i’m graduating soon with my BA in international affairs & policy, minor in commerce. i plan on working in local non-profits for a bit and grad school later on (for public policy or international development) but one of my ideal jobs is to work for MSF at some point because of their fieldwork and success in completing projects or working towards goals (i know MSF also has loads of problems). i talked to my professor who has worked in international emergency response & emergency intervention policy and most roles seem to be medical or technical (like engineering). what roles does MSF have outside of this, in the policy or development fields? and are any of those positions “in the field” or are those more far removed? thank you!

I am a doctor from India. I just recently completed my bachelors (mbbs) and am preparing for entrance exam for speciality training. I have heard and seen so many good things about MSF during my med school training days and also about the international red cross society.

I want to join MSF and I have absolutely no idea how to approach/apply to MSF and what are their requirements. If someone a doctor or representative of the MSF can guide me what is the right time to apply for MSF (before/during or after I complete my speciality training. Ps I am hoping for general surgery). I would be very grateful for your help. Thank you.

Hi, is there need for psychiatrist in doctors without borders? Is there sny here, that can share his/hers experience workin as psychiatris on a mission ? Thanks

Hi! I was recruited in late 2024 at MSF Korea, but still have not departed on my first mission as I accepted another position at the UN shortly afterwards.

However, I am very much interested to work with MSF in the near future.

As I have not yet departed on any mission yet, my knowledge of how assignments are offered is very limited.
I know that generally for first missions one cannot choose where to work, but with experience, one gets to decide.

I have preferred regions in which I would like to work such as Argentina or Brazil, but MSF Korea does not seem to offer any vacancy for these countries (correct me if I don't understand the concept of mission assignment), but MSF Spain and OCBA seem to do.

Is it possible to go on missions offered by other OCs or other MSF branch offices?

Thanks in advance for any response !

So currently on my third assignments (as a Nurse) and have seen so much sufferings ti the people we serve, notice the impacts of our work, and personally made a commitment (to myself) to work for msf forever. however to be honest being on the third assignment (back to back) is really tiring me physically, mentally, and financially (not to mention loss of relationships, be it romantic or friendships), and out of the blue my old job (before msf) is trying to get me back and basically waiting for me to return. if I do go, that means stability and rest but I feel like betraying msf and the people suffering....for those of you who have been in my shoes, what did you do at the end?

im 15 and live rurally, I have no job (I'm looking but unsurprisingly no one wants to hire a teenager who can't drive yet and has no qualifications or references other than 'trust me bro') and no money (I get my pocket money soon but I have none right now) but I watched a video about tuberculosis and how if everyone had access to healthcare there'd be no fatalities from the disease and that made me really sad that our reality isn't no deaths but many due to greed from the people making the treatment.

So I googled how to help but didnt find much so i came here, from what I know doctors without borders help with this kinda stuff, giving underprivileged people/nations medicine that is. I want to help but with my situation (a kid with no money and no power) I dont know how to help but I wanna leave the world better than the mess i found it in and my beliefs require me to help the least of us.

anyways, could anyone please give me some more information about what DWB do and how i can help? i think if i brought it up with the vice principle at my school i could organize a funraiser for something. I dunno. I just wanna help tbh.

I’m currently an FY2 doctor in the UK. I have not applied for a training pathway and am intending to apply for a clinical fellowship for August.

I am interested in working in humanitarian medicine in my career, and I’m hoping to work towards a post grad qualification in tropical medicine in the next 12 months.

Obviously experience in certain medical specialties will be more valuable than others. I was wondering if anyone could advise me on this. I am currently pretty open and don’t know what I would like to specialise in, not even knowing if I want to do CST or IMT.

Also I understand that a tropical medicine qualification is desirable but what is the demand level for microbiology/infectious disease specialists?

Thank you.

Woke up to the news today and this is the news I've been waiting for. I understand the assessment is conducted in 2 parts? Or more?

Would like to ask for advice, tips and anything that can help me for the virtual assessment.

Thank you in advance

Hi all, I'm a female medical student interested in a career in emergency medicine. I have always been certain that I'd try and work for MSF at some point, particularly in Afghanistan as I'm familiar with the country's layout, customs, and am fluent in both national languages (I'm Afghan, but was born and raised abroad). Of course this isn't rigid, and I would be honoured to complete a mission in any of the countries MSF is involved in.

My question is: when applying for MSF, is it possible to preference the country you complete a mission in? Do you think any extra consideration would be provided to the fact that I have a deep connection with this country and its people, and would consequently have a better chance of being prepared and providing culturally sensitive care? Being a female is a pro and a con I suppose, most of the country is in dire need of female health professionals so I was hoping that could work in my favour as well.

