Nursing skills are in high demand at every career stage, from student to newly licensed nurse to seasoned clinician. This is the case both in the workforce and in volunteer positions. Volunteer organizations in your community and those thousands of miles away are always looking for a pair of helping hands. And this is especially true for medical professionals like nurses.
There are many personal and professional benefits to volunteering. However, you should always take into account the time commitment and associated expenses before deciding to volunteer.
This guide is designed to help students and nursing professionals like you learn more about nursing volunteering opportunities. Find comprehensive resources and articles, opportunities near you, and requirements for becoming a volunteer nurse.
Chapter 1: Benefits of volunteering as a nurse
There are numerous benefits to volunteering your services as a nurse, both nationally and internationally. Such benefits include, but are certainly not limited to:
Gaining hands-on, clinical experience
Even if you’re a seasoned nurse, there is always something new to learn when you volunteer. Nurses who serve in rural areas learn to use only the tools and resources available to them. This can help you grow as a nurse by becoming more resourceful and responsible.
Learning about another culture
This is especially helpful as nurses care for people with diverse backgrounds. Nurses must always remember to be culturally sensitive when providing patient care. Many hospitals and clinics emphasize the importance of cultures when hiring new employees. This helps patients to better trust their providers and caregivers.
Networking with other nurses and physicians
In doing so, you may open doors to opportunities you would not otherwise have had.
Making life-long friends
It’s easy to make friends when you work with others who have a passion for helping people in need.
Making a difference
Knowing that you are making a difference to people in need of medical care. Medical care is often hard to come by, even in the United States. Volunteering allows you to offer your services to those in dire need.
Boost your resume
Using your experience to boost your resume for future jobs and graduate school. By volunteering, you demonstrate your commitment to those who are medically underserved. This definitely stands out to future employers and graduate school admission committees.
Chapter 2: Finding the right opportunity
Once you’ve decided that you would like to donate your time to volunteer as a student or licensed nurse, the next step is to find the right opportunity. The type of opportunity you volunteer for may depend on multiple factors. These factors may include current skill set, available time commitment, and financial status.
Qualifications
If you are not yet a licensed nurse, some organizations have opportunities available for students. These students are able to shadow licensed personnel. Other organizations may require that you are licensed as a nurse in order to provide direct patient care.
List of opportunities
Opportunities for nursing students seeking to volunteer are plentiful. Such opportunities help establish excellent communication and clinical skills. For example, within the United States, nursing students can volunteer with the American Red Cross. Opportunities the Red Cross lists for nursing students include:
- Serving on a local Disaster Action Team that responds to emergencies such as home fires
- Helping communities prepare for disasters, including home fire safety campaigns and teaching children disaster safety through the Prepare with Pedro program
- Supporting blood drives, for example as a Blood Donor Ambassador
- Health education and client casework
The Red Cross website lists the steps you need to get started as a student nurse volunteer, and its academic service-learning program lets some nursing schools count this work toward course requirements.
Opportunities overseas
If you’re a nurse educator who is looking to try something new, there are many opportunities available for you. For example, at Health Volunteers Overseas, experienced nurse educators are able to choose a country such as Cambodia or Vietnam and spend a few weeks in that location performing tasks such as:
- Providing classroom and clinical instruction to nursing students, from lectures on nursing specialties to the basics of nursing
- Mentoring nursing students
- Assisting with the development of teaching modules
- Providing continuing education to hospital staff
- Assisting with training workshops for nursing students
For highly experienced nurses
For experienced nurses, volunteer opportunities are almost endless. The type of duties required of volunteers depends on the program itself. For example, Love Volunteers places healthcare volunteers in public and private hospitals, clinics, and community outreach programs in under-resourced locations, with placements spanning nursing, midwifery and pediatrics, and surgical and emergency departments. Its volunteers shadow and observe local staff and assist in a supervised setting, so read each placement description closely to see how much hands-on work it allows. Across programs, duties for licensed nurses can include:
- Patient education
- Delivering supplies to communities in need
- Wound care
- Assisting with public health screening
- Assisting with basic procedures
- Performing routine patient check-ups
- Administrative tasks
Chapter 3: Local, national, and international opportunities
Volunteering your nursing skills within your community is a great way to help those in need, especially if you don’t have the time or resources to volunteer on a broader scale. If you’re interested in providing volunteer services outside of your community, consider volunteering nationally or internationally.
Things to consider before volunteering outside of your community include cost, time commitment, and skills required.
Local volunteer opportunities
Your own community would benefit immensely from services provided by nurse volunteers such as yourself. If you’re comfortable with end-of-life care, consider volunteering your time at a local hospice.
There are many tasks a hospice volunteer can do, such as respite for family members or visiting and spending time with patients. If you work in a hospital, you are probably aware that hospitals are always looking for volunteers.
Consider volunteering your time at a local hospital (or even your own if you already work at one). For example, Duke University Hospital in North Carolina posts its current volunteer needs online, and most large health systems do the same, so check the volunteer services page of hospitals near you.
