I am currently working in big university hospital for 1 year and 9 month.
My ultimate goal is to be a nurse in MSF(doctors without borders) someday.
I got an opportunity from NGO, to work 1 years in Addisababa, Ethiopia. It is voluntary position, pay is half of what I am earning now. The problem is, that position is for OR nurse and I have no OR experience. Program director suggested that I getting solid six month paid orientation in small hospital. But I am not sure I want to work in OR. And leaving the hospital is easy, but getting in is really hard. Thus I decided not to go there.
I'll find another opportunity after I got my soild 2 year clinical experience.
But I heard psychiatric nurses are not wanted in MSF.
So, which way I should go ? going 3rd country and getting more experience? KOICA; Korea international cooperation agency will give me 2 years experience in third world.
2 years in hospital, 2 years in third world experience will be enough to apply to MSF ?
Or I'd better take this OR opportunity ?
Or getting another kind of clinical experience, like ICU or ER or OB/GY?
I am a Korean nurse and it will be different, but want to hear experience from other nurses especially who already work in MSF or other NGO.
I'll just note that I have a bachelor's in public health, a bachelor's in nursing, and a master's in public health specializing in global health/infectious disease with 3+ years of nursing experience, supervisory charge experience on an extremely large and busy unit at a level 1 trauma center, and several multi-month stints abroad including TB/HIV clinic in rural sub-saharan Africa and I still got rejected from MSF USA without an interview. Good luck y'all.
especially who already work in MSF or other NGO.
amoLucia
7,736 Posts
Mercyships.org.
There is another thread here under volunteer nsg (Medical Missions) that comments about other organizations providing mission services.