NEW VOLUNTEERS

From the earliest days of the Hospitalito Atitlan’s founding, volunteers have worked alongside the citizens of Santiago Atitlan to make it a success. Medical volunteers continue to be welcomed as integral staff members at Hospitalito Atitlan. Not only are they able to immerse themselves in the Mayan culture of the Guatemalan mountains, but also they are able to work with clinicians from all over the world. If you are reading this, we thank you for your interest – and hope very much that we will one day welcome you to Santiago Atitlan in person!

GRACIAS! MALTIOX!
(“Thank you” in Spanish and Tz’tujil Mayan).

Please tell me about volunteering at Hospitalito Atitlan:

Please read this entire section and the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) pages thoroughly before applying. The FAQ provides detailed information on traveling to, living in and working at the Hospitalito Atitlan in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala.

All accepted volunteers are asked to review the Hospitalito Volunteer Orientation Manual at the beginning of their stay in Santiago. There are several bound copies at the hospital.

What is the application process?

All volunteer must fill out an application, and wait for an Acceptance and Confirmation Letter before each and every work trip to Hospitalito Atitlan. We are no longer able to accommodate volunteers who show up without making prior arrangements, nor are we able to allow clinicians to work in the hospital if they have not been accepted or had their work dates confirmed in writing before arrival.

The Guatemalan medical licensing organization now requires that all volunteers receive permission to work short term, or a Guatemalan medical license (good for two years).

http://colmedegua.org/reglamentos-y-leyes/leyes-y-reglamentos-profesionales-y-del-colmed/

The required documents below must be sent to HA medical volunteer coordinator rebeca.petzey@gmail.com one month prior to your arrival.

1. The completed Volunteer Application and CV
2. A letter addressed to Dr. Juan Manuel Chuc, Medical Director Hospitalito Atitlán, requesting permission to volunteer and including the dates you will be at HA.
3. Copy of your medical license
4. Copy of your diploma
5. Letter of good standing from your university or that supports your specialty.
6. Complete photocopy of your passport including ALL BLANK PAGES.
7. When accepted, we will send you an Acceptance and Confirmation Letter.
8. Sign and return the Confirmation Letter.

You must pass by the Colegio Médico in Guatemala City to obtain your license or permission to practice, prior to traveling to Santiago Atitlán. We strongly recommend you use the HA private shuttle service to facilitate the process at the offices of the Colegio Médico in Z.15. For volunteers of more than one month there is a Q1000 licensing fee payable by credit card at the Colegio Médico office.

Once we have received your Confirmation Letter, and all documents, we will reserve you place on our Calendar and Schedule.

Where are the application forms?

There are two applications for medical volunteers: Student and Clinician.

Student Volunteer Application
Use this form if you are a medical student, nurse practitioner student or physician assistant student. We are not able to accept nursing or pre-medical students.

New Medical Volunteer Application
Use this form if you are a medical doctor and/or surgeon (MD, DO), a medical resident, a professional midwife, a nurse, a nurse practitioner, a physician assistant or another licensed medical professional.

What are the basic requirements?

If you are an obstetrician, a medical specialist, a nurse or a medical student, please see the relevant sections below. For everyone else, the basic requirements are:

• A minimum of a 4-week commitment.
• An intermediate command of Spanish, (please see our definition below).
• At least 2 years of experience in your field. (Medical residents are exempt from this requirement.)
• An unrestricted license.
• Proof of good standing in either a residency program or in your profession.

Do I have to speak Spanish?

Yes. . . .but . . .

With the exception of obstetricians, surgeons, and a few specialists, all medical volunteers must speak at least an Intermediate level of Spanish, according to our definition (below). Some excellent but non-Spanish-speaking medical volunteers have brought translators with them. If this is something you would like to do, please discuss it with us. If you are a student, you must be a solid Intermediate or Advanced Spanish speaker.

Intermediate Spanish: Speaks, reads and writes in the present, past (preterit and imperfect), and future tenses (ir + a + infinitive construction sufficient). Understands most of what is said by Spanish speakers if they speak slowly and clearly. Interviews, examines and treats Spanish-speaking patients without an interpreter.

Advanced Spanish: Speaks, reads and writes Spanish without mentally translating most of the time. Can understand most of what is being said by native speakers speaking at a rapid pace.

What is my legal standing? What about malpractice insurance?

There is little concept of malpractice or malpractice insurance in Guatemala. This is not to say that gross/criminal negligence is not without consequence, but apart from this, you may work in legal peace. Likewise, you will not have to consider insurance or third party payment issues.

All medical volunteers are under the supervision of Dr. Juan Manuel Chuc, Medical Director of Hospitalito Atitlan. A general practitioner who has been in practice for over 15 years, he is from the local community and is much respected throughout. Dr. Chuc will not interfere with your work unless he has cultural or medical concerns, in which case he will approach you with kindness and patience. Needless to say, his word if final in all issues related to Hospitalito Atitlan. Dr. Chuc is ALWAYS available by phone, and will come in to the hospital at all hours if needed.

Please do not hesitate to ask Dr. Chuc, or any Guatemalan staff member, for advice. As is true the world over, nurses are a rich resource when challenging medical or cultural issues arise. Please consult them regularly.

What are the costs of volunteering?

There are no application or administrative fees, unless you are a student. The hospital is dedicated to serving a very impoverished population, and so has a limited budget. In some cases, housing stipends are available to long-term (6 month or more) volunteers, but otherwise volunteers must pay their own travel and living expenses.

When can I volunteer?

