Medical mission trips

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I will be going on my first medical mission trip to Central America this summer. I am beyond excited, and would like to hear from others who have done similar trips. Any tips, or anything I should know before I go?

Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.

If you haven't had a travel consult with a travel medicine clinic, it would be worth your while to do so. They will inform you of what vaccines you need and provide them. They should also discuss insect precautions, traveler's diarrhea and other travel-related issues. If you don't have travel health and evacuation insurance, please find a reputable carrier and look into it.

Have a fantastic trip!

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.
If you haven't had a travel consult with a travel medicine clinic, it would be worth your while to do so. They will inform you of what vaccines you need and provide them. They should also discuss insect precautions, traveler's diarrhea and other travel-related issues. If you don't have travel health and evacuation insurance, please find a reputable carrier and look into it.

Have a fantastic trip!

I'm not saying a travel medicine clinic is a bad idea, because it's not. It's often the only place that carries some of the more 'exotic' vaccines. But the travel portion of the CDC website will tell you what vaccines are recommended for a given place. Some of them can be obtained at a primary care office. I got my HepA series at my PCP but had to go to Infectious Diseases for my typhoid shot. Before my kids went to Mexico with their dad, their PNP wrote them a script for their oral typhoid vax & we picked it up at the pharmacy (PO, taken over the course of several days). Sometimes travel clinics cost a pretty penny and spending all the money might be unnecessary.

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Specializes in School Nursing, Pediatrics.

I have been on several, and loved all of them! Be prepared for a life changing experience. Don't bring anything of value with you, and every time I have gone, I left all my clothes and stuff there. Keep a journal, you will want to remember where you went, what you saw and how you felt.

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Don't bring anything of value with you, and every time I have gone, I left all my clothes and stuff there.

We did that too. We brought clothing we no longer wear but was still nice (no junkie stuff that would be insulting) and left it behind. Also wear old underwear and just throw it away. if you pack in duffles you can just collapse them and have very little to drag through the airport on your way home or use it to bring back mementos.

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Yay!!!!

I am going with her. I am SOOOOOOOO excited.

Thank you all for the tips. BC and I were already discussing vaccines.

I just had my yearly, I think I will make another appointment with my doc to discuss timelines for the typhoid, rabies, etc.

Good tips on the clothes.

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When is the trip?? Are there more opportunities? I would love to join!!

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I went on my first one last summer - went to Zambia - what an experience! I saw things that if the patients were here in the US they would not leave the doctors office/discharged from hospital without it being treated - there it was like no big deal. Culture shock was the other big thing - really need an open mind when going about everything from the food, traditions, their way of life etc.

I would totally do it again - experience was very rewarding, humbling and I learned alot. The only thing I wasn't to keen on was the food - I am a picky eater, some of the food we had was hard to eat - I don't think I will ever eat another Cliff bar/protein bar in my life - LOL...I practically lived on them for the week.

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We did that too. We brought clothing we no longer wear but was still nice (no junkie stuff that would be insulting) and left it behind. Also wear old underwear and just throw it away. if you pack in duffles you can just collapse them and have very little to drag through the airport on your way home or use it to bring back mementos.

We did the same - I used my "old" scrubs that were still in decent shape and left them for the clinic. We also brought our own sheets/towels - I went to walmart and purchased new ones and left them at the boarding house we stayed in.

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Does anyone know the associations that offer medical missions?

I happen to find my trip through a local organization/church that does yearly trips to the same area - I was not a member of the organization or church and they were happy to have me. It was also affordable - after I signed up I started doing some research and some of these trips can be quite expensive.

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I'm not saying a travel medicine clinic is a bad idea, because it's not. It's often the only place that carries some of the more 'exotic' vaccines. But the travel portion of the CDC website will tell you what vaccines are recommended for a given place. Some of them can be obtained at a primary care office. I got my HepA series at my PCP but had to go to Infectious Diseases for my typhoid shot. Before my kids went to Mexico with their dad, their PNP wrote them a script for their oral typhoid vax & we picked it up at the pharmacy (PO, taken over the course of several days). Sometimes travel clinics cost a pretty penny and spending all the money might be unnecessary.

yes - shop around. I only needed Yellow fever for my trip but thru the travel medicine clinic in our area that vaccine was $275 - CVS, Walgreens had it for roughly $225 (if it was in stock). I ended up going to the Health department for $165 - it was the cheapest in the area.

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Specializes in kids.
I'm not saying a travel medicine clinic is a bad idea, because it's not. It's often the only place that carries some of the more 'exotic' vaccines. But the travel portion of the CDC website will tell you what vaccines are recommended for a given place. Some of them can be obtained at a primary care office. I got my HepA series at my PCP but had to go to Infectious Diseases for my typhoid shot. Before my kids went to Mexico with their dad, their PNP wrote them a script for their oral typhoid vax & we picked it up at the pharmacy (PO, taken over the course of several days). Sometimes travel clinics cost a pretty penny and spending all the money might be unnecessary.

I did travel services for a while within a Family Practice. There is something to be said for people who are doing the education to be well versed in some of the subtleties for the travel experience and illness prevention and managment. While there may be a higher price attached to that, the experience someone brings to the table can be priceless. My doc and his wife had traveled the world wide and they taught me so much, from personal experience. Just another thought.

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Specializes in Pedi.
Guatemala. I was told mosquitoes would not be much of an issue because we'll be at altitude, but if there's one mosquito you can be sure it will find me. What vaccines did you have to get?

I went to Guatemala just over a year ago, not on a medical mission trip, but I didn't even bother going to the travel clinic before the trip. I've traveled extensively throughout the developing world so I already had my Hep A, Typhoid and Yellow Fever vaccines and the area I was visiting didn't seem to be malaria endemic so I just didn't bother.

PM me if you want to know what travel clinics I've found to be the easiest to get appointments with in Boston, though. Before I went to Africa the first time, I tried to go to my PCP for the vaccines but they couldn't do a Yellow Fever vaccine at the PCP's office and it was a big to do trying to squeeze in an appointment before I left.

I have done medical missions in Nicaragua and Belize, both over 10 years ago though. Nicaragua was in college, I did 1/2 of my community clinical there. I imagine the clinic you're going to has a wish list of supplies they might want you to bring? One of my classmates and I had a great time soliciting condoms from Planned Parenthood and donating them in our Jesuit college's name to the clinic in Nicaragua. In my current role, my patients often lament the fact that they end up with many extra saline and heparin flushes, central line dressing kits, alcohol wipes, etc after they finish their home infusion therapy and I know that we can't take them back but medical mission trips will often take them. I think in Belize they asked all of us to bring multivitamins. There I was with a non-profit company and we basically went into villages with a local doctor and ran pop up clinics for a few days at a time.

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