Description:

ISL’s global health teams are interdisciplinary and able to provide a variety of general medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, healthcare management, and nutrition services in developing communities. From urban centers to small towns and villages in remote areas, our teams work in various settings to provide field clinics in which patient needs are assessed and acute conditions are treated.

Regardless of background, volunteers are able to receive an invaluable opportunity to not only interactively observe health professionals in action, but to actively assist with important aspects of health care under careful supervision. Our holistic approach makes ISL’s global health teams ideal for students of the health professions at all education levels.

Who is Right for Global Health Teams

ISL’s global health teams are ideal for those interested in Medicine, Osteopathy, Nursing, Public Health, Pharmacy, Nutrition, or Health Care Management.

Pre-health students welcome!

Additionally, our global health teams can be customized to include specialized physical therapy, chiropractic, optical, dental, and veterinary services with the participation of six or more volunteers with backgrounds in these disciplines!

What to Expect

Upon arrival in-country, you will be met at the airport by ISL staff. Your team’s first day will be busy with orientation and intensive training seminars on taking vitals, basic triage, and medical Spanish/Swahili; then the community work begins! Your team will be transported to a developing community to conduct in-home community health surveys to assess the need for health services. You will invite those in need of medical care to a field clinic staffed by local, licensed medical professionals. At the clinic, you will rotate through patient intake, triage, examination, diagnosis, and treatment, and pharmacy stations.

In the evening, you will participate in seminars on prevention and treatment of diseases common to the area and practice techniques such as suturing and administering injections. Your team will eat most dinners out in order to relax and experience the local culture and cuisine. You will learn a few traditional dances and explore some important historical/cultural sites.

Recreational opportunities vary by location, but you will have the opportunities to shop for local crafts and explore geographic treasures such as beaches, volcanoes, rainforests, or caves and explore ruins, city centers, or coffee plantations, and have time for activities such as ziplining, snorkeling, or safari!

Volunteer Involvement

ISL collaborates with in-country professionals and local Ministries of Health in order to determine how our volunteers can best impact developing communities. Level of volunteer participation is directly dependent on level of training. For example, each team has the potential for three levels of volunteer involvement: observer, assistant, and practitioner. Pre-health volunteers would fall into the “observer” category in terms of the examination/diagnosis/treatment process, but would be allowed hands on experience with non-invasive procedures such as taking vitals, as determined by local Ministry of Health standards, while a med student might assist in the examination, diagnosis, and treatment process to the degree determined appropriate by local Ministry of Health standards.

Organizational Base: Spokane, WA

Other Programs: Well child international, veterinary, physical therapy, optometry, dentistry, public health services