volunteering in other countries - share your stories!

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Specializes in Neuro/Med-Surg.

I have this image in my head that I cannot get rid of - two years ago I went to Ecuador with a group of nursing students. In a huge public hospital in Quito, I saw a patient lying in bed. She was young and very pretty. She laid there staring at the ceiling. I asked what was wrong with her and they told me that she lives 2 hours from the city in a tiny village. She spoke only Quechua. Her family was cutting down trees and one of them accidentally fell on her and left her paralyzed from the waist down. She was 30 years old with several young children. They put her into the back of a truck and drove to the hospital, over bumpy roads. I asked what was going to happen to her. The hospital director looked at me and said, "she cannot afford a wheelchair. she will likely be an invalid. she will be forgotten"

i offered to buy a wheelchair for her. The director said there was none available. and we were all herded onward.

I wonder what happened to her.

In a week I leave for Kenya to work in HIV clinics.

Have you volunteered abroad? i would love to hear your stories.

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I don't begin nursing school until next spring, but I look forward to volunteering abroad and wish you the best on your assignment in Kenya! Please return to the board to share your experiences. I would love to read them, as I'm sure others would love to read them as well. Good luck!

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hey, i am very interested in finding out how you go about volunteering abroad? approx how much is your out of pocket cost? how long do they last, and what exactly is your role out there? any information will be appreciated. be safe while you travel and keep on doing the good work!

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Specializes in Family Practice, Urgent Care, Cardiac Ca.

I worked in Ecuador with patients with Hansen's disease and in Nicaragua for a year and a half...I can't tell you the stories, the inexhaustible demand that foreign medicine places on your integrity. The romantic idea of helping sweet, innocent poor people wears off pretty quickly, but the payoff never does. The questions are only answered with more questions, your own privilege and twisted standards are held to your face everyday, but I still plan on going back, again and again, because the questions still persist...

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

I'm not an "official" nursing student yet (I just applied to an ABSN program for the Fall semester). I am a missionary and my church started a health fair in Antigua. But, when I become a nurse, this is what I want to be doing as part of my missions work. I'm looking forward to the day I start!

Glad you are going beyond the "four walls" in nursing. Have a safe flight to Kenya. Please let us know how that experience was.

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