Researching different avenues

I think that it's great to have aspirations of helping the less fortunate. There are also a lot of faith-based organizations that engage in 'mission work' which may include post-disaster health care such as the response for Haiti. They have very few paid employees and health care professionals participate as volunteers. The volunteer opportunities for nurses are normally limited to ED, perioperative & OB specialists.

If you are interested in a paid position However, you need to realize that multinational healthcare organizations have a goal of improving health care delivery in the host country and creating a self-sustaining infrastructure. This means that they focus on employing &/or training local/native-born providers as a primary mission. The old paternalistic model of 'rescuing' lesser developed countries is very outmoded. If you would like more information, take a look at all the resources available on the World Health Association site - WHO | World Health Organization - they do have employment opportunities. There are some specialized organizations like Mercy Ships (Mercy Ships Charity Hospital Ship - Eye surgery ) that provide eye surgery and Operation Smile (Children's charity for cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries - Operation Smile) cleft palate/lip repair. They have employment opportunities for perioperative nurses.

It may take a while to achieve your ultimate goal, so in the meantime, maybe you could participate in your local disaster relief organizations like Red Cross to enhance your skill base & resume. Best of luck to you. Keep us posted on your progress.

Thank you so much for your insights and expertise! This was very helpful! :)