Best nursing specialty for overseas volunteering?

[feralnostalgia]

hey all, I'm curious. a big part of why I want to be a nurse is that I want to be able to work for someone like doctors without borders or partners in health or something like that. what kind of specialty would be the most useful in a third world clinic sort of situation? is there a specialty that works with really limited supplies? is there such a thing as disaster nursing? peak oil nursing? malthusian catastrophe? zombie apocalypse? haha...pardon my crazy.

and a related question: if I got a job in a hospital that I liked, would I be able to keep it and volunteer overseas too? I know medical mercy missions are often pretty long, many months or even more than a year, so how do you go about getting a job when you come back home? do some places let you have your old job back, or do you just have to reapply? If I wanted to do the volunteer thing regularly, would I just have to sign up with an agency and get temp jobs in between trips? I've wanted to work in some sort of cross-cultural humanitarian field pretty much my entire life, so I want to do what it takes, but having enough of a steady job to put down roots would be nice too...

also, which specialty is best for new grads? if I have to wait a few years before doing something exotic I'm fine with that. I know I'll make mistakes when I'm new and I want to be sure they're as harmless as possible. med-surg? I don't even know what med-surg is exactly, honestly, just that its sort of "basic". is there somewhere to read up on the different units and specialties?

thanks!

[VivaRN]

I recommend you check out the websites of the organizations you're interested in working with. For example, MSF lists what they are looking for - what is required and what is an asset in selecting nursing staff. I find it interesting that NP's can volunteer with MSF but PA's cannot.

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/work/field/profiles.cfm?id=2534

Most of these organizations prefer nurses with some kind of public health or resource-limited area background. This would be for example Indian Health Services, any area in a county hospital, refugee clinic, TB or HIV hospital floor or clinic, public health nursing. If this is truly what you are interested in you will find these opportunities. You will also need a few years of experience.

To answer the questions in your second paragraph, you can either get a new RN job when you come back, work agency (where you choose how long you work), or go all the way and get a permanent international paying job. You can negotiate with your employer, you can choose to volunteer when you are between jobs, or you can choose opportunities that fit with your vacation time, like a 3 week assignment.

I'm not sure where you can read up on different specialties - this board is a great place to start. In my opinion, the most important things you need as a new nurse are a supportive environment + a clinical area you enjoy. Maybe for you this is med-surg, maybe it's not. New nurses start in ER, ICU, OB. Do what you love.

Good luck!

[GilaRRT]

You will most likely have to give up your full time job. Essentially, you will be giving up a part of your life to do this. My employer in the states has kept me on PRN, and I fly for them every three months when I take leave; however, with the current economy, the writing is on the wall. I will most likely not return home to a job.

Regarding experience; this will depend on your duties while overseas. For example, OR experience is a must if you will be helping repair cleft lips.