Tips for Medical Volunteer Opportunities

Work the World is an organization that provides international medical internships and volunteer positions overseas. The focus of this organization is to provide safe, high quality placements and top quality accommodations for students in their communities of choice. As part of the program, Work the World partners with carefully selected hospitals and clinics to provide the best possible experience to all of their student volunteers. They also offer many extra activities to keep participants busy during the times they are not working.

Students who intern with Work the World live together in privately rented apartment complexes in a variety of locations in Asia, Africa and South America. The organization has a full time staff to make sure that students get into the right internship and make a real difference during their volunteer placement.

Those who like the idea of volunteering in the medical field closer to home will want to check out opportunities to work with local hospitals, such as Massachusetts General Hospital. This hospital has an online application process for volunteers to follow, and the goal of the process is to determine the best match for the individual volunteer with the available positions at the hospital.

Hospital volunteers must be 18 years or older, but students who are 16 or 17 may qualify for some positions as part of a student volunteer program. Volunteers are asked to commit to at least 3 hours each week for 3 months or more, and all volunteers must provide documentation of MMR vaccination and TB test in the past 3 months.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is another hospital which offers many opportunities for medical volunteers. At Cedars-Sinai, volunteers have the chance to make an important difference in the lives of patients. The hospital relies on their dedicated volunteers to provide assistance, comfort and hope every day. In return, volunteers benefit from giving to others in their community, making new friends and learning new skills.

Cedars-Sinai employs over 2,00 0 volunteers on a daily basis who work on a given assignment for an average of four years. Many volunteers continue to work for the hospital for much longer due to the deep personal satisfaction it brings them. Cedars-Sinai provides many benefits to the community, and the hospital is known for providing quality healthcare at no cost to kids whose families cannot afford it.

Medical volunteer opportunities are also available through large organizations like Project C.U.R.E in the US. This important medical charity project operates in local communities around the country by organizing teams of 25 volunteers who work to identify and collect medical equipment and supplies. These supplies are then distributed at no cost to hospitals and clinics in developing countries.

Last year, volunteers with Project C.U.R.E donated over 60,000 hours and collected almost $50 million worth of medical equipment and supplies for donation. The organization currently operates distribution centers in four states where they test, package and deliver the donated equipment to facilities around the world. They also operate local collection centers across the country where volunteers are always needed to collect and sort donations and transport the supplies to the distribution centers.