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Fantastic 4.54rating (29)
  • Good Health And Well-Being

Assist at Rural Health Clinics

location
2 - 24 weeks  ·  Age 18 - 50+
Verified

Highlights

  • Government-run free rural health clinics outside Tacloban, serving whole communities who cannot afford specialist care
  • Work alongside the public health doctor, nurses and midwives on consultations, immunisation, prenatal checks and deliveries
  • The birthing unit runs 24/7 and volunteers can assist with normal deliveries — rare access at this level of training

Highlights

  • Government-run free rural health clinics outside Tacloban, serving whole communities who cannot afford specialist care
  • Work alongside the public health doctor, nurses and midwives on consultations, immunisation, prenatal checks and deliveries
  • The birthing unit runs 24/7 and volunteers can assist with normal deliveries — rare access at this level of training
  • Village outreach days: community consultations, deworming and vaccination drives out in the barangays
  • What you are allowed to do scales with your actual qualification, from taking vitals to consulting patients as a doctor
    • You don't have to pay anything yet

    Especially good for

    Age 18+
    Singles
    Couples
    Groups
    50+

    About the program

    Assist at free rural health clinics outside Tacloban: consultations, immunisation, prenatal checks, births and village outreach, with a homestay family.

    The rural health clinics outside Tacloban are government-run, free at the point of use, and short of hands. They serve everyone in their municipality — overwhelmingly people who cannot afford to see a specialist. That is where you would be working.

    The placement in detail

    Sta. Fe Rural Health ...

    About the program

    The rural health clinics outside Tacloban are government-run, free at the point of use, and short of hands. They serve everyone in their municipality — overwhelmingly people who cannot afford to see a specialist. That is where you would be working.

    The placement in detail

    Sta. Fe Rural Health Clinic, southwest of Tacloban, is a walk-in free clinic serving the whole community. It is headed by one public health doctor, a general practitioner, with one regular public health nurse, a visiting dentist, and a few midwives. That is the staff, for everyone.

    It is open weekdays 8am to 5pm, with general consultation three times a day. The birthing unit runs 24/7 for mothers due to deliver. As a primary care facility it handles general consultation, minor surgery, immunisation, prenatal checks, normal deliveries and community health outreach. If a mother needs a caesarean she is referred to the nearest public hospital.

    What you would do

    You work alongside the nurses, midwives and the doctor:

    • Assisting the doctor with daily consultations
    • Immunisation and deworming drives run by local government
    • Village visits — community clinic consultations out in the barangays, which usually run into the afternoon
    • Prenatal checks, done manually here, which volunteers can learn to perform
    • Assisting with births and deliveries
    • Prenatal seminars and community health workshops
    • Running workshops of your own, if your experience supports it

    Access scales with your qualification — honestly

    • Most volunteers take patient information and vitals, and learn prenatal checks
    • Qualified volunteers can help with immunisation
    • Medical students spend most of their time assisting and shadowing the doctor, and working with the rest of the staff
    • Qualified doctors work alongside the local doctor during consultation and, with a nurse translating, are given responsibility for consulting patients directly — which matters because the doctor is often not there. Doctors are also encouraged to run knowledge-transfer workshops

    You are useful here in proportion to what you can actually do. Nobody will hand you clinical responsibility you are not trained for, and nobody will waste you if you are.

    You will also see the limits of the system — what a single GP and a few midwives can and cannot do for a whole municipality on a government budget. Volunteers consistently say that was the part that stayed with them.

    Who can join

    18 or over. Pre-med, medical, nursing and midwifery students, CNAs, midwives, nurses and doctors. You must supply a clean criminal background check, CV, passport copy and your qualification documents before joining. Professional attire is required at the clinics. Minimum two weeks.

    Typical day

    Saturday or Sunday — Arrival at Tacloban Airport (TAC). A local representative meets you and takes you to your host family.

    Monday — Orientation: the programme, Filipino culture, health and safety, the behaviour policy, and an introduction to your clinic and how to get there.

    Monday to Friday at ...

    Typical day

    Saturday or Sunday — Arrival at Tacloban Airport (TAC). A local representative meets you and takes you to your host family.

