Volunteering as a doctor with the Austrian Doctors

Volunteer medical missions by Dr. Waldmann, the founder of Austrian Doctors, were the beginning of our association. In the 35 years that have passed since his first missions, much has changed for the better – but unfortunately many people in poor areas still have no access to basic medical care. This is why our medical work is still an important part of our work today. Here you can find out more about the opportunity to get involved in our projects as a volunteer doctor.

To ensure sustainability in our projects, we have permanently employed local doctors in Bangladesh. This means that our patients can rely on our medical projects being open every day. To support the local staff, we send volunteer doctors from Europe, primarily from Austria. It is a fruitful collaboration that has proven its worth for decades. The local staff benefit from their volunteer colleagues, who are trained in the latest technology, and they in turn can benefit immensely from the knowledge and experience of the local team. In Bangladesh, there are many clinical pictures that can only be found in textbooks in Austria. So you come back from the mission with a much broader knowledge base.

Prerequisites:

Medical training in Austria: basic training completed
Medical training in Germany: 1 year of professional experience
Tropical suitability as well as good physical and mental health and resilience
Good knowledge of English
Experience in countries of the global South is an advantage
Openness and interest in other cultures
Empathy
Hands-on mentality
Willingness to work in a team in a confined space.
Willingness to work with our local project partners and employees on the ground as equals and to respect them.
Willingness and ability to cope with unforeseen situations.
Completion of Tropenseminar Würzburg recommended but not mandatory
Sending police clearance certificate
Personal meeting with our board of directors before the assignment is mandatory

Austrian Doctors will cover half of the flight costs, while the costs for visas and insurance are to be borne by the doctors on assignment. Board and lodging are provided by Austrian Doctors in our doctors’ apartment in the Training Center. The goal is a six-week volunteer assignment.

Have we piqued your interest?

Please feel free to contact us to discuss the next steps.

Everyday working life in Bangladesh

The apartment is located on the seventh floor of our training center in Dhaka and consists of three bedrooms, each with a bathroom, as well as a shared kitchen and living room. You will be cooked for locally – but the cook has years of experience in cooking for people from Austria and has adapted her cooking habits to our stomachs!

The medical project is located six floors below. The team consists of a medical employee who takes the patient’s admission, measures weight and temperature and fills out the health card. Other employees are our local doctors and a pharmacist, who then provides the patients with the prescribed medication in the in-house pharmacy.

Our Mobile Clinic operates four days a week in various slum areas. The working day begins and ends at the training center. Together with the team described above, we then travel to various poor areas, which we visit regularly once a week. This enables us to reach many people who would otherwise have no access to basic medical care as they cannot afford transport to our Medical Center.

The total cost for patients is around 20 cents – which of course does not cover the costs. However, we have deliberately chosen this method because we want to keep access very low-threshold. If someone does not have this money, they can still be treated by us.