a partire da 1.154€

Eccezionale 5rating (13)

Rural Health Clinic Assistant

location
4 - 24 settimane  ·  Età 18 - 50+

rating  Eccezionale 5  · 
  Verificato da Volunteer World
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Particolarmente adatto per

Età 18+
Singoli
Coppie
Gruppi
50+

Sul programma

This volunteer program is great for volunteers looking to experience public health services in the Philippines and put to good use their medical skills and know-how.

About the Program

By volunteering at a Rural Health Clinic, you can help augment support to understaffed and underfunded health clinics in rural towns outside Tacloban City.

This volunteer program is great for volunteers looking to experience public health services in the Philippines or looking to ...

Sul programma

About the Program

By volunteering at a Rural Health Clinic, you can help augment support to understaffed and underfunded health clinics in rural towns outside Tacloban City.

This volunteer program is great for volunteers looking to experience public health services in the Philippines or looking to apply their professional medical skills in a rewarding environment.

Rural Health Clinics serve as the main source of free basic healthcare for rural communities around Tacloban City.

It is at these clinics where one doctor and a handful of nurses have the sole responsibility of looking after a community of thousands of people whilst at the same time having only a limited number of resources at their disposal.

The clinics will benefit greatly from the services of volunteer medical professionals and qualified students. Volunteers who are being recruited include doctors, nurses, medical assistants, and medical and nursing  students.

Profile

A Rural Health Clinic can be found in every town or municipality in the Philippines. It is headed by a public health doctor who is a general practitioner. It also has one regular public health nurse, one midwife and one dentist. The rest of the nurses are employed on a 6 or 12-month contract under the special employment program of the Department of Health.

The Rural Health Clinic is a walk-in free clinic that serves the whole community. It is a government-run health facility that accepts patients of all ages, generally those who cannot afford to see specialist doctors. It is open during the weekdays, from Monday to Friday at 8 am to 5 pm except on holidays. General consultation, pediatrics, pre-natal check-ups, and dental services are provided according to their scheduled days within the week. The emergency and birthing units are however open 24/7 to attend to the patients.

As a primary healthcare facility, it conducts general consultation, minor surgeries, immunizations, pre-natal checks, normal deliveries, and regular village visits. The birthing clinic is in place to cater to mothers due for normal delivery. Once it is determined that the mother has to undergo caesarian section delivery, she will be referred to the nearest public hospital. The medical team goes to the villages to deliver health services. During such occasions, health education is also being conducted. The clinic has a dental section which provides basic dental services like tooth extraction.

The clinic has no state-of-the-art medical equipment but only has the basic tools required for consultation and minor surgeries. Even supplies such as cotton, betadine, alcohol, bandages, face mask are normally lacking. The medicines supplied by the government is not enough and usually runs out fast. At this point, the doctor gives the prescription and advices the patient to use their own money to purchase the medicine.

With only one doctor who attends seminars, conferences, meeting, and other events, it is too common to see the doctor away and consultation suspended. The nurses on duty see patients with minor and uncomplicated complaints but when the doctor’s expertise is required, the patient is referred to the nearest hospital.

Why We Need You

Health care professionals unquestionably have a strong desire to help others. They work under stressful conditions, but persevere because, as they see patients improve or maintain wellness, they know they are making a difference.

The health care professionals at this rural medical clinic are making a tremendous difference in the lives of their patients. However, because of understaffing and underfunding, they are unable to adequately address the medical needs of the community. You will see for yourself how short-handed they are, and you will know from the very start that you are in a position to make a valuable contribution.

By volunteering for this program, individuals embarking on a career in health care will be able to gain valuable experience in their chosen fields. Established professionals will have the opportunity to share their knowledge and skills whilst learning about health care conditions in a developing country. Many previous volunteers have said that this placement was an eye-opener that has not only given them a new perspective of their profession, but also of their own lives.

Role of the Volunteer

The volunteer will work alongside nurses, midwives, and the doctor.  Working hours for the volunteer is at least 4 hours daily from Monday to Friday, 8 am to 12 noon except during holidays. During village visits, working hours are usually extended until the afternoon.

The placement is offered medical professionals and students alike to provide them an experience in public health. For students, the clinic also serves as internship placement. To licensed medical professionals, clinic provides them the means to use their knowledge to help the community.

The nature of a volunteer’s involvement at the clinic depends on his/her qualification and skill set. Normally, a volunteer assists in taking patient information and vitals. A qualified volunteer can help with immunization. Pre-natal check is done manually and is something that the volunteer can also learn to perform.  Village visits are great opportunity to observe the rural areas and assist in delivering the medical services. It is also a good opportunity to conduct brief health lectures or distribute brochures on important health issues.