    Monday — Orientation: the programme, Filipino culture, health and safety, the behaviour policy, and an introduction to your clinic and how to get there.

    Monday to Friday at the clinic

    • 6:00am — Breakfast with your host family
    • 8:00am to 12:00 noon — At the clinic. Four hours a day is the standard commitment, and general consultation runs three times a day so there is always something happening
    • Afternoons — Free on ordinary days. On village visit days you continue into the afternoon, out in the barangays
    • From 6:00pm — Dinner with your host family

    Lunch is at your own cost. Go home and cook, or eat near the clinic.

    Weekends — Free.

    The clinic closes on Philippine public holidays. Village visit days, medical missions and the annual health check for children on the social development projects are scheduled by the clinic, not by us — if one falls in your placement, take it.

    Free-time activities

    Clinic hours are 8am to noon on ordinary days, so afternoons as well as weekends are largely yours.

    Two excursions are included, arranged by the local team: San Juanico Bridge, the longest bridge in the Philippines; the Santo Nino Shrine; and the MacArthur Landing Memorial Park at Palo, where the ...

    Free-time activities

    Clinic hours are 8am to noon on ordinary days, so afternoons as well as weekends are largely yours.

    Two excursions are included, arranged by the local team: San Juanico Bridge, the longest bridge in the Philippines; the Santo Nino Shrine; and the MacArthur Landing Memorial Park at Palo, where the Leyte Gulf landings began in 1944.

    Leyte — Waterfalls, hot springs, rice country and empty beaches, most of it reachable by jeepney for a few pesos. The island sees very few foreign visitors.

    Kalanggaman Island off Palompon — a white sandbar with almost nothing on it, and worth a whole weekend.

    Diving — Southern Leyte around Padre Burgos, with whale sharks in season.

    Further afield — Cebu is a ferry or short flight away, and the rest of the Visayas from there.

    Everyday — Evenings with your host family. Expect to be fed more than you planned and included in everything, and to be handed a karaoke microphone eventually.

    Requirements

    Requirements

    Minimum Age: 18 years

    In order to join the program you need to be at least 18 years old on the program start date. There might be exemptions if you can provide the permission of your legal guardian(s) or if your are accompanied by your parents.

    Criminal Background Check

    required

    Required Documents

    Criminal background check, CV/resume, copy of passport, medical or nursing qualification documents and credentials and proof of travel and medical insurance.

    Nationality Restrictions

    No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.

    Other Skills

    Open to pre-med, medical, nursing and midwifery students, CNAs, midwives, nurses and doctors. What you are permitted to do scales with your qualification — from taking vitals and learning prenatal checks, through immunisation, to consulting patients directly as a qualified doctor. Credentials must be supplied in advance.

    Time Commitment

    Your helping hand will be required on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 08:00 - 12:00

    What's Included

    What's Included

    On-site Services

    What the fee covers

    • Airport pickup AND drop-off at Tacloban — both directions
    • Accommodation with a vetted Filipino host family for your whole stay
    • Two meals a day — breakfast and dinner — plus filtered drinking water
    • Welcome and programme orientation, a city tour and a placement orientation
    • Two guided excursions around Leyte
    • Your clinic placement
    • Detailed pre-departure information pack
    • 24/7 in-country support
    • Certificate of participation on request

    What it does not cover

    • Lunch, at your own cost
    • Daily transport to the clinic
    • International and domestic flights
    • Visa fees and vaccinations
    • Travel and medical insurance (available through us at extra cost, and mandatory)
    • Scrubs and professional clinical attire, which you bring yourself
    • Personal spending and weekend travel

    Airport Pickup at D. Z. Romualdez Airport

    Both the pickup and the drop-off are included.

    Arrive on a SATURDAY or SUNDAY at Tacloban Airport (TAC). A local representative meets you and takes you to your host family, ready for orientation on the Monday.

    Getting to Tacloban — A short domestic flight from Manila or Cebu, about 360 miles southeast of Manila on the island of Leyte. Leave a sensible connection window when booking your international flight.

    At the end — The same local representative takes you back to the airport.

    Accommodation

    You live with a Filipino host family in the Tacloban area — a real home, not a volunteer house with a family label on it.

