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Health Professionals Working Abroad

B

bainesajay

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 22, 2003
71
0
Canada
Hi Everyone,

I had a question on here earlier and realized we got a lot of mac lovers who are also in the health care field like myself. My wife is a Nurse and I am a clinical pharmacist.

We are looking for some adventure and fun for about six months to a year working abroad. We are both from and trained in Canada. I was wondering if anyone knew any reputable programs that do all this for you? I did a brief google search and found nothing I could trust. Any recommended countries? Is the middle east safe? Any accountants out there know how the whole tax thing works?

Any thing would be appreciated! Note we tried going a more noble route with the Canadian Armed Forces, but they wanted a minimum four year commitment. Nothing would make me prouder to serve my country, but four years from my life here is too long.

Thanks all,
 
A friend of mine is a respiratory specialist and he's going to Saudi Arabia for 2 years. He too is Canadian but lives in the US and works at a local hospital.

He tells me he will earn more there and the income is tax-free so when he returns he will bring back almost 10 times more than he would have made in those 2 years here.

Now I don't think you'd want to go to Saudia Arabia. Can't drink etc.

But it's some info.
 
Thanks

Do you know what agency he went with? Is Saudia Arabia as extreme as it has been played out to be? I am a little apprehensive as well because my wife and I are both of punjabi descent, I am not sure if that matters to them?
 
Come to Norway and we'll send you a barrel of oil as a parting gift when you leave. :p


Seriously though, anywhere in Europe would be a good place, I guess. :)
 
I'm headed out with the US Navy this summer for a humanitarian medical mission, most participating are committing to 4 months, though I can only do the final two.

They need doctors, pharmacists, Nurses, EMT's etc. Countries visited will be Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea.

Try projecthope.org to see if there are any spots open right now, but know it's all volunteer.

We're sailing on the USNS Mercy!

SLC
 
bainesajay said:
I had a question on here earlier and realized we got a lot of mac lovers who are also in the health care field like myself. My wife is a Nurse and I am a clinical pharmacist.

We are looking for some adventure and fun for about six months to a year working abroad. We are both from and trained in Canada. I was wondering if anyone knew any reputable programs that do all this for you? I did a brief google search and found nothing I could trust. Any recommended countries? Is the middle east safe? Any accountants out there know how the whole tax thing works?

Any thing would be appreciated! Note we tried going a more noble route with the Canadian Armed Forces, but they wanted a minimum four year commitment. Nothing would make me prouder to serve my country, but four years from my life here is too long.
Click to expand...

I've spent the better part of the past decade working in humanitarian/medical aid, for various organizations in different parts of the world in many different capacities.

Can you give more of an idea of where you'd like to work, if it's required that you be paid, if your idea of "six months" is oriented towards more work or play, etc? Are you religious or are you a member of a religious community?

In what kind of nursing care is your wife involved?
 
bainesajay said:
Do you know what agency he went with? Is Saudia Arabia as extreme as it has been played out to be? I am a little apprehensive as well because my wife and I are both of punjabi descent, I am not sure if that matters to them?
Click to expand...

I believe so, if you aren't white I probably would avoid Saudi Arabia.
 
Have you given any thought to staying in Canada and heading north to one of the Arctic communities like Cambridge Bay, Pond Inlet, etc? It will probably seem just about as exotic as heading overseas.... but colder.

It's a different culture, with a different language (often). The climate is different as well :) .
 
bainesajay said:
Hi Everyone,

I had a question on here earlier and realized we got a lot of mac lovers who are also in the health care field like myself. My wife is a Nurse and I am a clinical pharmacist.

We are looking for some adventure and fun for about six months to a year working abroad. We are both from and trained in Canada. I was wondering if anyone knew any reputable programs that do all this for you? I did a brief google search and found nothing I could trust. Any recommended countries? Is the middle east safe? Any accountants out there know how the whole tax thing works?

Any thing would be appreciated! Note we tried going a more noble route with the Canadian Armed Forces, but they wanted a minimum four year commitment. Nothing would make me prouder to serve my country, but four years from my life here is too long.

