Volunteer for Facing Africa

Facing Africa needs volunteers!

Dates of upcoming surgical missions to Ethiopia:-

No Further Missions Planned

Facing Africa have been unable to send teams to Ethiopia October 2019 initially due to the pandemic and then civil war broke our in Ethiopia in 2020 which made it unsafe for our teams to travel. These above date are subject to the political situation improving in Ethiopia.

Facing Africa surgical missions are made up of unpaid volunteers who spend 2 weeks in Ethiopia during which time 25 – 35 facial reconstructions will be carried out, mainly on noma patients but may include facial tumours, severe animal bites and trauma.

Facing Africa can only consider volunteers who are willing and available for the entire two weeks.

• 2 Plastic surgeons

• 1 Maxillo Facial surgeons

• 1 Cranio Facial surgeons

• 3 Anaesthetists

• 2 Scrub nurses

• 2 Ward nurses

• 1 Junior Doctor (8 weeks at Facing Africa House)

• 2 Wound care nurses (8 weeks at Facing Africa House)

Requirements

Surgeons and anaesthetists must be consultant level.

Ward nurses must have good and long experience in wound care and organisational skills.

Scrub nurses should ideally have experience in head and neck surgery.

In addition to the main surgical team, one junior doctor and two nurses with considerable wound care (ideally head and neck) are needed for the pre’ and post op’ care of our patients who will be based at Facing Africa House just outside Addis Ababa for 8 weeks (two weeks prior to the arrival of the team and a further 4 weeks after the departure of the surgical team. Their job is to prepare the patients for complex surgery and to ensure that all patients are free of any complications or infections after their operations. These 3 volunteers are assisted by 6 Ethiopian nurses throughout the 8 weeks and are expected to teach the local nurses new and better techniques and procedures in wound care. See full and detailed 8-week wound care nurses manual at the bottom of the page.

All reconstructive surgery is carried out at the Nordic Medical Centre ( www.nordicmedicalcentre.com) which is an extremely well equipped hospital that we started to use in May 2018. Facing Africa takes the bulk of its own drugs, medications, antibiotics, consumables, disposables and  an excellent stock of our own surgical instruments that are stored in Ethiopia between missions. Accommodation is provided for all team members (rooms to be shared by 2 persons) at the Tizeze Hotel ( www.tizezehotel.com  ) located 50 yards away form the hospital.

How to apply

• Ward, scrub and Cheshire nurses download, fill in and return this application form

Other volunteers must send the following:-

• Up to date CV with relevant registration number and personal indemnity covering work abroad.

• Nationality

• Personal profile (age / marital status / country of origin)

• Details of any pervious overseas missions

• Contact details ( postal address, phone numbers and e-mail)

Volunteers are expected to inform their friends, family and colleagues of their commitments to taking part in any Facing Africa surgical missions and try to generate donations and sponsorship for Facing Africa. Also informing local and national press for media coverage. Most hospitals have their own PR officer who can also help with publicity and fund raising.

Wherever and whenever possible, contacts with hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of surgical equipment and consumables should be used to acquire donated items for the mission. All products must be “in date” as Ethiopian rules forbid the importation of out of date products.

Teaching Ethiopians

Surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses are also expected to teach local staff with regular presentations (short lectures and power point presentations) on surgery, anaesthesia, nursing, hygiene.

English is spoken by Ethiopian doctors, anaesthetists and surgeons. Nurses mostly have limited linguistic skills and must be guided and taught using very simple and short sentences. Ethiopians are keen and willing to learn better skills and new techniques.

Over the years that Facing Africa has been sending teams, we have acquired an enviable array of  equipment including  2 drill/saw (B Braun), 2 diathermy machines (Valley Lab), 3 fiberoptic scopes (Olympus and Stortz), 2 Glide Scopes, plates and screws and a wide range of surgical instruments.  The Nordic Medical Centre has a CT scan and binocular surgical microscope.

Each team member will be expected to send a written report to Facing Africa within 4 weeks of their return from Ethiopia.

What is provided by Facing Africa

• Return flights from London or other European airports to Addis Ababa with Ethiopian Airlines in economy class.

• Ground transportation throughout the mission

• Accommodation at the Tizeze Hotel ( 2 persons sharing )

• All meals (but not drinks, tea or coffee except at meals when Facing Africa pays for non-alcoholic drinks)

• Basic travel insurance (unless already held)

• One suitcase baggage allowance , not more than 23 kg.

Not paid by Facing Africa

• Travel to and from home to airport

• Optional week-end excursions in Ethiopia. The middle week-end (Sat & Sun) are free days when team members can opt to spend 2 nights at a lodge.

