Health and Wellbeing

Volunteering on a Medicine & Healthcare project in Nepal is a unique experience. As a Medicine and Healthcare volunteer or intern you will gain a great deal of valuable work-experience alongside some of the most skilled practitioners in the country. The facilities are generally quite basic when compared to facilities in the west.

Volunteer Medicine and Healthcare placements in Nepal are based in and around Kathmandu. You will be working on social and health development projects focusing on providing medicine and healthcare for the underprivileged. This is a particularly important service in a country such as Nepal where the National Health System provides for only 15% of the population.

VIN also aims to mobilize volunteers with health backgrounds in rural Communities where people do not have access to any health facilities, as the government is not able to provide adequate health services in the rural communities. Further, rural Nepali people are often unwilling to go to the hospital and other contemporary health services because of orthodox and superstitious thinking and other cultural influences. Some Nepali people may visit a dhami / Jhakri (witchdoctor) when they are suffering from a disease, so most of them sometimes die without getting the benefit of modern medication. VIN is playing an active role in linking those rural people with those around the world and within the country who are really eager to serve the many needy people in Nepal’s rural areas.

VIN welcomes all the interested medical students, individuals, professionals, organizations, associations and other groups to join the health program. VIN organizes Health Program in three ways: 

Health Camps

medical Volunteers will be mobilized to work in health camps for a prearranged schedule: 1 day to a week. Volunteers will work with their Nepali counterparts, who assist both Nepali and foreign volunteers. Volunteers’ responsibilities are to distribute medicine and consult with citizens about health care, by this means raising the awareness of health and sanitation throughout the rural communities. 

Health Institute

Volunteers will be assigned to health posts, hospitals, and other health institutions, either being run by the government or a local community, in both rural and urban settings. Volunteers will work with health assistants, doctors, nurses, or some combination there within. They will work daily, 3 to 5 hours, for 5 days a week. 

Teaching Health and Sanitation

Many Nepali people are unaware of issues. We therefore mobilize volunteers mainly to work with the youth clubs, women’s groups and other local organizations to teach them about proper health and sanitation habits. In addition, volunteers will provide First-Aid information to the local people in rural villages, thereby providing them with a practical and sustainable health and sanitation skills. At the mean time, volunteers will give health education classes to children clubs in government schools that may last from a week to several days. Clubs community groups pass this information to other Clubs, groups and communities at large. We prefer medical students or doctors for this program; however, we do accept other volunteers who have some experience in the area.

For a significant number of Nepali people, it is very difficult to receive proper health care. Many of the state’s health centers established to provide services in rural areas are under staffed. Our medical internship program is a both way benefit i.e. medical students will have opportunity to practice what they have learnt in their universities – this ultemately benefits to the disadvantaged community people to improve community health care system.

Interns in this program assist local doctors and medical staffs in the treatment of patients. medical Inturns / volunteers may also participate in hospital programs in a variety of fields such as record keeping, sanitation, nutrition,treatment of minor injuries.

Our medical volunteer / internship program places doctors, nurses, and medical school students at hospitals and clinics. We have standing requests from local facilities for Internists, Urologists, Surgeons, Oncologists, Ophthalmologists, Nurses, and Dentists.

Volunteers have the option of working in either an urban or rural setting.   As a medical school student, you will participate in a wide range of activities. You will accompany doctors on their rounds, explore different treatments for simple ailments, provide physical therapy, and take part in vaccination programs. Depending on the timing of your visit, you will have the opportunity to visit large general hospitals, maternity clinics, children’s hospitals, HIV/AIDS wards, and alternative-medicine clinics.

Your visits will be given some context by local doctors and nurses who will discuss issues such as typical illnesses/treatments and the general state of health care in Nepal.   Interested volunteers must have certification or proof of experience in a medical field, such as a medical student ID, EMT or paramedic certification, or nursing or physician’s credentials. Due to the health risks involved, volunteers who are not properly trained in health care cannot work on this project.

Length of program:   Minimum of 4 weeks and Maximum of 5 months.

Qualifications:   Medical volunteers need to be either currently studying or practicing in the medical field, which includes doctors, nurses, medical students, and nursing students.