Our volunteers are the backbone of our organisation. Offering the amazing gift of time, expertise and commitment, they are, without a doubt, the bricks and mortar of Interplast. Every year, our volunteers from all around Australia and New Zealand journey to our developing neighbours to provide free medical treatment to both adults and children and support local medical personnel through training and mentoring. This shared privilege, while different for everyone, offers an opportunity to:
Interplast is committed to providing our medical volunteers with a positive, engaging and rewarding experience. We support our volunteers from beginning to end. All programs are managed by Interplast program coordinators and all pre-departure and post-placement arrangements and briefings are organised by us. Interplast surgical activities are generally for two weeks and usually comprise two surgeons, two anaesthetists, a ward nurse and a theatre nurse. Some teams also include nurse educators and allied health professionals.
Download this manual to find out all about volunteering with Interplast
Our medical volunteering roles are strictly for fully qualified plastic and reconstructive surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and allied health professionals. All volunteers must be currently registered with their peak Australian or New Zealand medical body and need to submit an application to be considered for a volunteering opportunity.
Interplast prides itself on its commitment to child-safe practices in all elements of its programs. To be eligible to participate in an Interplast activity in any capacity, you will be required to undergo a criminal record check, referee checks, read and understand Interplast’s Child Protection Policy and sign the Interplast Child Protection Code of Conduct. You must also complete Interplast’s online child protection training. Interplast reserves the right to refuse an opportunity or terminate any person’s opportunity to participate in an Interplast program activity if Interplast believes the person may pose a risk to children based on criminal history or perceived/actual risk.
Interplast also undertakes due-diligence checks related to counter-terrorism of all personnel, including volunteers. These checks are undertaken prior to engagement, and then periodically, for the duration of engagement with Interplast.
If you believe you have the skills and experience to meet our requirements, please select the position you’re interested in (in the yellow box to the right) and fill out the application form. We will be in contact to discuss your application. Thank you for your interest!
Interplast often gets requests from medical students and other members of the community to join an overseas program as an observer. While we really appreciate the enthusiasm, unfortunately we are generally not able to accommodate these requests. This is due to the requirements of our overseas partners in terms of non-essential access to hospitals, as well as Interplast’s own policies and guidelines around our international programs.Interplast does have a small number of observer positions for programs which are part of sponsorship or funding agreements.
If you are keen to help out in other ways until you become fully qualified, we are always looking for people to help us fundraise, and often looking for volunteers for events, administrative work and other activities. Please see here for more info.
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