A medical student volunteer spends more time assisting and shadowing the doctor although he/she also works with the other staff. A doctor volunteer works alongside the local doctor during consultation. He/she is particularly useful when the doctor is not around, which is too often. With the help of a local staff, usually a nurse to translate, the doctor volunteer is given the responsibility to consult patients. A doctor may also initiate transfer of knowledge through workshop or capacity-building.

The work place is different from what a volunteer is used to in his/her home country. In the Philippines even the healthcare facility has a relatively relaxed environment so the volunteer should understand this and use some patience.

Patients always come in the morning to see the doctor, hence mornings are usually busy. Even if consultation is open until 5 pm, few patients come in the afternoon. For this reason, the clinic is quiet and so volunteers do not work at this time.

Dress Code

The rural health clinic is very specific when it comes to attire. As a member of the medical team and to be identified as such, the volunteer must wear scrub suits while on duty. He/she may opt to change into scrubs once he/she arrives at the clinic or wear it right away before leaving home. Outside work, a volunteer can wear more comfortable clothing such as shorts and tank tops and wear flip flops.

Transportation Going To and From Placement

During placement, the volunteer will take public transportation. Please be patient when traveling between home and placement.

The commute to the rural health clinic takes between 45 minutes to at most 1 and half hours depending on the distance from Bliss, and the time it takes to wait for a jeepney which can sometimes take longer than 15 minutes. There is no specific schedule for a jeepney’s  trip. Jeepneys just come along anytime, hence a time should be allotted in waiting for them.  They normally stop quite often on its route to pick up or drop off passengers.

Volunteer will be briefed on getting to placement and back to Tacloban during the placement orientation at the beginning of the program.



Giornata tipica

A typical day for a rural health clinic volunteer starts as early as 5:30 rising up from bed, having breakfast, and preparing to leave for work. 

At 7:00 am, the volunteer should be already on a jeepney going to the placement. Commuting to the clinic could sometimes take one and a half hours and ...

Giornata tipica

A typical day for a rural health clinic volunteer starts as early as 5:30 rising up from bed, having breakfast, and preparing to leave for work. 

At 7:00 am, the volunteer should be already on a jeepney going to the placement. Commuting to the clinic could sometimes take one and a half hours and getting there on time is important since patients always come early in the morning. 

At the clinic, the volunteer would assist the doctor and work with the rest of the medical team. On the average, the clinics attend to 30-50 patients everyday and one to two normal deliveries daily. The volunteer may assist from taking patient's vitals to doing general medical check-ups or performing minor surgeries depending on the level of knowledge and skill  he or she possesses. 

On scheduled days, the volunteer together with the medical team would go out to the villages to deliver health services to the locals like immunization, pre-natal checks, and information dissemination or campaign about certain health issues. Attending to the patients at the clinic or in the villages are done in the morning and afternoon are usually spent doing paper works and reports. 

The volunteer may opt to stay or may go back to the city to rest or to do other side programs at VFV center. Dinner at the volunteer's homestay at around 6 pm wraps up the day.


Attività del tempo libero

Our volunteers can use their free time either for their personal activities or for organizing side projects with our sponsored kids, with the Boys and Girls Club or with the moms under our Laura's Craft and Mother's Club. 

The former may include a trip to some of the beautiful white-sand beaches and ...

Attività del tempo libero

Our volunteers can use their free time either for their personal activities or for organizing side projects with our sponsored kids, with the Boys and Girls Club or with the moms under our Laura's Craft and Mother's Club. 

The former may include a trip to some of the beautiful white-sand beaches and sandbars, islands, waterfalls, underground river, surf camps, and caves found in the region while the latter can include baking sessions with the local moms, dance tutorials with the teens, or teaching any other craft or life skills to the locals. 

Our volunteers would usually organize those activities as a group during long weekends or holidays. We also have our Volunteer's Lounge which has wi-fi and where volunteers can hang around with fellow volunteers. They can also use the lounge for a movie night once a week. 


Requisiti

Requisiti

Età minima: 18 anni

Per partecipare al programma è necessario avere almeno 18 anni alla data di inizio del programma. Potrebbero esserci delle esenzioni se si è in grado di fornire il permesso del proprio tutore legale o se si è accompagnati dai propri genitori.

