As a Nurse Practitioner you already have a passion to help people at least partly fueling your current career goals. As you work in state-of-the-art facilities, you may find yourself wondering if you could put your knowledge and skills to use in a way that benefits those less fortunate and without access to care. If you have ever found yourself thinking along these lines, you may want to consider a medical missions trip.

Medical missions trips give Nurse Practitioners and students  the chance to travel and apply their knowledge to help those who otherwise might not receive essential medical services – including in the event of natural disasters like Hurricanes Irma and Katrina. Over the past two decades, the number of people heading overseas to participate in medical missions trips has grown considerably, and with this growth has come a continued emphasis on helping those in need through the rise of portable technology and greater ease of safe travel. Short term missions trips started to become popular in the 1960s when air travel became accessible. The popularity has grown to the point that today, America sends over 2 million people on short-term missions trips every year. While not all of these are medical in nature, these statistics show the popularity of heading overseas to serve. To read the full article go to Nurses’ Guide to Medical Missions Trips – Serving Those In Need

For more information about medical missions trips, visit:

• RN Central: My Mission is a Medical Mission
• International Volunteer HQ: Medical Missions Trips
• Focus Campus: 7 Reasons You Should Say “Yes” to a Mission Trip
• Osteopathic.org: When Choosing a Medical Missions Trip, Continuity of Care Matters. Here’s Wh
• The Journal of Humanitarian Assistance: Medical Liability in Humanitarian Missions
• Dermatology Times: Who Really Benefits from Medical Missions?
• Tokio Marine HCC: Five Tips for Your Missionary Travel Experience
• American Academy of Otolaryngology: What to Expect from a Medical Mission

• International Medical Relief
• Mercy Ships
• MedicalMissions.org
• Samaritan’s Purse
• Christian Medical and Dental Associations Missions
• MissionFinder.org: Medical Missions Outreach
• United Planet: Mission Trip Abroad
• Mission to the World: Medical and Health
• Orphan’s Heart: Medical Missions Trips
• Projects Abroad: Volunteer Medical Internships Abroad
• Foundation For Peace: Nursing and Medical Missions Trips 

• Wallace Welch and Willingham: 7 Steps for Running a Safe Foreign Mission Trip
• MedicalMissions.com: Accomplishing Your Mission – Health and Safety Tips for Successful Trips
• Tokio Marine HCC: 12 Tips to Make Your Mission Trip a Success
• Medscape: CDC Expert Commentary – Staying Healthy on Medical Missions
• US National Library of Medicine: Medical Volunteers – Guidelines for Success and Safety

Categories: Family Nurse Practitioner, NP Resources and Tools, Nurse Practitioner

Tags: Featured, Medical Missions, MedicalTravel, Volunteering