Fun opportunities to work/travel as a bilingual?

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Jul 11, 2016

DWB/MSF prefers those fluent in French

My suggestion would be get credentialed as a medical interpreter and translator English/Spanish as this credential will increase your opportunities. Many overseas missions are case management and teaching local healthcare staff how to care and complete procedures with the exceptions of those that do surgical relays such as Operation Smile that does low/no cost OMFS cleft lip/palate repairs where they need trained OR staff.

MSF seeks often ED, OR, L&D and primary care nurses if not APN many are supervisory or educational roles not direct patient care.

The current nursing requirements:

As a nurse working for Doctors Without Borders/MÃ©decins Sans FrontiÃ¨res (MSF) you may be asked to take part in organizing a mass vaccination initiative for measles or in triaging an influx of displaced people fleeing conflict. You may run a program to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, operate a feeding center, or be called upon to initiate a training program for local medical staff. Additional tasks may include hospital organization, oversight of hygiene measures, management of drug stocks, data collection, and contact with local authorities.
During your MSF assignment, direct patient care may be limited, while a significant responsibility will be the training, supervising, and managing of local nursing staff or community health providers. At the same time, your mission will be a learning experience as you gain knowledge from local health workers' management of medical conditions not often found in the United States.
Expertise or experience in emergency, pediatrics, infectious diseases, tropical diseases, and/or public health is particularly applicable to the field. Note that MSF also recruits Nurse-Midwives, Operating Room Nurses, Nurse Anesthetists and Neonatal nurses.
MSF Nurse Michelle Mays Discusses Saving Lives in Conflict Zones
Requirements
Must meet general requirements
Appropriate diploma, degree (RN (BSN / ASN) or NP. We do not accept LPN's), and current license
At least three years of professional experience
At least one year managerment or direct supervision experience
Current or recent practical experience
Minimum commitment of 9 to 12 months
Training in at least one of the following:
- Infectious diseases
- Public health
- Tropical medicine
Experience in any of the following:
- Emergency
- HIV/AIDS
- Infectious diseases
- Neonatal care
- Nutrition
- Obstetrics
- Pediatrics
- Pharmacy
- Public health
- Tropical medicine
- Tuberculosis (TB)
- Vaccination campaigns
Assets
FRENCH
ARABIC

Registered Nurses / Nurse Practitioners | MSF USA

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jul 18, 2016

Doctors without Borders is not a paying gig. At least my friend who has served three missions has not been paid.

amoLucia · Jul 18, 2016

mercyships.org.

Saw their late nite TV infomercial again.

BonnieSc · Jul 18, 2016

MSF is absolutely a "paying gig". It isn't very much compared to what regular hospital nurses make, although room/board is also provided. Perhaps your friend was referring to a stipend rather than a salary, or to the fact that in some cases (depends on length of mission and how long was spent in the US during one year) there are no income taxes. But in any case, as JustBeachyNurse mentions, opportunities for Spanish speakers are few.

(Mercy Ships is not only unpaid, the volunteers themselves pay a fee to participate--and again, they're unlikely to go to Spanish speaking areas. French and Portuguese are more common.)

There are quite a lot of short-term opportunities for nurses in Latin America, some more legit than others. There's one hospital at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala that takes nurses for a month or more.

It might also be interesting to work in Puerto Rico.

I seem to end up with a Spanish-speaking patient in my hospital at least once a week... I'm getting lots of practice and feeling useful there, although I'm not certified-fluent by my hospital and I still use the telephonic interpreter for more complex issues.

Overall I have a low opinion of most (not all) short-term volunteer opportunities--I have done long-term and I encourage it for anyone who's really interested, but otherwise, if you love to travel I would highly recommend getting a good job in an area of the US with a lot of Spanish speakers, then saving up dollars and vacation time to travel independently. But I think the Puerto Rico thing might be really interesting too.

Cats&Tea&Climbing · Jul 18, 2016

MSF is absolutely a "paying gig". It isn't very much compared to what regular hospital nurses make, although room/board is also provided. Perhaps your friend was referring to a stipend rather than a salary, or to the fact that in some cases (depends on length of mission and how long was spent in the US during one year) there are no income taxes. But in any case, as JustBeachyNurse mentions, opportunities for Spanish speakers are few.
(Mercy Ships is not only unpaid, the volunteers themselves pay a fee to participate--and again, they're unlikely to go to Spanish speaking areas. French and Portuguese are more common.)
There are quite a lot of short-term opportunities for nurses in Latin America, some more legit than others. There's one hospital at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala that takes nurses for a month or more.
It might also be interesting to work in Puerto Rico.
I seem to end up with a Spanish-speaking patient in my hospital at least once a week... I'm getting lots of practice and feeling useful there, although I'm not certified-fluent by my hospital and I still use the telephonic interpreter for more complex issues.
Overall I have a low opinion of most (not all) short-term volunteer opportunities--I have done long-term and I encourage it for anyone who's really interested, but otherwise, if you love to travel I would highly recommend getting a good job in an area of the US with a lot of Spanish speakers, then saving up dollars and vacation time to travel independently. But I think the Puerto Rico thing might be really interesting too.

Thank you, this is really helpful advice. :)