Competenze linguistiche

È necessario parlare di Inglese (livello base)

Requisiti di formazione

Medicine, Public Health, Nursing a livello University

Controllo dei precedenti penali

necessario

Documenti necessari

CV with photo, Passport, Police Check and and Character References

Restrizioni sulla nazionalità

Nessuna restrizione. Gli aiuti da tutto il mondo sono benvenuti.

Impegno di tempo

Il vostro aiuto sarà richiesto lunedì, martedì, mercoledì, giovedì e venerdì da 08:00 - 17:00

Servizi inclusi

Servizi inclusi

Servizi per Volunteer for the Visayans

Included in the Program Fee are the following:

  • Airport Reception and Drop-off
  • Accommodation with Local Host Family with 2 meals a day (breakfast and dinner)
  • Comprehensive Program Orientation
  • Basic Waray-Waray Language Lesson
  • Volunteers Excursion
  • Project Tour
  • 24-hour Local Staff Support

Prelievo dall'aeroporto a Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Upon arrival in Tacloban, a coordinator will meet you at the airport and introduce you to the rest of the VFV staff and your homestay family. After this you will be provided with a full orientation on Volunteer for the Visayans as well as a short comprehensive health and safety briefing.

Following this, you will be escorted by one of our coordinators and shown how to use the local transport system. You will be shown how to get back and forth from your volunteer placement as well as being briefed on how to get to a variety of different points of interest.

Alloggio

Volunteers assigned to our Tacloban area projects will be placed with homestays in Bliss, where we are located. Bliss is a congested, low-income neighborhood but it has a low crime rate and is safe. There is strong community cohesion and pride, and the neighborhood homes and surroundings are relatively well-maintained. Our community center is located in the middle of Bliss. 

An adjacent basketball court area serves as a gathering place for the community. Here you’ll see youth playing basketball; tethered cocks staking out their territories on the sidelines; children keeping busy; adults sitting on benches, exchanges stories; slabs of meat being cut on portable tables; and vendors selling their wares.

Most of our homestay families have been with us for many years and are experienced in working with international volunteers. They take pride in their role and view the volunteer as a valued member of the family. They want volunteers to experience Filipino culture and participate in the family’s daily activities as well as special celebrations that come up. 

All homes have electricity and running water. You will have a private bedroom for you alone or that you share with another volunteer, and you will sleep under a mosquito net. A fan will be provided as none of the homes are air-conditioned. There is just one bathroom in the house that is shared by all family members. Your home will be safe, clean and comfortable, but living conditions will be much lower than in developed country.

The bathroom accommodations, in particular, are very basic and volunteers will be taking cold water, bucket baths. Because the weather in the Philippines is tropical, volunteers typically say that the cold water baths have been refreshing. However, each person needs to consider whether these conditions will be acceptable. 

There will be other things to adjust to, including the neighborhood roosters who will announce the start of a new day with pre-dawn crowing. You will be taken out of your comfort zone, at least initially. Most volunteer report they adjusted fairly quickly to these conditions.

Cibo e Bevande

You will eat the same local food as the family (though the homestay parents know what foreigners typically enjoy). Homestays can cater to the special dietary requirements of some volunteers, so please include this in your application form. You will also be provided with filtered water to drink, as it would be best for travellers to be cautious and not drink tap water.

You will be provided with two meals a day (breakfast and dinner) by your homestay. All meals will be served with rice and typically include fish, chicken or pork. 

Local café’s and restaurants can also be found all over the city, with most meals costing from around 2 USD to 6 USD. Bottled water is also available in most food establishments and in grocery stores.

Accesso a Internet

Accesso limitato al sito del progetto

Cosa NON è incluso?

Cosa NON è incluso?

Biglietti aerei

L'aeroporto più vicino è Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) a Manila. Vi aiutiamo a trovare voli economici per Filippine. TROVARE VOLI ECONOMICI

Assicurazione di viaggio

Andare all'estero è un'avventura ed è sempre meglio essere preparati. Malattia o infortunio improvviso, annullamento o furto: un'assicurazione di viaggio per Filippine offre sicurezza ed è un vantaggio da avere. OTTENERE UN PREZZO

Vaccini

Se avete intenzione di fare volontariato a Filippine dovete chiedere un parere medico prima di iniziare il vostro viaggio sociale. Controllare le vaccinazioni richieste per Filippine. CHECKER PER I VACCINI

Dettagli all'arrivo

Volunteers can apply anytime throughout the year. They may choose to arrive at anytime of their convenience and a volunteer coordinator is always available to pick them up at the airport. 

Pre-departure information is sent during application process and an in-depth program orientation is also conducted upon arrival. The program may start at once the following day after arrival and will follow clinic hours which is Monday to Friday, 8:00 am until 5:00 pm. 



