Medical volunteers: Guidelines for success and safety

Many African Americans from a variety of medical specialties are interested in satisfying a life-long dream of visiting Africa by volunteering their services to faith-based and private volunteer organizations doing missionary work on the continent. While this can be an extremely rewarding experience in which measurable good can be accomplished, this path can also be strewn with many obstacles that will affect both the success of the mission and the personal well-being of the volunteer. The American Medical Team for Africa is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, volunteer organization that has been doing medical missionary work in Africa since 1993. This manuscript is a compilation of this 10-year experience that has established some very useful guidelines for insuring a successful and safe mission if you are fortunate enough to have this opportunity.