MEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE EXPERIENCE & OBSERVATION - Work side by side with medical staff at local cli

Save to Favorites

Recruiting Organization: Aldeas de Paz - Peace Villages

Gain invaluable hands-on experience, working side by side with medical staff and fellow volunteers at a hospital or a neighborhood health clinic. This opportunity will give you an insight into the running and daily routine of a hospital or a neighborhood health clinic. You will experience the stark contrast between Western medical practice and the realities of medicine in developing countries. As the hospitals and clinics are still modernizing, there are many challenges faced and as a result you will also see medical conditions that have remained untreated and have developed to an advanced pathological stage. Therefore this project not only provides you with responsibility, it also allows you to broaden your perspective by working at a hospital/health clinic in a developing country.

Furthermore, you can gain experience in a range of different departments and activities within the hospital/health clinic, such as: emergency, pediatric, maternity (only female volunteers), diabetes, integral attention & prevention for HIV, tuberculosis and uterine cancer as well as nursing, hospital administration and management assisting with accountancy and helping with statistics. There is also the possibility to work in the hospital pharmacy. You are welcome to also work on our other projects such as the English and computer literacy classes for locals.

Your level of possible involvement will largely depend on your Spanish language skills and experiences in the field, as well as your motivation and willingness to get involved. It will also depend on the current needs and tasks at the hospital as we really want to help out wherever our help is needed most. Your work schedule will be created in a meeting with the departmental director and the volunteer coordinator and supervisor. In this process we always try to match your interests and skills with the current situation at the hospital. In order to gain the most out of your experience, and especially if you have a specific health care goal, please contact us in advance to discuss your options in detail. Please keep in mind that hospitalized patient care in the Dominican Republic is much less extensive compared to nursery practices in the western world! It is common to see that family members are expected to take care of their patient at the hospital.

What to expect

You can join this program throughout the whole year. Working hours will be primarily in the morning when the physicians are at the hospital/health clinic while in healthcare 24 hour rotations are implemented. As with any medical service, volunteers should recognize that their schedules may be subject to sudden changes and are dictated by patients’ needs.

Activities can include but are not limited to

• Observing, shadowing and assisting doctors and nurses during their work
• Participating in patient care: comforting patients and assisting with examinations
• Providing ambulance support when needed
• Assisting, teaching and encouraging prevention, hygiene and checkups
• Assisting in developing educational materials and engagement strategies for various prevention programs using multimedia
• Helping regularly with hospital administration tasks and helping improve procedures and workflow
• Some volunteers may also choose to teach English to the doctors, provided that there is a sufficient number of doctors interested
• Foreign medical missions visit and work at the hospital several times a year. You may accompany them and translate for them and the patients

Guidelines on medical Issues of the Dominican Republic:

• WHO report on health care reform in Dominican Republic, 2010
• Health System of the Dominican Republic, 2011. The website provides an excellent overview of common medical issues in the DR and the government health system. Only available in Spanish.

Program Highlights

• Experience the Dominican style of live and chill by the rhythm of Caribbean music!
• Gain Spanish fluency with the help of our free Spanish classes and share daily life with locals
• Become more passionate about your studies and propel your career with international experience!
• Make memories you never forget during weekend excursions with your fellow participants!
• Enjoy the gorgeous beaches of Samana, climb the mountain peaks of pico Duarte and visit historical sites in Santo Domingos' colonial town!

Requirements

This program is suitable for pre-medical students and students of pharmaceutics as well as nursing students with free holiday time, pre-university students, students taking or planning to take specialist medical courses such as biomedical science, nursing and physiotherapy as well as professionals. The key requirements for a medical volunteer or intern are initiative, enthusiasm, and readiness to work in unfamiliar circumstances. If volunteers have more specialized skills, this will allow for more specialized activities. Basic conversational Spanish skills are required and the more advanced your level of experience and Spanish language skills, the larger the number of opportunities available. To allow a deeper engagement with your placement we offer free Spanish language lessons every week allowing for an enhanced experience as a volunteer/intern with us. Suggestions on what to bring: Please bring scrubs and easy to clean comfortable closed shoes to wear as they are mandatory

Volunteer placement or apprenticeship

You can join this program as a volunteer or apprentice. As a volunteer you are free to commit any number of hours per week. That's up to you! As an apprentice or intern however you probably have to fulfill requirements set by your school or university. Please inform us of your school or university internship requirements in advance so that we can work out your personalized work plan together. Also tell us about your personal expectations and goals. We are happy to give students academic credit or provide a report outlining the learning outcomes and deliverables achieved during the placement.

