Fellowships

Medical Volunteer Opportunities Abroad

A group of adult medical volunteers have a conversation at a table full of patient records, at a busy free clinic outdoors in Bocas Del Toro, Panama.

Our fellowship team fulfills a variety of medical and non-medical roles, for varying lengths of time with a minimum 6 month commitment. Floating Doctors relies on our fellows along with locally employed staff in order to provide care and education that may not be available otherwise.

Although our leaders come to serve, no one who has worked on a Floating Doctors team leaves without significant gains in competence operating in challenging circumstances, and many of our leadership go on to continue working in international development after their time with us.

Our Fellowships therefore differ from most international service opportunities because our goal is not just improving health outcomes and capacity, but also to facilitate you becoming a stronger health professional, equipped and motivated to be a powerful advocate for excellence, compassion, and a better future for patients and clinicians worldwide.

After reviewing all information below, candidates can start an application. If you have any questions please contact info@floatingdoctors.com

Click Here to Apply Now

Leadership Role Descriptions

Lead Medical Provider

Now Hiring! Opening 2024

As a Lead Medical Provider with Floating Doctors, you will be positioned to gain a unique medical knowledge and skill set, profoundly impact the quality and ethos of medical care all over the world for years to come, and inspire a greater commitment to global stewardship.

Responsibilities: 

  • Direct Patient care in all clinics
  • Training and supervising the medical providers and students
  • Work with the Pharmacy Manager and Medical Team to ensure pharmacy is packed and prepared for upcoming clinics
  • Identifying areas for improvement and/or development and implementing appropriate policy/infrastructure changes
A group of seven medical volunteers wearing life jackets sit in a boat traveling through the Caribbean sea on a cloudy day.

Requirements:

  • Fully registered doctor, NP, PA, or APN with a minimum of 2 years clinical experience
  • Minimum commitment of 6 months 
  • Evidence of the ability to lead a team
  • Experience in teaching and mentoring
  • Preference given to: 
  • Advanced Spanish ability 
  • Prior experience working / volunteering in a developing country

Lead Dental Provider

Now Hiring! Opening April 2024

As a Lead Dental Provider with Floating Doctors, you will be positioned to gain a unique dental knowledge and skill set, profoundly impact the quality and ethos of dental care all over the world for years to come, and inspire a greater commitment to global stewardship.

Responsibilities:

  • Attend all necessary clinics
  • Training and supervising the medical providers and students
  • Work with Dental Coordinator for quarterly pharmacy orders
  • Work with Dental Coordinator to ensure dental pharmacy is packed and prepared for upcoming clinics
  • Assist in developing a recruitment plan for dentists and dental students
  • Identifying areas for improvement and/or development and implementing appropriate policy/infrastructure changes

Two medical volunteers wearing scrubs and masks listen to an elderly male patient talking.

Requirements:

  • Fully registered dentist with a minimum of 2 years experience
  • Minimum commitment of 3 months 
  • Evidence of the ability to lead a team
  • Experience in teaching and mentoring

Preference given to: 

  • Advanced Spanish ability 
  • Prior experience working / volunteering in a developing country

Lead Veterinary Provider

Now Hiring! Opening September 2023

As a Lead Veterinary Provider with Floating Doctors, you will be positioned to gain a unique veterinary knowledge and skill set, profoundly impact the quality and ethos of veterinary care all over the world for years to come, and inspire a greater commitment to global stewardship.

Responsibilities:

  • Attend  all necessary clinics
  • Training and supervising the veterinary providers and students
  • Work with Veterinary Coordinator for quarterly pharmacy orders
  • Work with Veterinary Coordinator to ensure veterinary pharmacy is packed and prepared for upcoming clinics
  • Assist in developing a recruitment plan for veterinarians and veterinary students
  • Identifying areas for improvement and/or development and implementing appropriate policy/infrastructure changes

Requirements:

  • Fully registered veterinarian with a minimum of 2 years experience
  • Minimum commitment of 3 months 
  • Surgery experience, specifically spay and neuter
  • Evidence of the ability to lead a team
  • Experience in teaching and mentoring

Preference given to: 

  • Advanced Spanish ability 
  • Prior experience working / volunteering in a developing country
A group of nineteen volunteers and children stand together smiling, with the Panamanian jungle and traditional thatched roof homes in the background.

Volunteer Coordinator

Now Hiring! Opening January 2024

We are looking for adventurous, experienced, and motivated people to coordinate and lead medical volunteers, and to work with our operations managers to supervise volunteer activities for Floating Doctors Panama. The Volunteer Coordinator position is vital for the Floating Doctors in order to maintain volunteer accommodations and get volunteers to where they need to be.

Responsibilities:

  • Coordinate volunteer deployments, accommodations, arrivals, and departures
  • Final contact for incoming volunteers regarding arrival questions and basic FAQ
  • Organize and lead weekly group orientation

Requirements:

  • Minimum of 6 month commitment 
  • Able to problem solve and feel comfortable working in a dynamic environment
  • Advanced Spanish
  • Able to relay information to staff and volunteers in an efficient and timely manner

Preference given to:

  • Nonprofit management or hospitality experience 

Pharmacy Manager 

A young Panamanian girl wearing a school uniform smiles as she washes her hands with the help of a medical volunteer

We are looking for adventurous, experienced, and motivated people to maintain the pharmacy and all of its supplies, including oversight of the central pharmacy and remote outposts.