Disponibilità
gen feb mar apr mag giu lug ago set ott nov dic

Tariffe del programma

4 settimane (soggiorno min.) 1.154€
5 settimane 1.271€
6 settimane 1.387€
7 settimane 1.504€
9 settimane 1.736€
11 settimane 1.969€
24 settimane (soggiorno max.) 3.482€
Tariffe medie 216€/settimana

Tariffe del programma

216€ tariffe settimanali 4 - 24 settimane Età 18 - 50+

Modalità di pagamento

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NESSUNA COMMISSIONE PER LA CARTA DI CREDITO


Durata

4 - 24 settimane

Deposito

Il deposito serve semplicemente a prenotare il vostro posto di volontario. I pagamenti sono gestiti da PayPal, il nostro fornitore globale di fiducia. Se non avete un conto PayPal, potete pagare anche con carta di credito.


Pagamento Finale

Il pagamento finale sarà concordato con Volunteer for the Visayans durante il processo di candidatura. Le soluzioni più comuni sono il bonifico bancario o il pagamento in contanti presso la sede del progetto.


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Volunteer for the Visayans

Eccezionale 5 rating (13 recensioni)

Non-profit - fondata nel 2004

Verificato da Volunteer World

  Tasso di risposta moderato

Ospitato da

Helena Claire "Wim"

Lingue parlate: Inglese

Sul progetto

Volunteer for the Visayans is dedicated to sustainable development projects in the areas of child welfare, community development, education, and public health.

Incontra il tuo ospite

Who We Are?

Volunteer for the Visayans (VFV), is a registered non-profit, non-government organization located in Tacloban City, Philippines. It is registered with the local Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to distribute planned and professional social welfare services to assist underprivileged and underserved local communities.

Since being founded in 2004, VFV has dedicated itself to contributing towards sustainable developments in the areas of child welfare, community development, education and public health through its broad based social welfare programs. In particular VFV has invested time and resources to develop a number of long term Community Projects as well as a comprehensive Child Sponsorship Program which combined have led to over 150 children from disadvantaged backgrounds to have the means to go to school and pursue mainstream education.

Year after year, VFV has been recruiting international volunteers to help provide energy, skills and support to a number of ongoing Volunteer and Community Projects whilst at the same time educating the volunteers on the unique people and culture of the Philippines.

Over the last decade, VFV has tailored its Volunteer Program to provide not only the best volunteer projects for those looking to volunteer in the Philippines but has also provided a program that includes some of the best methods of cultural immersion, allowing each volunteer to truly experience the one of a kind ‘Pinoy’ culture. Today, VFV still takes pride in providing one of the most unique volunteering and service based learning environments in the world.

Brief History

The origins of  Volunteer for the Visayans (VFV) date back to the early 1990’s when U.S. volunteers from Jacksonville University, Florida led by Troy Peden traveled to Tacloban City in order to volunteer on a project known as Building Hope, which was the original precursor to Volunteer for the Visayans. The volunteers participated in a number of community development and social welfare projects, including the renovation and repair of Sagkahan National High School which had been damaged by a recent typhoon.

During their visits, Peden and his volunteers set foundations for the future by working closely with the Tacloban City Social Welfare and Development Office, building trust and creating a model which would serve as VFV’s underlying structure for years to come.

The volunteers continued to return on their own each year, and in 2004 were instrumental in establishing the Volunteers for the Visayans as a non-profit organisation. With support from the GoAbroad Foundation Peden provided a gateway of financial support which slowly enabled VFV to develop the resources needed to become a successful on-ground NGO. With every year that passed, VFV strived to reach out and improve the lives of communities and individuals in a manner that was responsible and sustainable; this led to a number of projects developing under VFV’s three core programs - the Volunteer Program, Sponsorship Program and Community Program. It is the combination of these three core programs that makes Volunteer for the Visayans a successful, broad-based social welfare organization.

Where We Work

VFV is based in Tacloban City on the island of Leyte in Eastern Visayas. Tacloban is approximately 360 miles south-west of Manila and is well-known as the site of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur’s Leyte Gulf Landing, which marked the start of a fierce campaign to regain the Philippines from Japan during World War II.

Tacloban is also the site of the prestigious San Juanico Bridge, which is the longest bridge in the Philippines. This bridge connects the islands of Leyte and Samar, and is a key link in the Pan-Philippines Highway, which connects the Philippines islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao through a network of roadways, bridges and ferries.

