/r/doctorswithoutborders

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DO NOT ASK FOR MEDICAL ADVICE.

Discussion about the international humanitarian health organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).

Note: This is a fan page and is not run by MSF. Contact your countries branch for specific questions.

** No Hate speech, bullying or racism will be tolerated **

Independent. Neutral. Impartial.

Medical aid where it is needed most

MSF PULSE: BiWeekly News From Doctors Without Borders
Posting Rules

This subreddit is for anything related to Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders and the work they do internationally.

Humanitarian news, stories, quotes and discussions are welcome.

You are also free to ask questions directly about MSF. We will do our best to solicit answers from staff.

Commercial / For Sale posts are not allowed. PM a mod if you would like to post a fundraising campaign.

Please remember to:

  1. Respect other posters opinions

  2. No harassment

  3. No posting of personal info

  4. Be Civil. Don't be a troll.

Coffee Break

Discussion Threads

These topics are to help share knowledge and let community members talk about current world issues that MSF is working around. Please read Posting Rules before joining this discussion.

Current Discussion:

Past Dicussions:

Interesting Content

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Note: All moderators of this subreddit are volunteers and the views expressed by them, unless stated otherwise, do not reflect that of the organisation.

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/r/doctorswithoutborders

8,870 Subscribers

11

MSF: Why we suspended activities in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

0 Comments
2024/11/22
12:44 UTC

0

Positions for Italian medicine student?

Hello everyone, I'm new to this world. I'm a medicine student but due to my ocd I think it's getting a bit taxing and stressful. Not that MSF is a game but still I think I could help instead of just ruminating everyday. My skills are: languages, driving, cooking, toxicology (no degrees), computer science, music, helping in general. I know lots about proxy wars and such as I've always had an interest into war zones and metal gear solid lol. I also know a bit of chemistry.

Any suggestions on how to start?

5 Comments
2024/11/19
10:15 UTC

14

Doctors Without Borders now available on Bluesky

1 Comment
2024/11/15
00:36 UTC

5

Life as an MSF MD

Hi all! I'm a pre-med university student and MSF has ALWAYS been a dream of mine, but as I get older I know I need to be more realistic about my career, family, etc. None of these are necessary deal breakers for me, I think I'd still like to go for it, but I want to know what I'd be getting into.

What does a year in the life of an MSF doctor look like? Can I have a private practice? Can I be a present mother? Will I be making a good salary? Will there be a toll on my health?

5 Comments
2024/11/06
18:24 UTC

1

CRNA

I am wondering what a full-time CRNA role would look like for Doctors Without Borders. Any insight?

2 Comments
2024/10/28
10:38 UTC

3

Is my plan to work full-time with MSF going to work?

I am a physician based in Manila, Philippines. It is my goal to work with MSF and build a career in the area of international and global health. I am a general practitioner in the Philippines and that means I completed 4 years of medical school, 1 year of internship, and passed the licensure exam in my country. I am not planning to enter a residency program, so I am currently working as a GP catering mostly to outpatient services. I am also looking for opportunities to work as a physician in underserved communities in my country. In the future I am planning to take a Masters degree in tropical medicine from another country just to gain the necessary skills to be an MSF physician.

Given that I am not planning on specializing and that MSF sends physicians with specializations (peds, IM, surgery, OB etc) on missions, do you think my current plan will work?

4 Comments
2024/10/26
18:42 UTC

10

Do you use the term “mission” when describing the work you do overseas?

This could easily be confused with proselytizing.

12 Comments
2024/10/19
23:00 UTC

5

Psychologist with MSF

I am a psychologist in Canada and work a lot with trauma (among other concerns). I am incredibly interested in applying to work with MSF but I have two things holding me back. First, I only speak English which of course can be limiting. Second, I have limited travel experience in the areas MSF serves. Because of my current work arrangements, I don’t see myself obtaining the required travel experiences anytime soon as I am not able to take long periods of time off - unless it was on a leave (ie., working with MSF). Is it even worth applying if I don’t meet these requirements? Any Canadian psychologists here able to share their experiences? Thanks!

