If you’re thinking about becoming a medical volunteer abroad, it’s worth knowing what you’re actually signing up for. A typical MEDLIFE Service Learning Trip runs about nine days, with eight nights in shared dorm rooms with other MEDLIFE participants. Meals, transportation to trip activities, an English-speaking trip leader, and travel health insurance are included. Here’s how a typical week unfolds.

Days 1 and 2: Arrival and Orientation

Most participants arrive on the first day, and MEDLIFE provides pickup from the airport. You’ll meet your trip leader and other group members, and on most trips the leader takes everyone on a walking tour of the area.

Before any service work starts, there’s an orientation, either that first evening or the next morning. It covers what to expect during the week, safety precautions, and a brief training on how MEDLIFE’s mobile clinics work and how you are expected to act within your volunteer role. Some groups also spend time on local history and context of the social and political realities of the area.

Mobile Clinic Days As a Medical Volunteer Abroad

The heart of the week is spent at mobile clinics in communities with limited access to care. Licensed local doctors, nurses, and dentists provide the care, and students rotate through clinic stations alongside them, guiding patients through stations, checking them in through triage, shadowing medical professionals, and helping distribute medicine in the pharmacy station.

Project Day

Each trip includes a community development project chosen and designed by the community members. On one trip, students worked on a staircase and learned it could also give families a landmark for their addresses, making it easier to register with the health system. When projects are finished, communities sometimes hold an inauguration, where community leaders speak about what the project means to them and what will happen going forward.

Workshops and Reflection

Educational workshops round out the week, and evenings are for facilitated reflection with your group after every day in the field. It’s often where the week starts to make sense as a whole. This is where participants can sit together and reflect on what they witnessed and how it relates to the bigger systems of healthcare and poverty within the country.

A Day To Explore

One day is set aside for exploring the region. Some trips include a full-day outing, and others offer excursions as optional add-ons at an extra cost. This is where you can take time outside of service to explore the natural beauty and history of the country you’re visiting. Participants often visit sites like Machu Picchu or the Galapagos Islands, depending on their SLT destination.

Departure

On the final day, you can head home or stay on to keep exploring on your own.

The part of being a medical volunteer abroad that lasts longest usually starts after the trip. Some students come back and start local service, take on chapter leadership, or rethink why they want to work in health care at all. The outcome of your time participating in service varies, but we can guarantee an experience that will stick with you for years to come.

To learn more about MEDLIFE and how you can take part in ethical service abroad on a service learning trip, fill out the form below or download our brochure today!