Volunteering abroad for PSF-Canada

What is an “expatriate”? By definition, it is a person who leaves his/her country to establish themselves elsewhere, either by choice or due to extraneous circumstances. In the case of PSF, the volunteer is making a deliberate choice, and will leave his/her home, family, and friends for a pre-defined period of time.

What can you expect upon arrival in your new temporary home? There will certainly be some difficulties - but imagine the difficulties that already exist in the day-to-day lives of the people that have lived there since the day they were born. That becomes our mission: To give aid in times of hardship, to give relief to those that do not even have the simplest access to health care.

Culture Shock? Absolutely. Be prepared to see the extent of human misery inflicted on a people who lack basic human rights, or have endured natural disaster. We are there to serve them, to listen to them, and to lend them our expertise.

Humanitarian Aid is one of the last bastions where one can truly believe in themselves and in the power of humanity. “Belief” is without a doubt a word that has lost some meaning in the Western world, where many people do not believe in anything, or anyone.

To participate in the rehabilitation of something as essential as health care, and consequently saving lives, is something that will make you really “believe”.

Manpower

Pharmacists Without Borders workforce for a mission abroad is generally comprised of 65% medical staff (55% pharmacists, 10% technicians, biologists, doctors, etc), 20% administration, and 15% logisticians.

There are approximately 100 volunteers on missions at all times, aided by local pharmacists/technicians in the countries where the missions are taking place.

Who are we looking for?

Ideally, volunteers with previous experience are preferred. It would be advantageous to recruit volunteers who already know the territory where the mission will take place, have previous pharmaceutical experience, and have already served on humanitarian missions.

If you do not fit all of these qualifications, worry not. In the majority of our missions, we have staff already in place who are familiar with the territory and politics of the mission, as well as with the programs we are employing. We often recruit people who are volunteering for the first time. All PSF volunteers meet with the administrator, logistician, and pharmacist that they will be replacing, or working with, for a period of approximately one week to familiarize themselves with the mission and their new environment.

Obviously, we do prefer experienced volunteers. Regardless, all candidates are screened to assure that they are able to succeed on a PSF mission abroad. A mature and well-balanced volunteer is essential to assure that the mission will run smoothly and that all team members will be able to work well together. Most often, any problems that arise among mission team members is personal and not professional. Most PSF volunteers will be exposed to stressful situations, tight security measures, and long journeys, all which will require a certain amount of patience and tolerance. All PSF volunteers should have a certain amount of professional pharmaceutical experience, be able to work well with others, and thrive in situations of stress. However, we only send pharmacists that have completed their education and training.

Our recruitment policy encourages diversity and does not discriminate against age or nationality. 25% of all PSF volunteers are foreigners, representing well over 20 different countries, making PSF proud of its' international profile.

Basic criteria for candidates

  1. Experience in developing countries  : PSF is principally active in 3 rd world developing countries. Work or travel experience in a developing country is thus preferable.
  2. Ability to work in a team setting  : All PSF volunteers work and live as a team. PSF seeks dynamic, flexible candidates with a good teamwork ethic and suitable interpersonal skills. All PSF volunteers should possess a marked interest in cultural exchange.
  3. Languages  : Fluency in English is preferred for most missions. Bilingual candidates will have preference. Ability to work in Spanish and/or Portuguese is also beneficial.
  4. Ability to work under stress  : Certain PSF missions are in, or near, zones of instability and/or conflict. PSF volunteers are often placed in large populations and encounter stressful situations. PSF volunteers should be able to adapt to any situation, especially those that involve stress or difficulty.
  5. Availability : Contracts for first-time PSF missions abroad are generally for durations of 3 to 6 months. PSF requests a commitment of at least 3 months for first time volunteers.

Hubert Brault, who took part in six missions, including four in Haiti, one in Bosnia and another in Kosovo, says it best, “We are looking for people who are open to other cultures, who are mature, intelligent, can adapt to different situations, and have a lot of patience”.

 

Other criteria

Recruitment Program

To apply, please submit a CV and letter of intent. We will contact qualified candidates for an interview in Montreal, and successful candidates will be contacted for a meeting at the PSF Head Office. At this stage the candidate will meet the mission administrators for a presentation concerning the mission abroad and a proposed timetable. Follow-up interviews will be arranged with various PSF members to organize volunteer deployment.

Following these interviews, a departure date will be set and confirmed. The successful candidate will then fill out internal documents for PSF-CI as well as any other documents concerning their future mission abroad, and also communicate with the administrator of the mission.

 

Contracts

The contract will be for six months and is renewable. Lodging, meals, transport, and insurance will be arranged by PSF. A mission is comprised of a minimum of three people: a pharmacist, a logistician, and an administrator.

Contract renewal is ultimately decided by the mission coordinators.

 

Type of work on a mission abroad

A pharmacists' work can vary greatly from one mission to the next. Depending on the type of mission, the work can involve technical assistance, evaluation, emergency work, or development. The work in a single mission can also evolve to include distribution, laboratory work, training, disposal of expired medications, etc.

