peace corps

[biwa]

hello, I'm currently a pre-nursing student taking my requirements. I'll be submitting my application to join the nursing dept early next year. My question is, I want to join the Peace Corps, but will they take an RN that just graduated? Or would they prefer an experience of 2 years, 3 years, and so on? Which specialty should I focus on in order to be most helpful? On the site it says relevant experience would be in public health, midwifery, or physician's assistant, but I think I've also read on the forums surgery exp would also be good?

What's your opinion on doing Peace Corps for most of your life? As in, making that your career, living on a stipend. Is it unrealistic?

I'm really interested also in doing overseas/development/refugee nursing but so far I've only found that the majority (if not all) of aforementioned nurses do it on a volunteer basis. I would like to be able to do that as my job and not worry about coming up with the money for plane tickets and so forth. Are there any organizations that do that at all? Or can you recommend a similar field to me? Thank you!

[Blindsided]

Wow, this is an interesting thread...thanks peeps!

[Faithcook]

I am going to become a student next fall to become a surgical tech. i really was to do PC and travel nursing what option would be better for me the PC or travel nursing ?

[bbedit]

I applied to MSF after working on a med-surg floor (primarily surg) for about 3 years at an academic teaching hospital and got rejected. I think they want me to go on my own to another country, maybe on a medical mission or 7-10 days trip before MSF will consider me. Just wanted to send out the heads up!

[dizzyelizzy]

Just wanted to say this is a great topic ! I too was looking into PC and Docs w/o Borders and this extra info is fantastic ! Thank you !

[ljm9304]

I'm a current education PCV in Africa who is looking at going into nursing BSN/MSN after service. Most of the PCV RN's, at least in this part of the world, are placed into an educative role. That being said, once at your village you are on your own and don't have much (if any) supervision, if you catch my drift.

[UVA Grad Nursing]

One of our PhD students was a PCV in Burkina Faso. He entered the PC after he had worked as a midwife for several years (yes, one of those rare male graduates of midwifery programs). He is now looking at improving prenatal care / new baby programs to women of color in urban areas --- a topic that traces to his PC experiences in Africa.

We have had several other RPCVs in our Direct Entry MSN program (a second degree program) who were health educators in Africa and Latin America.