Tacloban is the capital of the Province of Leyte and has a population of about 218,00 people. The city offers international volunteers an opportunity to be immersed in a unique Asian culture, which is at least partially left untouched by Western Culture, especially in the rural areas. In November 2013, Tacloban was one of the most devastated areas of the Philippines when Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) ravaged through the Philippines; therefore, the city and surrounding areas now present an even greater range of opportunities for international volunteers.

In addition to servicing Tacloban City, VFV has a community center near the local dumpsite in the Barangay of Sto. Nino and a community center in the rural village of Cangumbang, Palo. 

Why choose us?

There are many organizations that offer volunteer-abroad placements in a multitude of countries. Selecting the right program is an important decision for you to make. Here are the reasons why Volunteer for the Visayans may be your best choice for Volunteering Abroad in the Philippines.

We understand that poverty in our community cannot be alleviated just through hand-outs. We also recognize that there are national issues, including a depressed national economy, low wages, large families, and an unequal distribution of income,  that we are unable to address at our level. What we can and are doing at our grass-roots level, is to identify individual and community needs and to establish programs to address these needs. We actively collaborate with other community organizations and local government agencies. We strive to provide comprehensive, multifaceted services that address all aspects of poverty. Despite the recent affects of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), the landscape surrounding our work has changed very little, other than there being a much greater need from the communities we work in than there ever was before. As a result, our grassroots services continue to strive to bring hope and rehabilitation to more than 200 families in Leyte.

Who are we looking for?

Diversity makes us a stronger program as everyone  has unique life experiences and backgrounds that we can draw on. Volunteers, of course, should have a strong desire to help others and should be healthy enough to perform the required project tasks. Personal traits that are needed include the following:

Adaptability: Living standards in the Philippines are much lower than what you have been accustomed to. (However, Filipinos are known for their hospitality and will provide a guest with the best of everything they have in their home.) Individuals who wish to Volunteer in the Philippines, must be able to adapt to new living environments.

Sensitivity: Your values and expectations may be markedly different (due to cultural and socioeconomic differences) from those you will work with. A lack of awareness and sensitivity to this will offend those you interact with. Volunteers must be sensitive and open minded to Filipino culture. (There is reference material on the internet that will help you understand Filipino culture and traits.)

Perseverance: The volunteer project you are assigned to may lack basic supplies. Our rural schools are poorly funded and classrooms typically lack basic supplies. (While VFV does its best to solicit donations for these schools, funds are limited.) Some of our orphanages are overcrowded and understaffed. Creativity to find a solution and persistence to carry on are needed.

People volunteer because they have a strong desire to help those in need, and generally seek to volunteer in a foreign country for specific reasons, such a desire for a cultural immersion experience, to gain real life experiences during a “gap year,” or to gain experience in their career field. Whatever your reasons are for volunteering, we believe that we can provide you with a placement that will meet your needs."

13 recensioni · rating5

Ysabella Raceli Rivera rating5

2013 at Rural Health Clinic Assistant

Having been raised as a Filipina, both my parents took it to heart to ensure I would know where my family came from; that I would carry on both their traditions and culture. As I grew up and found my passion for both healthcare and medicine, I realized that, not only did I want to help those in ...
Sequoyia Farr rating5

2019 at Rural Elementary School Teacher Aide

I spent 5 weeks volunteering in the Philippines. I taught at a local school during the weekdays and I even got a chance to attend some other volunteer programs like the health clinic and nutrition project. I loved everything about the program and how much love was radiating through this community. ..
I spent 5 weeks volunteering in the Philippines. I taught at a local school during the weekdays and I even got a chance to attend some other volunteer programs like the health clinic and nutrition project. I loved everything about the program and how much love was radiating through this community. ..
Wayne Amos rating4.8

2019 at Rural Elementary School Teacher Aide

I took my wife and 3 kids to do volunteer teaching at a rural Elementary School in January, 2019 through VFV. It was such a wonderful experience working with the school children and staff. We have formed some great friendships with them and staff members at VFV. The people of Tacloban are friendly ...
Karlene Amos rating5

2018 at Rural Elementary School Teacher Aide

Absolutely loved this experience. I was able to teach within a rural school, children in grades 4, 5 and 6. I learnt so much about the local culture. I saw the resilience of the people who were living in hard conditions due to natural disasters, yet they were so happy. I enjoyed it so much that I ...
The best thing I have ever done in my life. Extremely worth while and such a valuable experience. Volunteering in the Philippines with VFV was fun, supportive and eye opening. They showed me things that I would never have seen if I had not embarked on this experience. I was welcomed with open arms ...

Posizione

Asia > Asia sud-orientale > Filippine > Tacloban City

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