Thanks all,
Click to expand...

Does Canada have a Peace Corps? :confused:
 
Signal-11 said:
I've spent the better part of the past decade working in humanitarian/medical aid, for various organizations in different parts of the world in many different capacities.

Can you give more of an idea of where you'd like to work, if it's required that you be paid, if your idea of "six months" is oriented towards more work or play, etc? Are you religious or are you a member of a religious community?

In what kind of nursing care is your wife involved?
Click to expand...


Wow, thank you so much. We would like to be paid. We want to go somewhere foreign for the most part and do work. We are not really religious. When people see us, they would think a Sikh.
 
snberk103 said:
Have you given any thought to staying in Canada and heading north to one of the Arctic communities like Cambridge Bay, Pond Inlet, etc? It will probably seem just about as exotic as heading overseas.... but colder.

It's a different culture, with a different language (often). The climate is different as well :) .
Click to expand...

Are you aware of any programs that do this? besides applying into the deep health authorities?
 
bainesajay said:
We would like to be paid.
Click to expand...

This narrows down your options significantly.

We want to go somewhere foreign for the most part and do work.
Click to expand...

Most professional NGOs have good HR policies requiring expats to go on scheduled breaks. For example, if I were on a typical 9 month MSF mission (which tend to be much more high stress than other NGOs), I would be expected to take at least one 4-6 day weekend every 4-6 weeks and one 1-2 week vacation every 3 months. Depending on the circumstances, this is non negotiable. Plus, what many expats choose to do is to take a few weeks to a few months at the end of their assignments before they go home.

We are not really religious. When people see us, they would think a Sikh.
Click to expand...

The reason I asked the religion question is because religious organizations are often a good starting point if you want to dip your toes into this kind of work.

The difficulty will be finding a simultaneous post for the both of you, particularly for your "first" overseas experience. Most NGOs do not allow accompaniment for first time staff. For example, MSF does not. They will send couples on assignments together, depending on a few things, but the difficulty with your situation is finding a job for you. Skilled, Western trained nurses are always in high demand and they can be plugged in almost anywhere - in fact, the utility of nurses often outstrips that of a physician or surgeon in many settings. OTOH, clinical pharmacists are difficult to find a role for in what are usually very basic health care settings. Do you have any other health/medical qualifications/skills? You might consider below your level of education but laboratory technicians/managers who can teach and/or set up labs ARE in high demand so this might work out better for you.

That said, the first place you should look is with MSF. MSF is set up to get "western" trained folks out into the field for their first time as it's mission is a two way street. The HR office will be able to give you a better and more realistic idea about how to proceed than I can.

If MSF is not up your alley (and it isn't for most) you should take a look at http://www.reliefweb.int/vacancies You will not qualify for most of the jobs listed, but looking at the listings should give you an idea of what organizations are involved in the type of work you'd like to do in the places you'd like to do it.

At the very least, you should be prepared to make a minimum commitment of 9 months, regardless of organization.

Your ethnicity really isn't all that important, except that you will most likely not be sent to a place where your ethnicity/nationality will be an issue.

And last but not least, how is your French?
 
bainesajay said:
Are you aware of any programs that do this? besides applying into the deep health authorities?
Click to expand...

I'd start by looking at the 3 territorial government websites. Start with Nunavut... they have most of the communities that are thought of as Arctic. The Yukon has some pretty remote places, like Old Crow. But start with Nunavut....

These are not necessarily "humanitarian" in the sense that there is a charity that manages things, and perhaps provides a salary. These are jobs with the territorial government. They are chronically understaffed up-north, and the place is rugged enough that it is hard to keep people. But, the rewards can also be tremendous. And the pay includes a "northern bonus".

All of this is 2nd hand, as we are not in the health-field. But we have visited the north on several occasions, and have visited about a dozen communities all together. We know a doctor here in the south who travels to the NWT several times a year to help manage community health program there.
 