1 Comment
2024/10/16
01:17 UTC

3

Donation Match Limits

Hello!

I recently received a letter in the mail promoting one of the 3X donation match events for this month, and curiosity just got the best of me: is there any way to track the progress towards the $200,000 limit of the match?

I'm assuming the match is not at a per donation level, and rather at a global total level, since I can't see that scaling very well at a per donation level. It would be interesting to see how close the donations come to hitting the total match limit like a lot of donation websites provide.

I realize this isn't the goal of the sub to answer questions like this, but curiosity really just got the best of me and I'd be interested to see if this is available somewhere. It seems like it would even encourage people to donate more just to try to hit the goal!

Cheers!

1 Comment
2024/10/09
02:04 UTC

5

Medical Student Elective (Ukraine)

Hello, this may be an insane thing to ask however here we go:

I'm a Y3 medical student studying in the UK. This summer we all have to choose an elective and while many people choose to work in LEDCs, I personally have a great interest in Eastern Europe. Couple that with my desire to hopefully work with MSF in the future, I was wondering if it was possible to do my placement in or around Ukraine. My knowledge of the Ukrainian language is poor however I do speak some basic Russian. My university doesn't allow travel to red zones (based on UKgov) for obvious reasons however some parts of Ukraine remain orange and have MSF projects (Lviv, Zakarpattiam Ivano-Frankivsk and Zhytomyr).

My question is basically this: Is this feasible and if so wise? Or am I just being overenthusiastic and will cause more problems than good by getting in the way of important humanitarian work?

Thanks, and apologies in advance for the potentially stupid question.

10 Comments
2024/10/08
18:49 UTC

4

I'd like to know about any details of the working experience with MSF

Hello! I'm currently in the process of applying to MSF for a finance position. I would like to know about the living conditions, how did you feel about your experience? What was working with your coworkers like? how you felt about the security? what was your daily life like? what were the positive and negative aspects about it? what was the toughest situation you were in? how did you feel about the salary, was it enough or not? etc ...

5 Comments
2024/10/07
14:22 UTC

3

Entry level positions at MSF?

I’m having a hard time building up enough experience to qualify for any MSF position… Are there any (semi-) entry positions I could apply for, and then try to make my way towards my dream position once already in MSF? I have a BSc in public health and a MSc in Epidemiology

9 Comments
2024/10/04
10:36 UTC

4

What are the differences between ICRC and MSF?

3 Comments
2024/10/02
19:50 UTC

1

Questions about Health Promoters

I'm very interested in the health promoters position with doctors without borders. I was wondering if I'd be able to get this position with a social work degree? It's not listed under required degrees but it's close to them. What kind of low resource work can be done to gain that needed experience? Is it something I can do in the USA or would that be done abroad? Thanks!

5 Comments
2024/10/02
01:43 UTC

4

Mental health/psychiatric nurse

Hi, I’m training to be a Mental Health nurse in England and would love to join MSF sometime after getting my degree, i would like know if they would allow or employ me?

3 Comments
2024/09/26
06:00 UTC

1

Does MSF hire/accept photographers?

I’m a high schooler who’s interested in becoming a conflict photographers. After asking around other Reddit’s people told me that I should look into becoming a photographer for MSF to start out. Is this truely a thing, or am I being misled? Thank you in advance!

3 Comments
2024/09/23
01:33 UTC

2

Is there a way to buy an MSF hat in America?

I've donated lots of money to MSF. I just want a hat. I found their store but I didn't recognize the currency and they won't even ship to the US. It says ships to South Africa and I can't change it.

Is this the real store? Can I not buy these?

https://msfmerchandise.store/

15 Comments
2024/09/17
00:53 UTC

3

Where can I find the MSF Global Salary Grid?

Does anyone know where I can find a current (or recent) MSF Global Salary Grid, with actual numbers (€/$) for the seven levels + indemnity levels, so I can potentially calculate the gross pay for certain positions? Let's say for a HQ-3B role based in an MSF OCBA hub?

