The Clinical Services Department runs a successful volunteering programme which offers doctors from outside The Gambia the opportunity to work in a well-supported team located in a low-resource setting. The programme has been running for five years and we have about 50 alumni who have enjoyed working with us in The Gambia.

Volunteers come from many different countries. The programme is open to doctors with at last three years’ postgraduate experience and who have shown interest in global health. Often they have completed a DTMH or another qualification in global health. Many already have some overseas experience – perhaps through their medical elective.

The volunteers join us for 4-12 months and work in our team in Fajara alongside our employed medical officers and residents in internal or family medicine that rotate to us from the national teaching hospital. They spend their days either working on the ward in a team of 2-4 doctors or in the outpatient department seeing up to 30 patients a day.

Volunteers also join the on-call rota acting as first on-call doctor for our ward out of hours. There are not many admissions out of hours, however, and so this is not usually busy. Typically, doctors do one on-call per week and around two weekend days per month.

We have a close-knit team which meets regularly, whilst there are weekly continuing professional development sessions and opportunities for one-to-one meetings with supervisors. The consultants are available throughout the day and do ward rounds three times a week. Out-of-hours, we have both paediatric and adult consultants on duty as second on-call doctors.

We encourage volunteer involvement in guideline reviews and quality improvement projects in partnership with local doctors to share experience and knowledge in both directions.

When they are not at work, the beach is close by and the volunteers and other visitors to MRC Gambia socialise through sport, wildlife, boat rides and other activities together.

We usually advertise positions twice a year:

• January-July is advertised in September of the previous year
• August-December is advertised in March of the previous year

Sometimes gaps arise urgently, and these are often filled by word of mouth. If you would like to receive the next advertisement, please email csdvolunteers@mrc.gm to express your interest.