]

These programs don't seem to be looked at very favorably here. The main argument seems to be that you can get much better experiences by just doing something at home over the long-term. Plus these travel programs tend to be very expensive.

I have to agree 100% with NickNaylor. When I was at USC, my mentor who was also on the admissions committee told me the exact same thing. She said that her colleagues all shared the same sentiment that two week excursions were more of a vacation in their eyes. I decided to do a one year clinical internship in an underserved area of Los Angeles instead and putting in over 400 hours. It was well received by all of my interviews when I applied. I just want to add, if you have lots of clinical exposure in one experience, then I guess it would be okay to go out and do a Global medicine trip. However, if you don't have much, I don't see this as the best idea.

 

[hello0]

I did a trip with the Global Medical Training program and I would definitely not consider it a "vacation." We stayed in a "hotel" with very little running water, no AC, electronics, and we couldn't flush toilet paper...It was a significantly humbling experience and I would recommend it to anyone...Yes, it's expensive, but a lot of times the clubs will help with fundraising and when you're shoveling out $1000+ just to apply to medical schools, it's small in comparison...just my 2 cents!

 

[ReptarBar]

you could better spend that $2000 on medical supplies for doctors/nurses to use overseas. end of story.

 

[cmwhite11]

you could better spend that $2000 on medical supplies for doctors/nurses to use overseas. end of story.

Might be true, but it's more meaningful to some people to GO and personally DO something to help instead of just sending a bunch of money "over there," which may or may not actually make it to the people who need it most.

Bottom line is that there's a lot of need both in the U.S. and abroad, and service in either context (in my opinion) is equally valuable - whether you're starting up a clinic in South Africa or helping the homeless in NYC.

 

[ReptarBar]

yea but undergraduates, legally and skill-wise, can't contribute much overseas. as a future doctor, wouldn't you want to choose the more selfless option, which is to donate the money to a reputable organization (or just not go at all)?

 

[NickNaylor]

Here's an opinion from the admissions director at Michigan:

"Pre-meds going abroad for brief clinical opportunities-I'm not a fan...rather you found sustained, meaningful work in your own community." (http://twitter.com/UMichMedAdmiss)

He probably wrote that directly in response to this thread - I know that he does peruse SDN occasionally and respond to topics on Twitter. It's just one opinion so take it for what it is.

 

[PlacentaSac]

Here's an opinion from the admissions director at Michigan:

"Pre-meds going abroad for brief clinical opportunities-I'm not a fan...rather you found sustained, meaningful work in your own community." (http://twitter.com/UMichMedAdmiss)

He probably wrote that directly in response to this thread - I know that he does peruse SDN occasionally and respond to topics on Twitter. It's just one opinion so take it for what it is.

NickNaylor never disppoints; his info is usually spot on. So now you guys know what USC and U. of Mich feel about the issue. I'm sure they are not the only two. It's good info to consider when making your decision.

 

[whatsupdoc49]

I completely disagree with most of these posters. As an active and long term volunteer in my local community, as well as a volunteer abroad for a summer, I can tell you that volunteering abroad is an extremely valuable experience, and is an effective way to truly make a difference in the lives of others. I was lucky enough to be able to work and save up enough money to fund a trip to South Africa, where I volunteered in an orphanage in a poor black township (result of the apartheid...yada yada). Here, I worked to teach children (ages 2 1/2 to 6) English so that they can hopefully attend school sometime in the future. Virtually no one in the townships know English, and entrance exams to get into primary school are, unfortunately, in English.

I could go on and on but long story short, none of the volunteer work I do locally (battered womens' shelter, retirement home, hospital work) could ever come close to making as big of an impact than my work in SA (either on me or on the people I am working to help). True, you can send money abroad and spend your time in your own community, but unless you have direct access to some of the worst conditions in the United States, it will not even be on the same level as throwing yourself into the most impoverished/war-torn/disease-stricken areas of the world.

Another truly valuable thing that I got out of volunteering abroad was an appreciation for other cultures. I learned so much about the Xhosa people and became good friends with a man from Zimbabwe. Learning about and working with people of other cultures is something that I have found to continue to benefit me to this day, and is truly an experience I never could have gotten had I not traveled outside of my community.

Moral of my rant: volunteering locally is extremely important, and I would never tell someone to volunteer abroad and skip out on volunteering locally, but if you have the choice to do both, for god sake, GO FOR IT. you wont be sorry. 🙂

 

[whatsupdoc49]

Also, no one should base their volunteering on what looks good to adcoms. If you are only volunteering to put it on an application, you probably shouldn't be volunteering in the first place. Do it for the people who are worse off than you. Do it to make yourself a better, more well-rounded person. Don't so it because someone told you it would look good.

 

[whatsupdoc49]

end of rant.

 

[romanjetfighter]

i did volunteering abroad last summer for 2.5 months.

best experience of my life. hands down.

way much more fun and enlightening then any volunteer work i've done here in the US. giving money to organizations is not the best way to go, many of these organizations spend money recklessly on fancy parties and galas to promote "awareness." it's like a circlejerk.

by helping kids and the less fortunate in a completely new setting, completely out of your comfort zone, you learn A LOT about yourself. working in 50 celsius heat with international students from all over the world (so many hot swiss people), riding a moped to deliver food and blocks of ice to orphanages, giving a ******ed child who pissed herself two days straight a shower for the first time in a week, learning a new language, cutting half an acre of tropical grass with a knife, living alone in a hotel room, arguing with taxi drivers over fare, walking miles bleeding because you crashed your moped, giving yourself your own medical care because hospitals deny you since you're not a citizen, meeting the mayor of the capital of the country because you met his son at a fancy restaurant because you can now afford fancy restaurants. hiking tropical mountains with your new friends to mountain village schools to design the new buildings and draft learning outlines, and then going to conventions in the big city with big execs for fundraisers.

doing all of that is way more fun and fulfilling (it made me feel like i was making a difference and LIVING life) than escorting patients and folding linen in a fluorescent-lit hospital ward for 3 months.

you learn to appreciate everything differently, you see things differently, even when you come back. it's like in dead poets society when the teacher asks the kids to stand on the desk, for the sake of looking at things from a different viewpoint. living in a completely different environment makes you appreciate everything you have. it's a remarkable experience you will never forget.

volunteer abroad. it's worth it. just go with a good program and in a poor country. you'll feel uncomfortable and you might be a bit unsafe (some of my friends got drugged/robbed/crashed their moped) but seeing FIRSTHAND how your blood and sweat directly benefits people in critical need is the most fulfilling thing i have ever experienced. it's a deeply personal experience, so people who have not done volunteering overseas will not be able to relate to me and imagine what a great educating experience it can be.

too long/didn't read?: VOLUNTEER OVERSEAS. IT KICKS ASS. YOU WILL IMPACT PEOPLE'S LIVES IN A GREAT WAY AND LEARN A LOT ABOUT YOURSELF. 🙂

 

[Sailor Senshi Dermystify]

OP go ahead and volunteer abroad. I volunteered in Nepal for a month and it was the best experience I ever had 🙂. When I researched in Ghana through MHIRT I also volunteered at the hospital and at the school for 3 months. I am now heading to Korea for a fellowship to teach English. During my break, I am trying to go to Cambodia to do a Human Rights Project and see how that affects healthcare. Volunteering abroad for a month or more is very substantial and you can learn a lot too. I am interested in Global Health as well sooo 😀