Medical and health volunteering

Medical and health volunteering is a great career break for a medical professional who wants to use their skills to help disadvantaged people in some of the world's poorest areas. If you are qualified and you currently work as a nurse, midwife, general practitioner or specialist doctor, you can find a placement where you can use these skills and get involved in training other medical staff.

It's also the career break for you if you are looking to get into a career in health or medicine and would like some experience, as not all the volunteer roles require it.

On a medical or health volunteering placement you could be:

• Working in a busy hospital, working alongside local staff, or leading and training them
• Working in rural clinics, helping local staff with their patients
• Volunteering in outreach, raising awareness and promoting health improvement programmes
• Observing medical practices and procedures - if you have no experience, you can still get involved by observing and sitting in on consultations
• Specialist in an area of your choice
• Delivering training - either in a hospital environment, or teaching basic first aid skills to a community group
• Involved in emergency care
• Prescribing medicine

What will I need to volunteer in a medical or health placement?

You will need to be resourceful and adaptable. If you're used to working in a Western hospital, you may well find in a developing country that the equipment is basic and there is a lack of local knowledge and skills.

You may work in smaller or larger teams than you are used to, with different structures. It can be exciting as well as challenging!

You'll obviously be sensitive to local cultures and needs, both with your colleagues and with your patients.

An open mind is also important. You will be able to learn an incredible amount from your placement, and may discover useful techniques and practices that could benefit your working environment at home.

Who will I work with?

You will be assigned to a doctor or nurse who will supervise you throughout your placement. Inexperienced career breakers can expect full-time supervision whereas those with professional experience may be expected to manage themselves for the most part.

Your supervisor will be English-speaking.

Depending on your placement, there may or may not be other volunteers there.

What will I get out of a volunteer medical or health placement?

You will learn an incredible amount. If you're interested in learning more about tropical diseases, a medical placement abroad can give you an insight into these conditions that you can't get at home. These conditions are better understood and treated in a different country, and some practices and standards of care are ahead of Western countries.

You might find yourself working with experts in their field, and will have a unique opportunity to learn from them.

If you're working in a very basic environment without much equipment, you will find that your clinical judgement improves and your decision-making skills are sharper.

You will also learn about healthcare structures, patients' attitudes, and medical practices in different places. This knowledge can be incredibly useful once you return home.

If you work with a diverse population in your home country, you will find that volunteering on a medical placement gives you the skills and knowledge to work more closely with patients from a range of countries and backgrounds. You might even pick up enough of their language to be able to communicate better!

Obviously, your applied work experience will give you better career prospects in future, particularly if the medical or health placement is directly related to your chosen field. You might find you discover a new area of interest as well, while you are abroad, and this will give you the experience you need to progress.

Look at all organisations who provide medical and health placements here.