Observing and Assisting Local Health Professionals
"I think we managed to visit just about every ward in the hospital while we were there! Everything was mostly observational but as nursing students it was a great experience, we didn't expect to be doing too much hands-on work."Rachel Harris, Volunteer in Thailand
Observing and assisting local health professionals enables you to support much needed healthcare services offered in the community. These may include promoting health education, nutrition, and hygiene in homes for the elderly, orphanages, health clinics, and even elementary schools. Healthcare service providers often work with limited resources and offer services to low-income populations at minimal or no cost so local health professionals appreciate your presence and the extra pair of hands to assist them.
Volunteer work may include providing education about basic health and nutrition, physical therapy activities and stretching, basic cleaning, organizing, and offering companionship. A key contribution of any volunteer in this type of placement is cultural exchange. This may mean exchanging ideas and life experiences or offering companionship.
The cultural exchange even extends to teaching English to both community members and health professionals.
Simply by being there to support their work in the community, your presence provides these professionals with a sense of solidarity for their work. Your volunteer work will vary based on your level of knowledge and experience in the field of health, your fluency in the local language, and also the customs of the country where you are volunteering.
These volunteer placements are available in Brazil, Ghana, Guatemala City - Guatemala, New Delhi - India, Morocco, Ayacucho - Peru, South Africa, Arusha - Tanzania, Bagamoyo - Tanzania, Kilimanjaro - Tanzania, Rural Kilimanjaro - Tanzania, and Bangkok - Thailand.
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