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General and Professional Requirements

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Currently MMW is taking applications for Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Massage Therapists to assist them in the Field. To become a volunteer with Mindful Medicine Worldwide, you must meet these general requirements. You may apply before these requirements are met, as long as you anticipate completion before your desired volunteer time. Currently, we are only accepting applications for LMTs and LAcs, but in the near future we will be accepting applications from health practitioners such as those with the following accreditations: CNM, DO, DC, MD, NP, and RNs.

 

Chinese Medicine Practitioners:
 

1. Completed Accredited Program in Acupuncture and/or Chinese Medicine

2. Completion of all Board Exams for NCCAOM and application for licensure.

3. Availability for a minimum of 2 months

4. No recent gap in clinical experience greater than 2 years

5. Relevant travel or work outside the United States

6. Experience supervising, managing, & training others

7. Flexibility and adaptability

  

Massage Therapists:

 

1. Graduation from accredited School of Massage

2. Completed application for licensure

3. Numbers 3-7 as above.

 

Please scan or take pictures of all professional licenses and relevant certificates and documents then email them together with your application form.

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Recruitment

 

What is the recruitment process?

• Applicant completes an online application form, submitting current résumé, and all relevant supporting documents and pays the $75 application fee online.

• Volunteer Recruiter screens the application, sends an email confirmation of receipt of application within 4 weeks.

• Positively screened applicants are invited to a Skype interview with the Volunteer Coordinator and, if need be, a second interview with the Executive Director.

• Following the interview(s) and reference checks, suitable applicants are approved for service work with MMW.

• Approved applicants will be sent an information packet, contract, and waiver about MMW placements and protocols.

• Following a signed acceptance of MMW procedures and protocols, volunteer becomes a part of MMW volunteer pool, ready for placement.

• Placement is dependent on field needs, and the application process can take from 4 to 8 weeks.

• The volunteer will attend via Skype a two hour training with other approved volunteers, MMW executive director and MMW alumni. Training will be done after recruitment and prior to departure to service area. Placement time may be anywhere from 2 to 9 months from the date of initial application.

• Two weeks prior to departure, volunteers are required to fundraise in their community a minimum of $1000, which will go toward supplies, administration, and translator fees for MMW.

• MMW Volunteers must also obtain Travel Insurance with Medical Evacuation prior to departure.

• Once date is assigned and training has been completed, volunteer sends in signed contract with dates of service and prepares for volunteer work with MMW.

 

Placement

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How are service assignments made?
As soon as the volunteer recruitment process is complete, MMW will start matching volunteers to service areas based on compatibility with site requirements.

 

What expenses are volunteers expected to pay?

• Visa

• Personal Transportation within service area

• Personal Expenses

• Roundtrip Airfare to service area

• Travel Insurance with Medical Evacuation (http://www.volunteercard.com/ )

• Responsible for fundraising a minimum of USD $1,000, to go toward supplies, administration, and translator fees for MMW.

 

MMW will provide staff with:

• A training class

• Accommodation in service area

• 1-3 meals a day, depending on service location

• Language interpreters

• Transportation budget for transport from airport to site as well as all MMW related transport needs in country

• All supplies necessary for treatment of patients

• A full clinic load of patients 5-6 days a week

• Continuing Education when available with CEU accredited teachers.

 

Can I decide where I want to be assigned?

MMW places volunteers on assignment based on our needs, though we will keep your preferences in mind and do the best to place you in your first or second choice of site.

 
Can I divide time between locations?
This would depend on openings in our clinic schedules.  Two months is required as a minimum at one location. 

 

How long are service commitments?
For practitioners with less than 10 years experience, 2-5 months is the duration of service. For practitioners with 10 or more years of experience, there are limited spaces to be Senior Practitioner Trainers, which can be as short as 3 weeks. If you wish to participate as a Senior Practitioner Trainer, please indicate this on your application.

 

Are the opportunities available all year or only certain months? 
Opportunities to volunteer with Mindful Medicine Worldwide are available all year but are dependent on openings.

 

Can couples go on service trips together?
Yes, if there is a need for a couple in an area, we will try to place you together, but it is not guaranteed. Volunteers may bring their non-volunteer partners, but generally will then be responsible for their own housing. 

 

In the Field

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What can I expect to do as an acupuncturist on a service trip?
Practitioners are involved in clinical activities, treatment of patients, supervision, and training of local interpreters/trainees who are learning Chinese Medicine via an apprenticeship model. Massage Therapists will assist Chinese Medicine Practitioners as well as train local staff in massage techniques and anatomy.
 

