Health Care- Hospital Volunteer work in rural hospitals in Kenya

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Season: All Year Round

Location: Nyanza and Western regions, Kenya

Hours needed: week days (Monday-Friday) 5-8hrs/day

Volunteers are welcomed to offer an extra pair of hands as a healthcare volunteer at RHD where a small act of kindness will go a long way. Volunteer assistance can have a life-changing effect on the vulnerable, ill and over-burdened communities in rural Kenya.

Public health facilities in Kenya are faced with numerous challenges, including under-staffing, lack of equipment and resources, operating without sufficient doctors and with few structures in place to efficiently give services to patients. RHD partners with a number of public and private hospitals, clinics in the community, where medical volunteers can gain insight into Kenyan healthcare alongside medical professionals.

A volunteer will acquire knowledge, share skills, and build relationships. Volunteer’s medical background will determine his/her placement at the various public health centre’s or hospitals, and to assist us in planning for placement, we ask that volunteers send through details of their healthcare experience, qualifications and/or current university course.

During this work and volunteer experience, volunteer will come to a new understanding of what constitutes a basic need between local culture and his/her own. The volunteer will realize that a smile costs nothing but means the world in encouragement and that he/she is capable of achieving far more than he/she ever thought possible. Volunteer can change a life by simply giving care and attention, all while experiencing the wonders of Kenya, its warmth and amazing wildlife.

Volunteers will be placed under the guidance of local health workers who will directly supervise your work. This opportunity is perfect for medical students, doctors, nurses, or people with interest in healthcare.

Volunteers in groups who are willing to perform/organize a community medical outreach program locally are encouraged and welcome to do so through proper coordination with RHD.

The assigned duties vary according to the education, experience skills and qualifications of each volunteer;

• Help in health camps/ outreach programs
• Provide counseling to patients
• Participate in public awareness campaigns
• Assist healthcare workers in providing services in maternity care (that include weighing babies!), opportunistic infection (HIV and TB) management, immunization of children, measure blood pressure , temperature, height and weight, outpatient consultations and pharmacy tasks in local clinics.
• Help local staff with non-medical tasks, such as archiving, filing, maintenance and welcoming patients.
• Join healthcare workers on home visits, where you’ll get to learn more about the local community’s way of life.
• Participate in education drives on a range of subjects, from nutrition to immunization.
• Learn about healthcare services in Kenya.
• Involve a search/rescue or reassuring those who have undergone a stressful/traumatic experience
• Help with medicine donation.

Qualification and Experience:

• At least Higher Diploma Education in Medical Health Science, Community Health, Pharmacy, Medical Engineering, Clinical Medicine, Laboratory Science and other related Health academic course. Volunteers must be 18 years or older at the beginning of the program.

Volunteers participating in the medical field must have appropriate training and certification from a recognized institution.

Preferred Skills

• Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills
• Counseling skills
• High level of attention and listening skills
• Accommodative
• Medical data computation skills
• Clerical skills
• Research skills
• Understanding new or complex information and learning new skills
• Ability to exercise a high level of tact and discretion in both internal and external interactions
• Ability to create and maintain good working relationship with a variety of people
• Ability to motivate and lead a team and work as a team member
• Respectful of privacy and feelings of others
• Dependable and trustworthy
• Warmth and caring.