Other Volunteer Opportunities

Listed here are selected organizations/entities that can either dispatch physicians to sites that need volunteers, or can link them with agencies that can do so.

Disaster and Emergency Volunteerism

Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) Disaster Assistance Registration Database -- CIDI provides information and guidance in support of appropriate international disaster relief.

Heart to Heart International -- Heart to Heart International is a global humanitarian organization that works to improve health and to respond to the needs of disaster victims worldwide. They offer a wide range of disaster and non-disaster volunteer opportunities both domestically and internationally, including short- and long-term volunteering and service adventures.

InterAction -- InterAction is the largest alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian, non-governmental organizations (164 members). For individuals, there is a direct link from this site to volunteer opportunities available on the 164 member organizations’ Web sites.

International Medical Corps (IMC) -- IMC is a global humanitarian nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs. It offers a range of disaster and non-disaster volunteer opportunities. Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, IMC is a private, voluntary, nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization.

Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) -- MRC was established after the 2001 terrorist attacks. MRC volunteers in communities nationwide donate time and expertise to prepare for and respond to local emergencies and to promote healthy living. MRC links individuals with local MRC units for service during disasters and participation in emergency preparedness and strengthening of public health infrastructure.

Opportunities to Serve Medically During Disasters -- This document describes various disaster response groups that use the volunteer assistance of medical professionals and outlines their requirements.
(2-page PDF file; About PDFs)

Non-disaster Volunteer Opportunities

HealthRight International (formerly Doctors of the World) -- This organization mobilizes the health sector to promote and protect these and other basic human rights and civil liberties for all people, in the United States and abroad, in collaboration with a network of affiliates around the world in partnership with local communities.

InterAction -- This is the largest alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian, non-governmental organizations (164 members). For individuals, there is a direct link from this site to volunteer opportunities available on the 164 member organizations’ Web sites.

Remote Area Medical (RAM) Volunteer Corps -- RAM is a nonprofit, volunteer, airborne relief corps dedicated to serving mankind by providing free health care, dental care, eye care, veterinary services and technical and educational assistance to people in remote areas of the United States and the world.

Volunteers in Health Care -- Volunteers in Health Care is funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for organizations and clinicians caring for the uninsured. It identifies organizations that use clinical volunteers; provides technical assistance and small grants to such organizations; links organizations with each other, creating a communication and resource network and helping to share lessons learned; and shines a light on achievements, dilemmas and scope of these organizations’ efforts to care for the uninsured and inform public policy.

Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) -- VIM's mission is to promote and guide the development of a national network of free clinics emphasizing the use of retired medical and lay volunteers to care for the "working uninsured" within a culture of caring so that everyone in a community has access to health care.

Project USA -- This is an American Medical Association (AMA)-sponsored program of short-term assignments at Indian Health Service (IHS) hospitals for licensed primary care physicians. Because IHS is a federal agency, full licensure in any state authorizes a physician to practice at any IHS facility. Malpractice insurance coverage is provided for participants under the Federal Torts Claims Act. Opportunities are available on a year-round basis for periods of 2 to 4 weeks. Hundreds of resident physicians have participated in Project USA in recent years and have reported favorably on the experience, both professionally and personally. For more information, contact John Naughton at AMA, 515 N. State St, Chicago, IL 60610; telephone (312) 464-4702; or via e-mail.