Medical Voluntary Work in Tanzania from US$270

Our volunteers work in a number of medical clinics and hospitals in urban and suburban Arusha. These dispensaries and hospitals have very basic equipment and facilities. Volunteers are placed in a hospital or dispensary based on previous medical training and experience. The key requirements in a medical volunteer working in Tanzania (aside from the relevant training and qualifications) are initiative, enthusiasm, and readiness to work in unfamiliar circumstances - a surgery with minimal equipment, an understaffed hospital, or a clinic for leprosy or tuberculosis patients.

Because of the utmost importance of proper healthcare coupled with the fact that most volunteers cannot communicate directly with patients due to language barriers, volunteers need to understand that a key role in medical placement is simple observation. The doctors are understandably hesitant to allow volunteers to operate on patients. While a medical volunteer may be appropriately qualified to do so, the instruments available in Tanzania will probably not be familiar to volunteers. So, if working on the medical placement do not become frustrated if you are not actually conducting surgeries. You will be observing surgeries, taking blood pressure, administering vaccines, along with a wide range of other medical tasks.

N.B. For the MEDICAL PLACEMENT, volunteers need to be training or qualified in a relevant medical field. Therefore, volunteers must supply a scanned copy of their medical certificate to IVHQ upon registering into this program. Also, advise which specific department or area you would like to be involved in during your volunteer experience (this must be relevant to your training).

Medical volunteers in Tanzania, must be registered onto the program at least four months before their due start date, due to the registration process where we have to register you with the local Tanzanian authorities. if you fall within this time frame you can also consider the Kenya and Ghana medical programs. Finally, medical volunteers will need to bring a white lab coat. You will not be allowed to work in the placement until you have one, and while you can have one tailor-made for you in Arusha, you will lose at least 3-5 days of work time while waiting for it to be completed.