BTW, I love Canadian nurses that have worked the far north when they join up with MSF/ICRC and the like. Independent, resourceful, don't have to be babysat, know how to work a radio and most of all, they tend understand logistics.
 
bainesajay said:
Do you know what agency he went with? Is Saudia Arabia as extreme as it has been played out to be? I am a little apprehensive as well because my wife and I are both of punjabi descent, I am not sure if that matters to them?
Click to expand...
Medmerge is the place he said to call.They are out of Toronto
Here's the info :

1-888-279-1770
http://www.medmerge.com

Fauzia Khan is the person he deals with

He says theres no problems with punjabi because she is Pakistani.
 
Peace said:
Medmerge is the place he said to call.They are out of Toronto
Here's the info :

1-888-279-1770
http://www.medmerge.com

Fauzia Khan is the person he deals with

He says theres no problems with punjabi because she is Pakistani.
Click to expand...

Thank you so so much. I really appreciate your help . I really like this forum. Thanks everyone. I will look at all the links you have given me. Sometimes Google-based research can be very misleading, so this is great.

Thanks Again
 
Signal-11 said:
This narrows down your options significantly.



Most professional NGOs have good HR policies requiring expats to go on scheduled breaks. For example, if I were on a typical 9 month MSF mission (which tend to be much more high stress than other NGOs), I would be expected to take at least one 4-6 day weekend every 4-6 weeks and one 1-2 week vacation every 3 months. Depending on the circumstances, this is non negotiable. Plus, what many expats choose to do is to take a few weeks to a few months at the end of their assignments before they go home.



The reason I asked the religion question is because religious organizations are often a good starting point if you want to dip your toes into this kind of work.

The difficulty will be finding a simultaneous post for the both of you, particularly for your "first" overseas experience. Most NGOs do not allow accompaniment for first time staff. For example, MSF does not. They will send couples on assignments together, depending on a few things, but the difficulty with your situation is finding a job for you. Skilled, Western trained nurses are always in high demand and they can be plugged in almost anywhere - in fact, the utility of nurses often outstrips that of a physician or surgeon in many settings. OTOH, clinical pharmacists are difficult to find a role for in what are usually very basic health care settings. Do you have any other health/medical qualifications/skills? You might consider below your level of education but laboratory technicians/managers who can teach and/or set up labs ARE in high demand so this might work out better for you.

That said, the first place you should look is with MSF. MSF is set up to get "western" trained folks out into the field for their first time as it's mission is a two way street. The HR office will be able to give you a better and more realistic idea about how to proceed than I can.

If MSF is not up your alley (and it isn't for most) you should take a look at http://www.reliefweb.int/vacancies You will not qualify for most of the jobs listed, but looking at the listings should give you an idea of what organizations are involved in the type of work you'd like to do in the places you'd like to do it.

At the very least, you should be prepared to make a minimum commitment of 9 months, regardless of organization.

Your ethnicity really isn't all that important, except that you will most likely not be sent to a place where your ethnicity/nationality will be an issue.

And last but not least, how is your French?
Click to expand...

Hahah thanks for the info - my french is non-existent. I am from Vancouver. I will look into the links you gave me. My clinical skills as a pharmacist are fairy useful in many situations as we work with medical microbiology a lot and are often ID, Renal, ext ext consults when specialities are not available. Or if the physician requires expertise in treatment instead of diagnostics.
 
TechieJustin said:
What about logistics companies?
Would they might need physicians in remote areas where a multinational company set up a facility? :confused:
Click to expand...

No, as it's usually not cost efficient.

bainesajay said:
Hahah thanks for the info - my french is non-existent. I am from Vancouver. I will look into the links you gave me. My clinical skills as a pharmacist are fairy useful in many situations as we work with medical microbiology a lot and are often ID, Renal, ext ext consults when specialities are not available. Or if the physician requires expertise in treatment instead of diagnostics.
Click to expand...

I understand what it is you do and what role you play back home, which is undoubtedly of high value to your colleagues. Unfortunately, where you are going is not home and things will function differently.

Anyway, I'm looking through the vacancy listings for a couple medical NGOs now and there's a couple pharmacist's slots open in various places so the jobs are out there, they'll just be few and far between compared to nursing jobs.
 
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