• Laundry while in Ethiopia

• Personal phone calls

• Visa for entry into Ethiopia (about £ 30)

• Excess baggage over 23 kg

Husbands, wives, girl/boy friends

We are unable to agree to team members travelling with their loved ones, even if they offer to pay their own way, so please don’t ask. However, if you want to invite someone to join you in Addis at the end of the mission and extend your stay for a few extra days to visit other parts of Ethiopia, Facing Africa can amend your return flight accordingly.

Volunteer medical students

Unfortunately we are unable to offer places on our teams to medical students

Important

Each team will ALWAYS include at least one surgeon who has previous experience of noma missions in Africa. Volunteers are welcome to apply from any country in Europe. Volunteers from North and South America, Australia or New Zealand are also welcome but will have to pay their own fares to Ethiopia.

Our missions are very much based on ‘team spirit’, so it is extremely important that everyone enters with the ethos of a team and not as an individual. Close co-operation and discussion between team members is critical, especially after the trip if and when complications or infections arise and are notified by the post op’ team at facing Africa House.

Junior Doctor and 2 wound care nurses – 8 weeks

Each mission also includes a doctors, usually a junior doctor (FA OR F2) and 2 nurses who have exceptional experience in post op’ wound care, who are required to spend 8 weeks in Ethiopia. Their function is to prepare all the patients two weeks prior to the arrival of the surgical team, carrying out screening, teaching basic hygiene, taking patients to the hospital for X-rays, CT scans , blood tests, preparing medical notes and observations etc. During the 2-week surgical period they have to organise transfer of patients to the hospital for their operations and then remain for a further 4 weeks taking care of post op’ wounds, infections, feeding etc. A total of 8 weeks. After the surgical team has left Ethiopia, the doctor and 2 nurses must communicate (by phone, WhatsApp, e-mail, Skype etc) with the surgeons and anaesthetists in the event of any complications or infections. The doctor must not at any time leave the grounds of Facing Africa House unless a replacement doctor has been appointed.

The doctor and 2 nurses will be based at Facing Africa House which is in the grounds of the Cheshire Rehabilitation Centre, located about 20 miles outside Addis Ababa in a rural countryside setting . They will have opportunities to spend occasional days at the Hospital watching and possibly assisting during surgery, but it must be clearly understood that Facing Africa has made an undertaking to have at least one qualified doctor at all times at the Cheshire Rehab’ Centre. Accommodation and meals are provided at the guest house within the Cheshire Rehabilitation Centre throughout the 8 weeks. Facing Africa also arranges for an Ethiopian dentist to spend the first 2 weeks at Facing Africa House to carry out basic dental care, scaling etc

Ward nurses – job description – 2 weeks

Application form 

This is an exciting opportunity for a registered nurse to gain experience working with the Facing Africa team in Ethiopia.

As a ward nurse working at the Nordic Medical Centre in Addis Ababa you will be required to perform pre op’ assessments and post operative care to patients undergoing head and neck surgery. The types of surgery include submental flaps, free flaps, commisuroplasty and Abbe Estlanders.

The Nordic Medical Centre provides patient rooms with 2 or 3 beds during the 2 week Facing Africa mission. Your role will include educating the Ethiopian nurses about effective nursing care and the patients about the importance of good hygiene practice. Regular assessment of the post operative wounds and flap observations is essential. You will be required to provide clear instructions to the Ethiopian night nurses and ensure that the instruction are carried out efficiently. There may be a requirement for you to cover evening/ night shifts dependent on the condition of the patients. Each mission’s ward nurses are led by an experienced team leader.

Facing Africa is a non religious organisation which requires all volunteers to be open minded and not to try to involve patients or staff in religious activities, teaching or prayers.

Essential:

• Registered Adult/ Paediatric nurse

• Minimum 3 year post registration experience

• Experience in wound care (preferably head and neck)

• Up to date knowledge of Infection Control Practice

• Experienced in administration of intravenous medications and a good knowledge of post operative pain management

• Good interpersonal skills with the ability to relate within the interdisciplinary team and across disciplines. This involves conveying instructions and teaching in simple English and questioning the Ethiopian Nurses to ensure they understand.

• Self motivated, uses own initiative and able to prioritise work

• Ability to adapt to different hospital and country environment and be extremely flexible and reliable

• Work well in stressful situations and able to respond effectively to challenging situations

• Must be able to work effectively as a member of a multi /national / cultural team

• Physically fit – there will be an element of lifting/ moving heavy objects and often long hours

• Ability to teach good standards of nursing practice

• Computer literate

• Must be able to provide a Transcript of Qualification – this is a requirement of the Ethiopian Government (can be obtained from University or from NMC)

Desirable but not essential:

• Experience working in developing countries

• Experience caring for patients post head and neck surgery

If you are interested, please send a copy of your CV including your NMC registration number, postal address, mobile/home/work phone numbers to:

chris@facingafrica.org