Volunteer FAQs

Do I have to be a nurse to volunteer?

We prefer to take LVNs, RNs, or NPs on our trips, but would consider nursing students if our trips are short on volunteers.

How many nurses do you take?

We take between 6-10 depending on the needs of the organizations we are helping. There will be other types of volunteers once we arrive in the country.

How do you decide on who gets to volunteer?

We like to take a mixture of nurses. This includes different types of specialties, levels of experience, and mission experience. We will set a deadline for application for each trip, and will make our decision based on the applications we have by that deadline.

I submitted an application, but haven’t been selected for a trip yet?!

We keep all applications/applicants in our database. We have a very long list of nurses interested in our team trips. While we would like to take all of you we know that to have an enjoyable trip we have to keep the team to 10 or less. If at anytime your schedule opens up, and you are able to volunteer for a longer amount of time please let us know so that we can inform you about our long-term volunteer opportunities!

How much does a trip cost each volunteer?

We try to keep cost low for the volunteers with donations from outside sources. The cost of the trip to the nurses varies by the overall cost of the trip. This is estimated and updated under our ‘future trips’ section. When a volunteer is selected the total cost to the nurse will be included in the selection letter. 

I have a family member or significant other that would like to attend. Can they also come?

We only subsidize the nurse’s trip, but because we will be working in orphanages and schools there will most likely be other jobs that could be done, and that person is welcome to help in that capacity.  For further information regarding this special circumstance you may contact us if you are selected for the trip, and we can explain to you the possible options for the given location.

What will I be doing on these trips?

The majority of the time will be spent in orphanages, schools, and/or clinics providing education and preventative health assessments to children.  After performing exams and obtaining baseline data from the children we will spend time on health education. Most trips will focus on one site with the possibility of taking children for follow-up off site at local provider clinic(s). This maximizes the degree of impact we have in the country.  

Individual/long term trips require one nurse (with local help) to perform the assessments on the children and then coordinate local follow-up care with our partnered dentists, medical clinics, and optometrists.

What does a day look like on a NBB trip?

This always varies by site. If we are there for a week it generally involves a morning full of health stations (ht/wt, vital signs, eye charts, and assessments) followed by an afternoon of education. However, we might also spend a whole day on assessments, and the following day on education. All nurses are expected to participate in the stations and education portion. Depending on the length of the day we spend about an hour once we return to the accommodation on inputing our assessment data into google sheets for follow-up purposes. There is usually time to join the children in recess or play. Generally the evenings are free to spend at your leisure.

If the mission is for follow-up care there will be less nurses in attendance and we will focus on the kids that have already been identified as needing to see a local provider. This means collecting permission slips from parents, accompanying the children to the provider, and providing feedback to the parents. These trips also include runs to the pharmacy as well as child and parent education. While you are using some of your assessment skills on this trip the focus is on adapting and being flexible to the needs of the children and providers.

Do I need a passport?

Yes. Nursing Beyond Borders will not provide you with this, and it is expected that if you are applying for a position you have passport (that the visiting country accepts), and that your passport will be good for at least 6 months and a day from the end date of the trip. Many countries will not let you enter if your passport expires too soon.

Ex: Trip date April 1-April 7th, 2024. Your passport would need to be valid until October 8th, 2024.

What will I need to bring?

This will be location specific, and the information will be included in the e-mail you receive if you are selected for the mission.