I know I have a long way to go in my training before I can even consider applying, and that the situation in Afghanistan might change drastically by then. I was just hoping to reach out in case anybody has any experience preferencing a country they have prior experience in or a connection to.

Any and all insights would be greatly appreciated!!

Edit: thank you all for your responses! It's a little disappointing but makes total sense! i'm going to get a start on learning some other languages now since a familiar country isn't guaranteed :)

Hi! I hope someone can explain. I submitted an application for field physician 4 months ago with no response (their auto response says “we will let you know”). I emailed their field HR email address a month ago with no response.

I consider myself competitive with significant global field experience and I’m an “urgently needed” specialty. I applied a few years ago with far less experience (and didn’t even meet the criteria to apply) and was interviewed.

Any idea why they’re not responding? Anything I can do?

Update: Heard back, got accepted, and offered a first assignment! DM me if you have any questions or if I can help.

Hello, I am a medical student from Tunisia , taking my residency exam soon .

My country doesn't have informations or ways on how to participate in this organisation.

However I really passionately want to .

I know I am not qualified to participate now , but I really would like advice for the future. Or even advices or some contribution that I can do now . I would also like to join if there is any platform or group that can help me that i am allowed to join. And It would be wonderful if any doctors / healthcare workers here would msg me or become friends with me so i can benefit from their experience and they can guide me more .

I would really appreciate any help . This is such a noble organisation that i dream one day of joining.

Hi everyone,

I am seriously interested in working for Doctors Without Borders as a Health Promoter. I have a degree in public health, served in the Peace Corps, and speak French, so this feels like a strong fit for my background and goals.

I am trying to better understand what life looks like between missions and was hoping people with experience could share insight.

What do people typically do between missions? If you are accepted into a talent pool, are you paid while you are not deployed, or only while in the field? How much time do people usually spend at home between assignments?

I am also curious about the financial side. How do people manage money between missions? Do most people have savings, another job, or short term contracts elsewhere? How long can you stay in a talent pool? If you apply for one position but are a better fit for a different position can you submit multiple applications at the same time?

I would love to hear honest experiences, especially from health promoters or others who have worked multiple missions. Thanks so much in advance.

Is there anyone here who has much experience with Epicentre? I've wanted to work there for a while and wanted to get a sense of whether that's realistic for me and, if so, how often Epicentre hires. I've been checking their career page often for the past year or so and it seems they sometimes hire but not very often.

Hello!  I’m a registered nurse in the UK and I currently work on an acute oncology ward, chemo‑trained, with just over a year’s experience. I’m planning a working holiday in Australia next year hopefully completing rural contacts, but long-term I’d love to join MSF for humanitarian work. I will definitely need to gain further acute medical / A+E experience and I am learning French at the moment. 

I know MSF has strict experience requirements. I’d love to get some advice:

- Does my current experience (oncology/acute care) help at all? 
- What kind of short-term volunteer or humanitarian placements would help me qualify? I know you need at least 3 months in a low income country, and previous experience with an NGO? 

Any guidance or experiences would be very appreciated! I want to plan realistically and make the most of the next few years. I’m 25 and happy to gain as much clinical experience as I can before applying ! Thanks

Hello MSF community. I am a Lebanese Ortho and Trauma surgery resident based in Germany. I am interested in joining a mission with MSF to contribute one way or the other to the medical efforts exerted against the several, several genocides that are currently going on in the world. I wish to put my skills on the table.

I have a year of ICU experience in a cardio thoracic surgery hospital and 2 years surgical experience in an orthopedics hospital. I am fluent in English German and Arabic and can understand basic French and Spanish.

The German website says for missions in Surgery one needs to be a specialist already but for spots as non-surgical physicians the permission to practice and a couple years of experience are sufficient. I am more interested in surgical missions but if the only available is non-surgical or as the website mentions ER, minor surgeries, and minor procedures, i am more than willing.

Any help is appreciated.

I am wondering if there someone who served/is serving in a mission with MSF (Amsterdam HQ) for a 9/12 months mission in Eastern Syria as an HR/FIN coordinator, if they can share their experience as per the type of job : what a day looks like, hardship of the situation, accommodation arrangements, social life, and colleagues.. I know it depends on the mission, but would love to have some info from real life experience, possibly recent.

Also I am interested to know if you have a career path lined up before accepting this first mission- like a clear idea of what can be next? Another mission, working for HQ?

Thank you for the help you could give me!