National volunteer opportunities
Nationally, there are many great volunteer programs to choose from. As mentioned previously, the American Red Cross is always looking for volunteers to help with a number of different services, from teaching emergency preparedness to providing first aid at events.
If you have a strong passion for a specific specialty of medicine, consider volunteering your time and expertise to serve on an association’s committee. For example, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) invites members to volunteer for its committees and other leadership roles. The Medical Reserve Corps, a national network of community-based volunteer units run through the HHS Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), welcomes nurses for tasks such as educating the public and supporting local emergency response.
International volunteer opportunities
Volunteers in healthcare, especially those who are nurses, are in demand all over the globe. No matter what services you are willing to provide, there are organizations ready to help you enhance your life and career.
United Planet places healthcare volunteers in countries such as Tanzania, where nurses work alongside local clinic staff on tasks like blood work, injections, and IV setup, with the scope of hands-on work depending on your experience and credentials. When comparing placements, filter by your specialty of nursing, location, and the length of time you can commit.
Chapter 4: Requirements for volunteers
Organizations typically require applicants to meet certain requirements before being able to volunteer. Such requirements may include undergoing a background check, obtaining a physical and health screening, and ensuring that vaccines are up-to-date.
Examples
For example, the international volunteer organization Mercy Ships requires that volunteers complete a medical history, physical, and immunization checklist. Prospective volunteers with certain medical conditions may be disqualified from volunteering due to lack of access to proper medical care while abroad. For example, if you have type 1 diabetes, you may not be able to volunteer in more rural locations due to lack of reliable access to insulin and supplies.
Immunizations
Obtaining the proper immunizations before volunteering is essential in locations such as nursing homes and in hospitals, as these patients are at an increased risk of acquiring illnesses compared to the general public. Additionally, when volunteering abroad, you will need to obtain certain immunizations to protect yourself from illnesses not common in your home country.
Immunizations that aren’t covered by insurance can be expensive, such as the pre-exposure rabies vaccine series, so take this into consideration if your prospective organization or destination requires them.
Background checks
Background checks may also be required by some organizations. International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) requires every volunteer to upload a criminal background check to their MyIVHQ profile before the program begins. The check must be issued within 12 months of the program start date and presented in English, or accompanied by a professional translation. Processing times vary by country, so apply well before you depart.
As for local and national volunteering, background checks or reference forms are typically required if you plan to volunteer in a nursing home, hospital setting, or with children.
Language skills
Consider language skills when choosing an organization. IVHQ, along with other organizations that help you volunteer abroad, may require volunteers to speak a little of the native language. Some programs will offer to teach you the basic language required to communicate with locals during an orientation period.
Additional requirements
Organizations may require that applicants meet certain experience requirements in order to fulfill the duties of that particular volunteer position. For example, nurse educators applying to volunteer with Health Volunteers Overseas need an active, unrestricted nursing license and significant experience in nursing education or clinical specialty work. Master’s and doctorate degrees with teaching experience are preferred rather than mandatory – BSN-prepared registered nurses with extensive specialty experience and specialty certifications are also eligible to apply, so don’t rule yourself out on the degree alone.
Chapter 5: How much does it cost to volunteer?
Volunteering your time to help others does come with expenses, regardless if you volunteer a few miles down the road or 2,000 miles away. Expenses typically include paying for program and administration fees, housing, food, travel costs, travel insurance, passport (if you don’t already have one), and volunteer preparation like obtaining a health physical, immunizations, and background checks.
Volunteering locally
If you seek to volunteer locally, costs will be minimal. You may have to pay for a health physical, vaccinations, and a background check, as well as transportation expenses to get to the organization and possible parking fees. Some organizations, like hospitals and nursing homes, may provide a free meal while you’re volunteering your time.
National and international volunteering costs
National and international volunteering can be costly, but it depends on the program itself and the expenses listed previously. The cost also depends on how long you will be volunteering and activities you plan to do outside of volunteering; for example, sight-seeing, shopping, and eating meals outside of your host location.
Also consider what the program fee pays for. According to Volunteer Forever, fees typically cover room and board plus administration costs such as staff salaries, marketing, and direct funding for the host community, and some organizations charge more so they can provide stronger pre-departure and in-country support – something first-time volunteers should consider paying for if they have never volunteered internationally before.
Low-cost programs, grants, and fundraising
Some organizations offer scholarships or grants to offset volunteer costs, though these programs come and go. One Nurse At A Time, for years the best-known source of mission scholarships for nurses, awarded up to $1,000 per person per mission; its scholarship program is no longer running, and the organization’s site is now a general volunteering blog. Before you build a budget around any award, confirm the program is still active and still accepting applications this cycle. If you are currently a college student, check whether your nursing school, its alumni association, or your student nurses’ association chapter offers travel or service grants – these are often underused.
A word of caution when researching programs: the voluntourism sector has high turnover, and several once-prominent placement organizations have shut down. Cross-Cultural Solutions, for many years one of the largest, ceased operations in 2020. Confirm that an organization is still actively placing volunteers before you send money or build a plan around it.
