RNlivy

Sorry for the late respoonse! I read the posts awhile ago but never got around to answering. I was able to find out more information about my trip, thank goodness! I will be in the KZN area (Kwazulu-natal?). I think she said Winterton/Loskop. Knowing this information definitely makes the trip seem more real. (THank you, GHGoonette, for all the information!) My sister's friend, who is an RN at Lucille-Packard Children's, has a coworker who started up a mobile clinic/orphanage overseas. That is the main reason I was able to find out about this opportunity. If you google Dreams for Africa, there is a link that shows what she does over there, a blog, and a few pictures. As far as I know, they are very accommodating to whoever will take time to help out over there. I'm not sure if there are other volunteers that are already there, but I'm not going with a big group. It will only be me, my sister, and her friend who will be traveling over there. On another note, my friend sent me a link after he found out I was going to South Africa about the incidence of rape. VERY scary. Hmm, I can't find the link anymore. But the article pretty much says that 1 in 3 South African men have commited rape. The article goes into much more detail, let's just say that none of them are very pretty =T

Thank you, everybody! Just a note: From what I hear, we're going be in a relatively rural area. We're landing in Johannasburg which I'm certain is pretty industrialized, but I'm not sure of where/how far we're going to travel from there. THank you so much for all the encouragement!

Hello, all! I've been a follower for some time now, and I thought I would post my first thread to ask for some advice/opinions. I graduated last year with my ADN, got my RN license in July 2009, and went straight into a RN-to-BSN program. I will be done in December of this year. As we all know, the job market for new grads is not ideal right now. I've been applying to places (hospitals, LTC, etc) for almost 6 months now, and I've had only one interview. I've always wanted to volunteer in a third world country, but the opportunity never came up. Either that, or I was afraid to go by myself =] THe chance finally came up as my sister and her friend (both who are RNs) are traveling to South Africa to volunteer at a mobile clinic/orphanage. After consulting with my parents and my sister, I decided I would tag along with them. They are going for 3 weeks, but I'll be extending my stay to 3 months. 89 days to be exact. We leave in January, so from now until then, I've put my job hunt on a pause. I'm hoping that when I get back from this 3 month trip, my resume will look much more marketable to recruiters and managers. What are your opinions? Granted, I don't expect my phone to be ringing off the hook when I get back. But I'm wondering if this will give me a leg up when applying to those programs with 1,000 other applicants. Thanks so much! By the way, that is not the only reason why I decided to go. This is a trip of a lifetime, and I will definitely regret it if I don't go.