Medical Volunteering in Tanzania

Have you ever considered travel nursing? Have you ever considered volunteering in Africa? Tanzania, in central East Africa has a number of nursing opportunities that will give you the chance to help the local people as well as gaining valuable experience in your career.

If you were interested in this worthwhile cause, your first port of call would be one of the many travel nurse agencies or voluntary medical charities. They will be able to identify where your skills are needed, help with the administrative details and be able to advise you on many aspects of the work.

There is a wide range of specialties to choose from including paediatrics, obstetrics, gynaecology and general medicine. You will be allocated to an area that best suits your skills. You will help with the daily running of the hospitals and clinics, treating patients and helping the local staff. Health education on issues such as HIV/AIDS and other STDs is also a critical part of the work in Tanzania.

Medical clinics and hospitals vary in size and the number of patients who attend. In some parts of the country there could be 200 patients per day whereas in others it may be only 5. In certain places the equipment or facilities may not be the most modern and you will require to use your knowledge and skills to overcome the difficulties.

You will be expected to work five days a week, anywhere between 4 and 8 hours a day, depending on the facility. Dependant on your speciality, your day may include pre-natal care, immunisation, maternity care, general patient care and offering support or advice to patients. In some facilities, you may be treating accident and emergency patients.

With an infant mortality rate at over 100 in 1000, work with pregnant mothers and young children, is a vital part of health care in Tanzania. Malaria is the leading reason for child deaths, with pneumonia and rotavirus also significant contributors. Quality health care can significantly impact on the health and well-being of the most vulnerable groups in Africa.

Africa offers unique challenges in medicine. Tanzania has the kind of challenges that will broaden your horizons, test your skills to the extreme and help you to grow as a person and as a nurse. The lack of equipment or facilities will mean you are tested to the full and you will come back a better nurse, less reliant on modern technology.

Travelling nurse jobs in Tanzania are a genuine opportunity for you to use all that you have learned as a nurse, take your skills and apply them in a country that desperately needs them. You can make a significant contribution to the lives of the people, you will learn new skills and maximise those you already have. Most importantly, you will have an experience you will never forget, creating memories and helping people who will stay with you for the rest of your life.