We limit the number of volunteers who work in the Hospital to 3 clinicians (MD, DO, PA, NP) at any one time. In addition to the 3 clinicians, we can also accept 1, sometimes, 2 obstetricians, and 2-3 students, depending on the number of supervising clinicians we have. Given a surge of interest in volunteering, we are now scheduling clinicians, including obstetricians, 3 – 6 months out. Specialists will be considered on an individual basis. We keep the Volunteer Calendar, updated so that you can see when your help is most needed.

Please do not make any travel plans until your complete application has been accepted, and you have received, signed and returned your Confirmation (of Dates) Form.

What type of clinicians are best suited to volunteer at Hospitalito Atitlan?

Flexible and friendly clinicians are best!

The hospital has had and continues to have many excellent clinical volunteers: medical doctors, medical residents, midwives, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, and medical students. The work environment is very collegial, and volunteers should be prepared to be called by their first names, or Dr./Dra First Name, regardless of their experience or standing in their home countries. Comfort with such informality is essential.

In terms of professions, we have found those clinicians (licensed to dispense medicines), with experience in family medicine, obstetric and gynecological medicine, midwifery, emergency medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine and urgent care to be the most useful. The Hospitalito Atitlan provides the only 24-hour care within a 2-hour radius, and so clinicians will be asked to care for a wide range of conditions. Please see Medical Services.

Where will I live?

General information is available on our website Housing. The Hospitalito does not have the staff or resources to arrange housing for volunteers. However, we do provide detailed descriptions and landlord contact information to accepted volunteers, so that they can easily make their own arrangements. Local accommodations vary greatly in degree of comfort, privacy and price. Home stays are also available.

What should I know if I am a specialist, a nurse or a student?

Obstetricians:

Obstetricians and obstetrical residents are in great demand, and so are accepted for however long they are able to volunteer, and they DO NOT NEED TO SPEAK SPANISH.

The hospital does not have resident obstetricians. The Guatemalan medical doctors are generalists, and are very experienced in pre-natal care, post-natal care and non-surgical deliveries. The closest Guatemalan obstetricians are approximately 2 hours’ away at a government hospital. Therefore, we are delighted to have obstetrical volunteers! Our hospital has a basic operating room where obstetrical and gynecological procedures can be performed under spinal anesthesia. Staff will be called in to circulate and assist whenever needed, at all hours of day or night.

In 2008 there were 180 vaginal deliveries at the hospital. In Santiago Atitlan, approximately 90% of deliveries occur at home. Volunteer obstetricians performed 35 caesarean deliveries in 2008, as well as tubal ligations, vaginal hysterectomies, cystocele repairs and removal of ovarian cysts. (Please note that there was not any obstetrical coverage for many months.) In addition to helping with deliveries, obstetricians perform ultrasounds, staff our prenatal clinics, and assume care of all high-risk pregnancies.

Other Specialists:

We have been lucky to have several medical specialists volunteer with us. However, because of our limited facilities, we are not an appropriate site for everyone. At this time we encourage ophthalmologists, endocrinologists, orthopedic surgeons, and dentists to contact us. These types of specialty care are not available to the majority of our patients. Given enough warning, we can triage and schedule patients in need of such services, patients who cannot afford to go elsewhere.

As with obstetricians, most specialists are accepted for however long they are able to volunteer, and they DO NOT NEED TO SPEAK SPANISH.

Registered Nurses:

Registered nurses work under the supervision of our Head Nurse. They work regular shifts, along with the Guatemalan nurses, and are very much appreciated! Past nurses have shared their expertise with Guatemalan nurses, as the training is quite different. Basic requirements are:

• A minimum of a 4-week commitment.
• An intermediate or advanced command of Spanish, according to our definitions.
• At least 2 years of experience in your field.

Students:

Basic requirements are:

• Medical students must be in their fourth year of study (USA), and must have completed some clinical rotations. Physician assistant students should contact us.
• Students will need an intermediate or advanced command of Spanish, according to our definitions, (see above).
• They must volunteer for a minimum of 4 weeks, (not to include time traveling nor spent on vacations). Preference will be given to student applicants who are able to spend more than one month volunteering.
• Students will be asked to prepare a 30-minute presentation in Spanish on a topic of interest to them, which will be relevant to the Hospitalito staff. It is to be presented at the morning meeting during the last week of their stay.
• There is a student application fee of US$25 (or Euro equivalent), which must be paid before an application can be evaluated. If accepted, students must pay an additional administrative fee of $75. None of these fees are refundable.

Student Supervision:

For the protection of students and patients alike, students must be directly supervised. This is the responsibility of both the students and the clinicians with whom they work. Students must present each patient to a clinician, and review the findings and plan with him or her. Before prescriptions are filled, labs done, or the patient leaves the hospital, all orders, prescriptions and charts must be co-signed by a clinician. A clinician may be a licensed Guatemalan medical doctor, a licensed medical doctor from another country, an American licensed physician assistant, or nurse practitioner. With uncomplicated, non-surgical deliveries, a professional nurse midwife may the supervisor.

Evaluations:

Many programs require that their students be evaluated by supervising clinicians at El Hospitalito. The staff is happy to comply, however, the evaluation forms must be translated into Spanish. Likewise, communications between medical Program Directors and Dr. Chuc, the Medical Director of the Hospitalito Atitlan, must be in Spanish. We often have clinicians who are fluent in English, but this is not something on which students and their program staff can rely. Translation is the responsibility of the volunteer and/or his program.

Other Medical Professionals;

We have had been lucky to have a variety of medical volunteers work with us, including pharmacists, paramedics, laboratory technicians, radiology technicians, and emergency medical technicians. Such medical professionals are accepted on a case-by-case basis, so please do not hesitate to contact us. Basic requirements are:

• A minimum of a 4-week commitment.
• An intermediate or advanced command of Spanish, according to our definitions.
• At least 2 years of experience in your field.