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How does MMW manage safety of volunteers during service work?
Working with MMW is not particularly dangerous, but also not risk-free. We do our best to keep volunteers away from danger, but some of our placements are in areas of political and social unrest. Volunteers are informed of the country security situation before departure. Adherence to our service guidelines for personal conduct, safety, as well as cultural sensitivity is not negotiable.

 

What if I am injured or become ill?
MMW requires that all volunteers purchase medical insurance, including coverage for medical evacuation. Volunteer placements are generally in on-site integrative clinics, with access to allopathic and alternative medical practitioners.

 

I’d like to read about Mindfulness, Medicine, and International Aid work. What do you recommend?

Please see our recommendations below.

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On International Health Issues:

• Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor by Paul Farmer

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On International Health Aid Work:

• Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder

 

On Cross-Cultural Studies in Health Work: 

• The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman

• Medicine and Culture by Lynn Payer

 

On Mindfulness Practice:

• Medicine and Compassion: A Tibetan Lama and an American Doctor on How to Provide Care with Compassion and Wisdom by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche

• The Art of Living: Vispassana Meditation by S.N. Goenka

 

 

Fundraising

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Why do we need to fundraise in addition to providing volunteer service with MMW?
The fundraising is so that you can spread the mission of our organization within your social network and raise funds to offset a part of the costs of supplies and your translator in Nepal.  If you live in an area where you think it might be difficult to raise this amount of money please indicate this on your application and we will do our best to guide you in the fundraising process. Volunteers can raise funds through social events and networking opportunities such as:

      Pot luck dinner with power point presentation

      Letter writing campaigns

      Facebook networking

      Creating a blog with donation option

 

What if I run into difficulty with fundraising?
So far, we haven't run into a problem with fundraising amongst our past and current roster of volunteers.  If you live outside of the US and absolutely cannot raise the USD$750, we do have the possibility of doing some alternative activities for Mindful Medicine in lieu of the fundraising. You may write a letter of inability, which will need to be approved by our administration team. If you qualify, you may then attend a fundraising coaching session to help with the process of fundraising.

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Can I give the USD $1000 in ‘in-kind’ supplies instead of cash?

The amount must be provided in cash donation. While we welcome and encourage volunteer solicitation of ‘in-kind’ donations to bring on their service trip, the purpose of the USD $1000 is to widen our donor base, and to have volunteers begin to participate in the sustainability of the organization. In actuality, each volunteer will go through USD $1000 per month of service, or USD $2000-$6,000 per service trip. The USD $1000 is a fraction of what volunteers will actually use in supplies.

 

Can I contribute more than $1000?

Of course. Many volunteers have fundraisers for MMW and raise well beyond the minimum requirement in order to contribute to our sustainability in the future. Friends and family of volunteers would often like to have the opportunity to participate in a program like MMW, but if they are not able to, they may still contribute to the needs of our patients in Nepal by supporting you and MMW.

 

Health Insurance

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What about health insurance? Why do I need health insurance?
Health insurance is very important in case you become ill. While there are many hospitals and clinics in Nepal, in an acute or critical case, you may need to be flown out and treated in a neighboring country.  We also need to account for some rare but possible cases, where you may need to be treated in your home country.  

 

Treatment Supplies

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Do we need to bring our own supplies?
We will supply you with all the equipment you need, although you are always welcome to raise and bring more supplies if you want. Please check with us beforehand for appropriateness of any additional supplies. You should also bring any supplies that you personally like to use, but that may not be available, such as a particular e-stim machine, type of needle you prefer, or set of glass cups.

 

Can I purchase moxa and cups for cupping locally?
The clinics come equipped with moxa and plastic cups sets.

 

Personal Supplies and Accommodations

 

Will I have a private or shared room?
This depends on location and how many other staff are present at the time.

 

What will be provided in terms of bedding especially in the colder months?
If you tend to feel cold easily, and are travelling from Nov-Feb you will want to bring/rent a sleeping bag in addition to the bedding provided.

 

Is there hot water available for shower?
While there is usually hot water available for showering in most of our facilities, it is not something that we can rely on 100% especially in more remote areas or areas of special need.

 

 

Clinic Hours of Operation and Additional Volunteer Service Time

 

What are the clinic hours? What about work hours for those who will be teaching?
Clinic hours are typically 9am-5pm, six days per week. For those who will be teaching, you will provide on average 4-6 hours of teaching, one day a week. The clinic hours and total teaching time depends on location of your volunteer service.

 

Communication

 

What is the best way to communicate with you if I have further questions?
We prefer to conduct most of our communication by e-mail at info@mindfulmedicineworldwide.org.