Supply Essential Medical Treatment

The program

This important program was created with the goal of supplying essential medical treatment in Buenos Aires. Volunteers and interns who join this project will be able to work closely with a supervising physician, and are paired with a full-time doctor or nurse who they will shadow on daily rounds. Intern responsibilities vary according to their own qualifications, experience and/or comfort level. Participants with a full medical degree will often enjoy far more access when it comes to administering care and interacting with patients, but it is important to note that most interns only observe or help out with more minor tasks. While every aspect of the internship is carefully monitored by the supervising staff, this program provides far greater opportunity to get this far behind the scenes in a hospital at home – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for medical students.

Goals of this Project:

• Provide quality healthcare to the people of Buenos Aires
• Offer a teaching and overseas medical experience for medical professionals while also supplying a much-needed volunteer labor force
• Improve the health and long term wellbeing of Buenos Aires
• Provide an opportunity for cross cultural exchange

How you can help

This volunteer program provides an amazing experience for medical professionals who wish to gain international experience. This program provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for medical students to monitor, observe and help where appropriate, gaining a great deal of experience and observation time. For experienced medical professionals the program offers the extremely rewarding opportunity to share their knowledge and skills with another culture.

Depending on current needs, interns may be able to choose which department they work in and in most cases it’s possible to spend supplemental time in a second department as well. These are just a few of the main healthcare departments in the hospitals: Pharmacology, Family Medicine, Community Medicine, Orthopedics, Emergency Room, Paediatrics (OPD/Ward), Nursing (follow the nurses most of the time), Rehabilitation and Surgery. Depending upon the working schedule of the paired doctor and area of the hospital an intern is placed, the times and days of work may fluctuate. As with all medical placements, patience and flexibility with work schedules is greatly appreciated.

Volunteers contribute in a number of ways on the program and can expect to undertake the following tasks:

• Work in a renown public hospital and supply medical assistance to those who need it most
• Network with local medical and local project staff
• Supply medical services to the people of Buenos Aires
• Help with medical care as appropriate to the volunteer’s skills and training

A volunteer’s work day on this project will generally last between 4 and 6 hours and while we ask all volunteers to be flexible in this regard, a typical daily schedule is likely to go something like this:

7:00am Breakfast at the hostel

7:30am Walk or bus to project site

8:00am Pre-start meeting with project supervisor

8:15am VOLUNTEERING DUTIES START

A tea break and lunch break will be fitted in during the day, but often the timing of breaks will change based on the needs of the local staff and number of volunteers on hand.

2:00pm VOLUNTEERING DUTIES END

2:15pm Debrief with project supervisor

2:30pm Walk or bus back to hostel

Evenings Free time to relax and grab some dinner or explore the sights and sounds of central BA!