Additionally, certain tasks can vary depending on the conditions of the location that the mission is taking place. For example, the first task for the majority of missions abroad is the distribution of medications, but this can vary from a country such as Afghanistan (wartime, emergency situations, difficult conditions) to a country like Bosnia (post-wartime) or Rwanda (refugee camps). Future volunteers can learn a lot from returning expatriates but their experiences may not necessarily reflect the type of work that may be involved in a future mission.

The pharmacists' role

PSF is an N.G.O. that works exclusively in the pharmaceutical field, helping those who need it most. Pharmacists volunteering for PSF work in refugee camps or temporary cities/villages in countries that are experiencing times of crisis or need development. Most of the clinical work is organized by PSF volunteers, but carried out by locals.

A PSF pharmacist working a mission abroad strives to provide, or improve, access to primary health care, and to develop systems of accessing this health care with the help of the local population. There is always a strong relationship between emergency aid and the long-term development of health care access.

A PSF pharmacist also assumes the task of informing and training local health care workers about generic essential medications.

Some PSF pharmacists will also become chief technician in charge of a mission (if their profile and/or experience displays the required specialized skills), principal coordinator, or medical coordinator of a team of pharmacists. These positions call for a pharmacist who is motivated, curious, open-minded, patient, tolerant, and able to adapt. It also requires a certain level of sensibility and excellent interpersonal skills. A pharmacist seeking this type of position should be committed towards investing their time and effort towards helping those who are in need.

 

Mission deployment

A mission can be launched by :

Once an N.G.O has received a request for intervention, it proceeds to put into place a suitable aid program.

The stages of mission deployment are:

 

The mission

 

Procedure for mission installation

This is ultimately in the hands of PSF-CI in Clermont-Ferrand, France. After studying the evaluation dossier, a program is proposed to the financiers who can approve the program. Once approved, the procedure is as follows:

 

Follow-up of the mission

It is important that the mission chief coordinates all budgets with the financial officers of PSF.

 

Mission duration

The duration of a mission is dependant on the type of mission. An emergency mission can be 6 months or longer, and a development mission can easily operate for two years.

 

Evaluation mission

Most missions require some preparation and/or evaluation, where the needs and infrastructure of a particular mission are established. This is generally arranged once there is a request for help from the country in need. At this stage an administrator and a pharmacist are deployed to the mission location to evaluate the situation.

Approximately 10% (per annum) of PSF volunteers leave on evaluation missions. Their combined knowledge of the territory and accumulated experience enable them to properly assess the situation where a mission may need to be established. A report containing the evaluation results must then be submitted by the mission director. This will assist in preparing the required equipment for the mission in question. It will also help to assess the missions' needs in terms of health services, distribution networks, local resources, personnel, protocols, and the health care situation in general.

Volunteers will also be required to meet with certain foreign authorities (minister of foreign affairs, minister of health, etc.) to properly assess the legalities of work in that country as well as any partnerships that must be established with local/state/government representatives. Additionally, other N.G.O.s and international aid organizations already in place will be contacted.

Once the evaluation is complete, a final report is prepared by the evaluation team (administrator and pharmacist) with appropriate suggestions towards forming a team and establishing a mission.

The evaluation program must be accepted by the authorities of the country where the mission will take place.

 

Emergency and development missions

The main task of a volunteer on an emergency mission is to put into place a new program or to carry out a program that is already established. This would include providing and supporting a health care infrastructure where the mission is taking place. This would entail arranging the proper pharmaceutical administration, distribution of medication and medical equipment, and training of staff (inventory control, financing, etc.) Additionally, development missions often involve cost-recovery programs and specialized training.

Objectives for these types of missions are primarily accessibility to medications, their rational use, financing, and community participation.

There are different phases that must be executed in order to properly and effectively put into place the program of a development mission :

 

Emergency missions

PSF provides populations affected by natural, man-made, and/or economic disaster with essential medications and emergency health care infrastructure. The objective is to mitigate a health care system that was destroyed or dismantled by the catastrophe and to tend to the immediate needs of the affected populations.

Once in place, these programs are maintained by regular monitoring and evaluation by PSF volunteers, and are adapted to suit the needs of the affected population as it recovers. The distribution of medication can be divided into several tasks for the pharmacist(s):

•  Evaluation of the needs of the existing health care infrastructures (hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, etc.);

•  Preparation, reception, and verification of orders.

•  Routing/distribution of the medications

•  Monitoring and evaluation of the use of the medications and equipment

•  Evaluation of the availability of the medications and the possibility of acquiring the medications for free.

 

Development missions

A development mission is characterized by a long-term presence aimed at assuring a financial autonomy due to the installation of a cost-recovery system and the use of essential generic medications. This type of mission is generally characterized by :

 

Technical assistance mission

Similar to emergency and development missions, a technical assistance mission focuses on pharmaceutical training and expertise :