Getting Involved: Serving on Medical Mission Trips

I just spent a week in Honduras volunteering with a medical mission team through One World Surgery. This was my second time to go, and I absolutely loved it - again.

While I was away, I posted regularly on social media to show others what my medical mission trip looked like, hoping to inspire others to want to serve as well. In the process, I received countless messages from people wanting to know how they could get involved and what the process looked like to join a team.

I'm so glad you asked!

I thought it would be helpful to share a list of reputable organizations, and to give you a very general overview of the application process based on my experience.

Medical Mission Organizations

1. One World Surgery - "One World Surgery is a nonprofit confronting this global health crisis by partnering with communities, healthcare providers, and leaders in healthcare to deliver surgical services. Our vision is a world with safe, timely, and accessible surgical and primary care."

2. Faith in Practice - "Faith In Practice improves the health and wellness of underserved Guatemalans through health-related medical missions, community-based health initiatives, robust partnerships, and education while fostering spirituality and compassion in our patients and volunteers." 

3. Operation Walk USA - "The mission of Operation Walk USA is to encourage and enable joint replacement surgeons to restore mobility and improve quality of life for uninsured patients in the United States who suffer from disabling arthritis of the hip or knee."

4. Operation Walk - "Operation Walk Los Angeles is a volunteer medical humanitarian organization that provides the gift of mobility through life-changing joint replacement surgeries at no cost for those in need in the U.S. and globally."

5. Mercy Ships - "Mercy Ships began our mission to provide hope and healing to those in need in 1978. Each year we send hospital ships filled with volunteer medical professionals who selflessly provide life-changing surgeries to children and adults who otherwise would go without. Together we are saving lives."

6. Operation Hope Medical Missions - "founded with the purpose of providing free surgical care and sharing the gospel to the underserved in Comayagua, Honduras."

7. Northwest Medical Volunteers - Northwest Medical Volunteers is a nonprofit volunteer organization that provides international medical care to underserved patients with congenital, traumatic, or post-cancer facial deformities.

8. Global Surgical Volunteers - "Global Surgical Volunteers, INC. is an organization created to provide medical services and assistance to the needy in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and other parts of the world through medical care, education, donating goods, food distribution, building/rebuilding churches, school, homes, and other forms of Christian ministry."

9. LEAP Global Missions - "LEAP is dedicated to enhancing and enriching the lives of people around the world by providing free specialized medical and surgical services inspired by the love of Christ."

10. HUGS Foundation - "Our volunteers travel to Ecuador, Vietnam, Guatemala and Peru to provide free surgeries for cleft lip, cleft palate, microtia, cleft rhinoplasty, and other congenital facial deformities. We change lives by giving smiles."

11. Adventures in Life - "Since 2010 more than 17,000 people have been served by our medical teams across Oaxaca. Working with medical professionals from across both sides of the border, Adventures in Life has become a trusted health care provider to thousands of indigenous people each year."

This is by no means an all-inclusive list. It is, however, a list of organizations that I can recommend based on my own experience, or the experience of close friends who have served on missions as well.

How to get involved

It might sound over-simplified, but just apply! Each of the websites that I listed above make getting involved VERY obvious. I poked around on their websites, and it's easy to find out more about the organization, see their mission, vision, and values, the people group or demographic that they serve, and how to get involved.

When I applied with One World Surgery, I completed the application, and I selected the particular brigade that I was interested in being a part of. I had been invited to join a group from Connecticut, so I looked for their brigade and included it on my application.

The application was detailed, and I also had to provide my resume and proof of active nursing license. (I wouldn't go with a group that didn't confirm that...) They also wanted my passport information, specifically the expiration date. Obviously if it's expired you can't go, but if it's going to expire within a few months of your travel, many countries still won't let you in. So make sure it's not going to expire soon!

Depending on the organization, there may be a volunteer fee. With One World Surgery, it's $1000. The fee covers everything for the volunteers once they are in the country including transportation to and from the airport, housing, and all meals, snacks, and drinks. Any unused funds go toward offsetting the cost of the surgeries for the patients, so you know that your money is being put to good use!

I was also responsible for the cost of my plane ticket to get to and from Honduras. I took advantage of fundraising to help offset the cost of the volunteer fee and my plane tickets. If you helped support me for this mission trip - THANK YOU.

You can do it!

Have you ever thought about volunteering to be part of a medical/surgical mission team? Whether you're interested in serving in the US or abroad, there are a variety of organizations that you can volunteer with, and I can't recommend volunteering enough. You get to be a part of life-changing care for patients who are in desperate need, and you walk away blessed for having spent time caring for others.

What are you waiting for?

Melanie

Our whole team!