RN Student ISO African Volunteer Opport.

[Pianoforte]

Happy Turkey Day! I'm a first-year diploma RN student (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) and I am considering taking my fourth term (of six) off to spend a month doing volunteer work in a West African country. I was in the Peace Corps in West Africa and I'd like to go back with some more skills and really decide if a master's in emergency relief and disaster preparedness/community health is right for me. Can anyone suggest places that may be looking for volunteers in this capacity. Most of the places I have seen want volunteers who are already done with school. HELP!

[weetziebat]

Hi :)

Please don't take this to sound mean, cause I certainly do not want to come across that way, but IMHO a nursing student really wouldn't have enough experience to offer as a volunteer in a nursing capacity. It would seem to me (and I've never done it, mind you) that you'd be expected to work pretty independently and make judgments you'd need far more experience to handle.

Perhaps once you've finished your diploma program and have worked for a year or so, you could do the volunteer work and then decide about the master's program.

In any case, good luck with your studies.