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Suggested Content

Preparing for Your Trip

Use these resources to find a team. Review pre-trip and travel guidelines that cover health, culture and security issues with country-specific information. Conduct research on the specific country you will be visiting in advance of your departure.

Finding a Team

Find organizations with opportunities to volunteer, build teams or place specialists within teams. The links on this page are listed without preferential order. To recruit volunteers, add your organization’s name to this list

American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS):

Face to Face Humanitarian Program (Volunteer opportunities are only available to members)


American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP):

Service Opportunities for Students and Residents
Residency Programs with International Rotations


American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgeons (AAO/HNS):

Humanitarian Efforts
International Outreach


American College of Physicians (ACP):

Volunteerism Networking Database
Give Back: Volunteer


American College of Surgeons (ACS):

Operation Giving Back (OGB)


Child Family Health International (CFHI)


Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO)


International Medical Volunteers Association (IMVA)


Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES):

SAGES Humanitarian Mission Registry


Pre-trip Guidelines

Guidelines include recommended pre-departure training, what to expect on your medical mission and travel checklists to consider while preparing for your trip.


Africa: A Practical Guide for Global Health Workers


AMFC: Preparing Medical Students for Electives in Low-Resource Settings

A Template for National Guidelines for Pre-Departure Training
(Applicable to all medical volunteers (not just medical students) – Covers personal health, travel safety, cultural awareness, language competencies, ethical considerations)


American Academy of Family Physicians: International Opportunities- Before you Travel Abroad


American Academy of Otolaryngology: What to Expect from a Medical Mission


Brown University Global Health Initiative Pre-Departure Orientation


Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education Resources


Medical Missions Outreach: Preparation


The Plastic Surgery Foundation: Volunteers in Plastic Surgery (VIPS) Guidelines


US Department of State:

Smart Traveler Enrollment Program
Travel Advisories
Travel Checklist

Take our Pre-departure Training Course

Our pre-departure Training Course includes one-hour learning modules with readings and quiz questions on the following topics:

  • infectious disease
  • monitoring and evaluation
  • disaster relief
  • advocacy
  • international development
  • non-communicable disease
  • maternal and child health

Access the course by logging in with a Google account here: https://classroom.google.com/w/MTc0MzkyMTMzNzNa/t/all

The class code is h59phl

Travel Resources

photo of a mop doctor

Featured Resource

Implementation Manual for WHO Surgical Safety Checklist

Safe surgery helps save lives, relieves disability, and prevents death from neglected common conditions. The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist helps improve the safety of surgery and avoid potentially preventable surgical complications. 

Americares is committed to advancing safe surgical and anesthesia care. Through our Safe Surgery Initiative, we aim to improve access to safer surgery in low-resource settings by increasing the number of operating room staff that have access to and are trained in the use of pulse oximetry and the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist.