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Preparing to Participate

What to Expect

Providing healthcare abroad can be a deeply enriching experience and a powerful opportunity to grow. To help you plan and prepare for your trip, we present this page.

Short-term global health outreach volunteers’ travel preparations should expect this information to supplement detailed information they receive from trip directors after signing up via our upcoming trips page.

To begin, please read this Overview of the Global Health Experience (PDF) from past-President, Kelli Glaser, DO

Travel Preparations Checklist and Health and Safety Overview

Please see the Pre-Trip Planning and Travel Preparedness for International Activities presentation (PDF). In addition, please download these one-page guides to trip planning, health, and safety:

COVID-19 Travel Policy

All Trip Participants (Attending Physicians, Students, Volunteers, etc.) will comply with the following:

  1. Must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 as defined by the CDC guidelines at the time of departure for the trip.
  2. Shall not travel if feeling ill or having been ill in the weeks preceding travel.
  3. Must comply with CDC guidelines for travel if recently COVID-19 positive or symptomatic.
  4. Must have access to PPE (masks: surgical/N95/KN95; disposable gowns, gloves, hand sanitizer). Participant is responsible to determine who will provide this, and precisely what is required at the time of the trip.
  5. Must comply with PPE the recommendations of the location of the trip as well as USA guidelines, following the more inclusive guidelines.
  6. Will adhere to rigorous sanitation practices at all times.
  7. Shall be responsible to monitor for current travel advisories.
  8. Must travel with vaccination documentation at all times.
  9. Are required to obtain medical and evacuation insurance with a minimum of $500,000 coverage to include care and accommodations for COVID-19 related illness. This must include medical care that may extend past the trip termination date in the event departure is delayed for care/isolation at conclusion of the trip.
  10. Be responsible for isolation expenses if required during or at trip conclusion.

Membership

DOCARE requires that all volunteers become members. This nominal fee allows us to support clinics, provide free continuity of care to patients who need it, and ensure the safety and well-being of our volunteers.

Member benefits include opportunities to work with our patient populations in guided trips to three continents; receive special communications from DOCARE, and enjoy opportunities for learning and skill set-building in the United States.

Memberships exist at several levels: $20 for pre-health students, $50 for medical students, $60 for residents, and $67 for professionals. Membership fees are tax deductible and are non-refundable. 

Join DOCARE

Questions

Contact us at info@docareintl.org or call (413) 285-8601

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