It is also possible to do some fundraising to raise money to pay for expenses, by using typical fundraising means like selling fundraising products, asking family and friends to donate to your cause, or using websites such as Go Fund Me. Programs may also offer a payment plan to make it easier to pay for the expenses.
Some programs simply are more affordable than others. Go Overseas did a cost comparison of different volunteer organizations (not only health-care related), listing the cost over a period of two weeks and what is included in the cost, as well as a range of example flight costs. It is also important to consider that if this is not your first time volunteering internationally, you may not need as much support at home base as a first-timer, which could save you in expenses.
Additionally, there are programs that pay you to volunteer and lessen the burden of student loan payments or future graduate school payments, such as the Peace Corps. Peace Corps service is a long-term commitment: Volunteers serve a 27-month term, receive a readjustment allowance paid at the close of service, and the service counts as qualifying employment for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Volunteers with Federal Perkins Loans may also qualify for partial cancellation.
Typical program costs
Volunteer Forever’s guide to affordable programs gives a useful sense of scale: budget providers list two-week program fees of $1,000 or less, with some starting from around $20 a day, while the whole trip averages about $3,000 once travel is included. Medical placements sit at the higher end of that range; Love Volunteers, for example, lists its lowest-priced healthcare placement from $369. Program fees usually include accommodation and meals, staff salaries, marketing and recruitment costs, and funds that go to the host community.
Of course, airfare may be required, even if traveling nationally. Airfare expenses depend on where you are flying to, as well as how early you buy your ticket. Plan on spending between $500 and $1,000 or more for airfare.
Additionally, you need to budget for expenses such as travel insurance (although some program fees may include this), a health physical and vaccinations, background checks, and spending money while at your destination.
Chapter 6: What will you do as a nursing volunteer?
There are many different types of volunteering opportunities for nurses and nursing students. What you will do as a volunteer depends on your skill level and what type of services the program offers.
While volunteering in a hospital or clinic setting, nurses may perform more hands-on, direct patient care duties such as, but not limited to:
- Assisting physicians and practitioners with minor procedures like suturing
- Assisting in the operating room within the limits of your license and the host country’s scope of practice
- Assessing patients and reporting observations to physicians
- Providing injections and vaccinations
- Passing medications
- Patient triage
- First aid and emergency services
- Equipment sterilization and management
Outside of a hospital or clinic setting, nurses can perform a wide variety of duties. If providing services in a community setting, nurses may educate on topics from proper hygiene to family planning. Nurses may also do paperwork, cleaning and maintenance tasks, and assisting with various research duties. Nurses may do wellness visits within the community for patients unable to come to the local clinic.
Conclusion
When planning to volunteer, consider if you would like to do so within your community, nationally, or internationally. Acknowledge the associated costs both financially and in regards to time commitments when making your decision.
No matter what you decide to pursue, volunteering your time and services as a nurse or student nurse can furnish you with invaluable nursing skills, provide you with unique cultural sensitivity perspectives, make you lifelong friends, and benefit your resume for future jobs or graduate programs.
References
- Health Volunteers Overseas. Nursing Education Volunteer Opportunities – eligibility, credential, and teaching-experience requirements. https://hvousa.org/specialty-areas/nursing-education/
- American Red Cross. Opportunities and Scholarship for Nursing Students – Disaster Action Team, disaster preparedness, blood drive, health education, and casework roles. https://www.redcross.org/about-us/who-we-are/nursing-health/opportunities-for-nursing-students.html
- One Nurse At A Time. Former mission scholarship program (up to $1,000 per person per mission). Program discontinued; the scholarship and application pages were removed from the organization’s site, last archived 20 March 2023. https://onenurseatatime.org/
- Medical Reserve Corps, Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.aspr.gov/readiness-response/response-operations/join-train-respond/mrc
- Mercy Ships. Volunteer opportunities, medical screening, and immunization requirements. https://findyourplace.mercyships.org/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccine Recommendations for Healthcare Workers. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-best-practices/healthcare-personnel.html
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Yellow Book: Health Information for International Travel – travel vaccine and prophylaxis guidance. https://www.cdc.gov/yellow-book/index.html
- Peace Corps. Volunteer Benefits and Student Loan Information – 27-month service term, readjustment allowance, PSLF and Perkins loan provisions. https://www.peacecorps.gov/ways-to-serve/volunteer-benefits/student-loan-information/
- National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Nurse Licensure Compact – multistate licensure and practice across state lines for volunteer assignments. https://www.ncsbn.org/nurse-licensure-compact.htm
- Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). Volunteer and committee service opportunities. https://awhonn.org/get-involved/volunteer/
- Love Volunteers. Healthcare and Medical volunteer programs – settings, specialties, supervised role, and program pricing. https://www.lovevolunteers.org/volunteer-programs/healthcare-and-medical
- International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ). Criminal Background Checks Information – 12-month validity, English-language requirement, and MyIVHQ upload. https://www.volunteerhq.org/criminal-background-checks/
- Volunteer Forever. Affordable volunteer abroad programs – typical program fee levels and what fees cover. https://www.volunteerforever.com/article_post/cheap-affordable-volunteer-abroad-programs-low-cost-overseas-projects/