Availability

This program is ongoing throughout the whole year

Time Commitment

A minimum time commitment of 2 weeks is required and can be extended up to one year

Placement Location

Samana & Las Terrenas

About your Placement Location

The Aldeas de Paz Foundation headquarters are located in the villages of Samana and las Terrenas, located at the heart of Samana province and peninsula in the north-eastern corner of the Dominican Republic. These villages with about 15000 inhabitants are very peaceful and safe and are constituted by a community with a strong sense of social responsibility. The people themselves consider their towns very safe, there is no more crime here than in any average small European town. The Dominican Republic's countryside as a whole is very peaceful, and certainly one of the safest regions in the Caribbean.

Travel Logistics

The Foundation will do everything to make sure our volunteers remain safe during their arrival and stay in the Dominican Republic. On arrival at the airport you will be welcomed by our english speaking driver who will help you personally during your transit from the airport to the bus terminal granting you peace of mind and tranquillity. The driver will purchase your bus ticket while you catch the direct and comfortable bus to Samana, your placement location. Travel-time on the bus is two hours only. On arrival at the placement location, fellow volunteers and our Staff will welcome you and bring you to your accommodation.

Financial Contribution & Benefits

Aldeas de Paz works hard to keep the required financial contribution to an absolute minimum and offers financial transparency by practicing an open book policy. We encourage longer stays, recognizing that longer stays lead to more productive volunteer work, whereby more energy and time is donated in place of money! We offer free Spanish language classes, a double room at one of our fully equipped guesthouse apartments, personal airport welcome, pick-up & transfer to the bus, bus fare and free transfer to your placement location in Las Terrenas or Samana. If you wish a single room upgrade add €50 per week and an all in Host Family homestay upgrade is €150 per week, including a private bedroom and two meals per day.

What is included

• Volunteer or Internship placement
• Personal airport welcome, pick-up & transfer to our location
• Fully equipped Accommodation, free WiFi & and laundry
• Placement introduction, supervision, certificate, student credit
• Free regular Spanish lessons throughout your placement
• Full support and 24/7 backup from local staff
• Information about adventure packages & in-country travel

Special Offer

Volunteers and interns receive free language lessons throughout their placement duration. Classes focus on developing four basic communication skills: listening, comprehension, speaking, reading and writing. Students are encouraged to speak Spanish right from the very first day, using it in typical real-life situations as soon as they step outside the classroom where learning continues as they are immersed in the Spanish language and the Dominican culture.

Covid 19

Our primary responsibility is the well being of our volunteers, our staff, our beneficiaries and of everyone involved in our programs. The Covid 19 health situation in the Dominican Republic is managed quite well and precautionary measures are very dynamic, similar to European and international standards. Traveling to and from the Dominican Republic is possible without difficulty. Aldeas de Paz is completely operational - all our programs are active! For extra peace of mind we offer a free flexible travel date change. We are standing by to answer any questions or concerns you might have and look forward to hearing from you! 

Description Video of the program: https://youtu.be/kgXY7H0SRVU

Contact Information

Contact Person: Manfred Mönnighoff

Project/charity name: Fundación Aldeas de Paz

Address: Samana, Dominican Republic

Whatsapp: +1 829 7055 123

E-Mail: mail@peacevillages.org

Webpage: https://www.peacevillages.org/ngo-administration-management/

Facebook: https://www.facebook/AldeasdePaz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/AldeasDePaz

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AldeasDePaz

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/Peacevillages

Stipend ProvidedFalse

Training Provided

Housing Available

Language/Cultral Support Available

Wheelchair AccessibleFalse

Fee Required

Fee Amount: 1275.00

This opportunity is recurring