As a surgeon working for Médecins Sans Frontières you may be part of an emergency team responding to the needs of people wounded as a result of armed conflict or a natural disaster. Alternatively, you may work as part of a longer-term surgical program, providing care to communities deprived of a functioning health care system. Regardless of the situation, responsibilities include surgery (general, orthopaedic, trauma, and potentially plastics depending on the project context), as well as surgical needs assessment and training of local staff.
No matter where you are working, be prepared for the fact that diagnostic equipment and facilities in the OT will be limited - there may not even be an X-ray machine.
REQUIREMENTS
- Compliance with Essential Criteria for all potential Field Workers
- Certified surgeon / Fellow of Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (or equivalent), with at least 2 years work experience since obtaining Fellowship
- Experience in at least one of the following areas:
- General surgery
- Orthopedic & trauma surgery
- reconstructive or plastic surgery
- For general surgeons, have performed at least 8 caesarean sections during the past 2 years. If all other criteria are met except for 8 caesarean sections note the following options:
- Perform/learn caesarean sections with a colleague obgyn and provide proof on applying
- Your application without this criteria may be validated subject to being enrolled and successfully completing MSF residency training to increase capacity in obgyn surgery
- Ability to work autonomously in basic conditions with limited materials and resources
- Willingness to abide by Médecins Sans Frontières surgical protocols
- Available to work infield for a minimum of 6-8 weeks (at least for the first placement; subsequent placements can be shorter, depending on context)
- People with a medical background must display no recent gap in clinical experience greater than two years
ASSETS
- Available to work infield for up to 3 months
- Available at short notice (in emergencies we may need surgeons to leave within 24 to 48 hours)
A NOTE REGARDING AVAILABILITY & NOTICE PERIODS
Due to the emergency nature of many of our projects, surgeons are often needed at very short notice. However for some longer-term projects it may be possible to confirm a placement well in advance. If you are genuinely interested to work with us but have concerns regarding the period of notice you may require, we encourage you to apply. Your individual circumstances can be discussed as part of the interview process.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY IN THE FIELD
More detailed information on our surgical projects, policies, and other resources can be found here. This site is dedicated to surgery in the field.
Ready to apply
All Australian and New Zealand field worker applications are processed through our Sydney office.
Please view the Essential Criteria for all profiles.
Surgeons must submit their CV/application form in the format provided.