8 Comments
2024/09/09
08:34 UTC

1

Medical devices and Doctors without Borders

Hello, I am currently an undergrad student looking to go to medical school soon and eventually do Doctors without Borders. Unfortunately, I have a year in between me graduating and actually going to medical school. In this time, I was considering doing a masters in either Biomedical Engineering or BioTech to potentially use those as a means to bring medical devices to different countries I may be working in. I wanted to know if this is even a feasible thing or if Doctors without Borders even helps with bringing medical devices to other countries, so I know whether to actually pursue this or not. If they are, which Master's degree would be more beneficial to get? A Biomedical Engineering one or a Biotech one?

2 Comments
2024/09/07
15:55 UTC

2

Changing contracting partner office

Hi all, I'm contracted as IMS through my home country partner office, but my partner and I are looking at getting married and getting me a work visa for his country, which has its own partner office. Would I need to go through the standard recruitment process again to continue working as IMS through his country's office, or is there an expedited process given that I'm already "in the system" so to speak? Thanks!

1 Comment
2024/08/30
09:49 UTC

3

Switching Operational Centres

Hi all

I’m in the field now on my first MSF mission and I have a question about future assignments. Do people tend to stay with the same OC or is it common to move around?

Thanks

8 Comments
2024/08/26
13:27 UTC

3

Possibility of hiring paramedics with advanced training

As a paramedic who has always wanted to work in remote and austere medicine, I have looked to MSF as a paragon of medical charity. I however was heartbroken to find out that paramedics are not able to work for MSF however with the increased training and even mid-level provider levels coming available in the United States as options and master’s level degrees in remote and offshore medicine from places like CORUM. I was wondering if such a provider would be accepted as a part of MSF? I love working in the field and would love to take my skills to those who need them globally. I know I am not some god of medicine, I feel that I am at least a competent medic however.

6 Comments
2024/08/23
18:28 UTC

20

I am a nurse who wants to go to Palestine. Is this feasible?

I've been an RN for 5 years. 3 years OR experience, two of which are at a level 1 trauma center. I only speak English. I would like to go to Gaza or as close as I can get to help. Should I bother applying if I don't speak another language? Would they take me? I am Palestinian and have family in Jordan if that means anything at all. Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

13 Comments
2024/08/19
04:28 UTC

4

Career planning advice....

So I should be starting four years of med school next year. The impetus for changing careers was a desire to work with MSF (or similar organisations) to provide direct on the ground humanitarian aid as a doctor. tentatively thinking Anaesthetics. I (29m) am married, looking to start a family soon and have a few questions:

  1. what advice would you give me?

  2. I am currently thinking of the humanitarian work as more of a....side-hustle in a career? I.e., do a couple of smaller deployments in a year, while I continue to work within my countries public health cares system. Is this possible with MSF? If not, is this possible with similar organisations?

  3. Life insurance as someone visiting warzones..... is it possible?

  4. What can I do now/during med-school that will help me walk down this path?

question two is probably my biggest question: The reason I am thinking of things this way is that, while my wife is supportive of me in this currently, I want to treat her and my (hopeful) future children kindly, and I think this requires taking a.... "minimum amount of engagement with humanitarian work while still doing humanitarian work" sort of approach. I am not sure. All these things will become clearer as time moves on.

11 Comments
2024/08/14
05:36 UTC

2

Where do I find the Self-Assessment Form

I’ve completed the majority of the MSF application but cannot find the Self-Assessment Form they want uploaded along with the CV & Motivation Letter. I’ve emailed my question to the NYC office, but… it is Sunday and I’m impatient 😕

2 Comments
2024/08/11
20:14 UTC

2

Just graduated

As a recent MBBS graduate from India, I am eager to learn more about Doctors Without Borders and explore opportunities to contribute. Can anyone provide guidance on how I can join and make a meaningful impact?

3 Comments
2024/08/11
19:34 UTC

4

Experiences as a Communication Manager/Officer

Hi everyone,

I’m interested in hearing from anyone who has experience working as a Communication Manager/Officer with MSF.

•	What was your typical day like in this role?
•	What kind of challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?
•	Can you share any specific testimonies or stories that highlight what it’s like to work in this position?

I appreciate any insights or experiences you can share. Thank you!

1 Comment
2024/08/06
00:12 UTC

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