Responsibilities: 

  • Maintaining order and inventory in pharmacy 
  • Overseeing Floating Doctors’ central pharmacy and remote pharmacies, including remote outposts, mobile clinics, and emergency bags
  • Maintaining sponsorship relations with medication suppliers to stock pharmacy
  • Maintaining list of needed medications/supplies for incoming volunteers
  • Assisting with pharmacy orders

Requirements:

  • Minimum 6 month commitment
  • Demonstrated ability to work and handle multiple tasks simultaneously and negotiate and meet critical timelines
  • Excellent planning, organizational, analytical and management skills, with strong attention to detail
  • Advanced Spanish

Preference given to:

  • Experience managing inventories and prioritizing supply needs
  • Experience with pharmaceuticals

Clinic Manager 

A group of about a dozen medical volunteers wearing life jackets sit in a boat traveling through the Caribbean sea on a cloudy day.

We are looking for adventurous, experienced, and motivated people to run mobile a for Floating Doctors in Panama. The Clinic Manager is responsible for all logistics and operations before, during, and after the clinic. 

Responsibilities: 

  • Plan, coordinate, and supervise all aspects of day clinics and multi-day deployments
  • Ensure that all clinic staff and volunteers understand their roles and responsibilities during clinic
  • Supervise, reconcile, and report weekly logistics expenditures for deployments
  • Maintain budget within operational guidelines

Requirements:

  • Minimum 6 month commitment 
  • Excellent organizational, communication, and collaboration skills
  • Must be able to act calmly and effectively in a busy or stressful situation
  • Previous international volunteer experience is desirable
  • Spanish and English proficiency

Preference Given to:

  • Experience in management 
  • Medical setting experience 

Health Education Coordinator

We are looking for adventurous, experienced, and motivated people to coordinate and implement health education activities for Floating Doctors in Panama. This position is critical to building capacity in the region.

Responsibilities:

  • Development of health education curriculum
  • Lesson planning and preparation with volunteers
  • Oversight of Health Education station
  • Coordination with community contacts for future lesson planning

Requirements:

  • Active license as an MD/DO, RN, PA, APN, or NP 
  • Comfortable creating enduring take-home or presentation material
  • Able to problem solve and feel comfortable working in a dynamic environment
  • Creative in developing and implementing new opportunities for health education
  • Proficient Spanish 

Preference Given to:

  • Experience in Public Health 
  • Past experience working in developing countries 

Dental Coordinator

Now Hiring! Opening Now!

We are looking for an adventurous, experienced, and motivated person to support our Dental Program In Panama. The dental coordinator is responsible for supporting dental volunteers, running dental clinics, and ordering dental supplies. You will work alongside our Lead Dental Provider.

Responsibilities:

  • Maintaining orders with our sponsors and organizing the inventory in pharmacy 
  • Maintaining list of needed medications/supplies for incoming volunteers
  • Health education liaison with the team on oral hygiene and health
  • Ensure that all clinic staff and volunteers understand their roles and responsibilities during clinic

Requirements:

  • 6 month commitment
  • Comfortable taking Initiative and leading a new program 

Preference given to:

  • Advanced Spanish speaking abilities 
  • International volunteer experience

Outreach Coordinator

Now Hiring! Opening Immediately

This position entails two primary responsibilities; to create content for daily social media posts and be the first point of contact for all incoming inquiries from Fellowship candidates.

The ideal candidate will have experience in social media content creation, a background in and passion for public health, and a willingness to evaluate, design, and implement various outreach projects to support the Floating Doctors mission.

Responsibilities:

  • Create consistently high-quality content for Floating Doctors’ social media platforms in keeping with the Floating Doctors mission and ethics of consent
  • Gather photos and videos and captions taken by volunteers and Fellows and obtain permission to share, author/photographer’s names and social media handle
  • Respond to all comments and inquiries on our social media platforms and direct all other inquiries to appropriate person as needed
  • Implement and manage long-term media content archives and create guidelines addressing methods of labeling and categorizing content
  • First and main point of contact for all incoming inquiries from Fellowship candidates (websites, social media, direct emails, in-person)
  • Keep track of staffing needs and maintain recruitment ads as needed

Requirements:

  • Proficiency in English and Spanish required
  • Excellent photography and editing skills required
  • Excellent oral and written communication required
  • Proficient with Google Workspace, personal computers ,and smartphones
  • Proficient in managing accounts on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and comfortable learning  how to effectively use additional platforms
  • Demonstrated ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and meet critical timelines

Preference Given to:

  • Interest in Public Health 
  • Past nonprofit experience 
A line of medical volunteers wearing Floating Doctors T-shirts are seen from behind as they walk into a dense jungle

APPLICATIONS CANNOT BE SAVED AND FINISHED LATER, SO HAVE EVERYTHING READY WHEN YOU APPLY.

YOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS (IN PDF FORMAT!) TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION:

  • One COLOR copy of your passport photo page
  • One copy of your COVID-Immunization record
  • One copy of your resume
  • One letter of intent outlining what you feel you would give to a program such as ours as well as what you hope to take away from the experience
  • One letter of recommendation

Click Here to Apply Now