Working in a Developing Country

[Pianoforte]

Howdy! I'll be done with nurisng school in less than two weeks! I have accepted a position on an awesome floor. However, my ultimate goal is to work as a nurse for a large (medical) NGO or the U.S. government in a developing country. What sort of position should I consider after a year in med-surg to prepare me for, say, working with refugees, etc.? Thank you for the advice!

[CHATSDALE]

learn the language in part of the world you will be going to...brush up on teaching skills, anything you teach to someone who doesn't know will last years after you return home

[Pianoforte]

I was in the Peace Corps. So, I picked up French and a lot of agencises need French-speaking healthcare providers. However, should I think about heading to the ER or the OR or...?

[UKPedsRN]

Worked for a NGO in Peru, working in Lima and in the jungle. Its a fantastic thing you want to do. Just have in mind the area of the world you want to work in. Most of the the people who worked with the NGO I worked with needed to learn Spanish, Portugese or French.

Brush up on public health issues, because unless you want to work in a war torn area, mostly you will be working with malnutrition, immunisation,AIDS, resp,malaria issues.

It will be the best time of your career, I would encourage more nurses to give two years of their time to help out in 3rd world countries.

GOOD LUCK and ENJOY!!

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

I would look for a developing country that is developing golf courses

[suzanne4, RN]

Be aware that most of the NGOs that you have heard about that do work in these areas actually require a full two years of experience. Not one of them that I am aware of, and that is a big list, will even consider someone without the two years of experience.

You need to have at least that type of experience to be able to think by the seat of your pants when you do not have the equipment that you are used to and need to improvise. Pediatric experience is something good to have, as well as clinic experience. These are the areas that help is needed in. As well as the specialty areas such as Labor and Delivery, ICU, PACU, etc. And Emergency.

[suzanne4, RN]

Please check out the threads on this topic that can be found on the International Forum, there are quite a few there.