    The families are properly vetted before joining the homestay programme and are experienced with international volunteers. You receive a profile of your family before you travel.

    Your room — Private, or shared with one other volunteer. A mosquito net and an electric fan are provided. All homestays have electricity and running water.

    The bathroom — The "comfort room", shared with the family. It is basic, and you will take cold bucket baths — hot running showers are uncommon in Filipino homes. Worth deciding about now rather than on arrival.

    And the roosters — They start before dawn. Your breakfast is at six anyway.

    For a medical volunteer this is also the most useful possible accommodation: you see how the families your patients come from actually live, which changes how you read a consultation.

    Food & Beverages

    Two meals a day are included: breakfast and dinner, cooked by your host family. Lunch is not.

    Breakfast — 6:00am, before you leave for the clinic.

    Dinner — From 6:00pm with the family.

    Meals come with rice and typically fish, chicken or pork.

    🚩 Lunch is at your own cost. Clinic hours finish at noon on ordinary days, so most volunteers eat at home; on village visit days you will want to take something with you.

    Filtered drinking water is provided by your host family. Do not drink the tap water.

    Dietary requirements — Homestays can cater for them, but put it on your application form so the family can plan.

    Internet Access

    Good access at the project site
    You don't have to pay anything yet

    What's NOT included?

    What's NOT included?

    Flight Tickets

    The nearest airport is D. Z. Romualdez Airport (TAC) in Tacloban. We assist you to find cheap flights to Philippines. FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS

    Travel Insurance

    Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - a travel insurance for Philippines provides security and is a plus to have. GET A QUOTE

    Vaccines

    If you are intending to volunteer in Philippines you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Philippines. VACCINE CHECKER

    Details on arrival

    Arrive on a SATURDAY or SUNDAY at Tacloban Airport (TAC), ready for orientation on the Monday.

    Airport pickup AND drop-off are both included.

    Getting there — A short domestic flight from Manila or Cebu. Leave a sensible connection window when booking your international flight.

    🚩 Documents — more than our other programmes require. Before joining you must provide a clean criminal background check, your CV, a passport copy, and the documents and credentials for your medical or nursing qualification. Start gathering these early; qualification paperwork is the thing that most often delays a medical placement.

    🚩 Professional attire is required at the clinics. Bring scrubs or smart clinical clothing and closed shoes. This is a government health facility and staff are expected to look like staff.

    🚩 Daily transport to the clinic is not included, and neither is lunch. Both are inexpensive but should be budgeted for.

    Visa — Many nationalities get 30 days visa-free on arrival, extendable in-country. Check your position before booking a longer placement. Visa fees are not included.

    Insurance — Travel and medical insurance is mandatory; available through us at extra cost. If you have professional indemnity cover, bring the documents.

    Health — Consult a travel clinic on vaccinations, and make sure your hepatitis B cover and tetanus are current given the clinical setting. Drink the filtered water your host family provides.

    Home life — Mosquito net and electric fan provided. Bathrooms are basic and you will take cold bucket baths; hot showers are uncommon in Filipino homes.

    Climate — Hot and humid year-round. Typhoon season runs roughly June to November; the local team monitors it.

    When to come — Weekly weekend arrivals, year-round. Minimum two weeks.

    Availability
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

    Program Fees

    $393 per week 2 - 24 weeks Age 18 - 50+

    Payment methods

    Visa Master Card Maestro American Express PayPal

    NO CREDIT CARD FEES

    Duration

    2 - 24 weeks

    Deposit

    Reserve your spot with just a few clicks and a small, secure deposit. You can pay by credit card, PayPal, or other convenient methods.

    Final Payment

    You’ll agree on the final payment method with your local organization during the application process. This final payment is only due closer to the start of your trip.

    You don't have to pay anything yet
    4.5
    Top Pick
    One of the top picks on Volunteer World, according to travelers

    Location

    Asia > South East Asia > Philippines > Tacloban

    Meet your project coordinator

    Sahil
    29
    reviews
    4.54
    Fantastic
    2007
    Founded

    Verified

      Below average response rate
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    Volunteer Abroad  >  Health Services  >  Medical Training in the Philippines
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    Travel dates

    1. - 1. Jan 1

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