San Juan de Dios Hospital, the Hospital Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia and the Mexico Hospital are part of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social System (CCSS) - the primary health care provider for the citizens of Costa Rica. The three hospitals receive one third of all referrals from throughout Costa Rica, and there are approximately 60 residents among the three hospitals. San Juan de Dios Hospital is a 700-bed hospital that allocates 136 beds for general internal medicine. Hospital Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia is a 622-bed hospital and serves as a 24-hour cardiac intervention hospital. Mexico Hospital is the immunology and HIV center for Costa Rica and has nine attending physicians in internal medicine.
HVO volunteers will provide training to residents of the three CCSS hospitals through didactic training, ward rounds, and bedside training, and educate residents through lectures on various topics chosen in partnership with on-site personnel. Volunteers will also work with faculty to improve teaching skills, provide guidance and mentoring to residency program directors, and guide both residents and hospital staff in clinical investigation projects and biostatistics research. Volunteers may work at more than one hospital during their assignment.
HVO will recruit board-certified internists or physicians that possess equivalent training and a current license to practice. The site needs generalists, geriatricians and residency program directors, as well as sub-specialists in cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, and infectious disease. The site also needs volunteer radiologists who can conduct rounds and teach about CT/MRI. Repeat volunteers from other HVO internal medicine projects are encouraged to volunteer with this site, and experienced volunteers who are retired and no longer hold a current license can participate in didactic training.
HVO's internal medicine program is sponsored by the American College of Physicians. Projects that recruit neurology and cardiology volunteers are supported by the American Academy of Neurology and the American College of Cardiology.
Health Volunteers Overseas is a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve global health through education of the local health workforce in resource-scarce countries. HVO volunteers build local capacity by providing health care professionals in resource-scarce countries with knowledge and skills to address the health care needs of their communities. HVO volunteers are trained health care professionals - physicians, nurses, dentists, physical therapists and others - willing to donate their time and expertise to work side-by-side with their colleagues overseas. Since 1986, HVO staff and volunteers have collaborated with a variety of health institutions to design, develop and implement each HVO project, working toward better patient care around the globe in trauma care, child and maternal health, essential surgery, cancer care, rehabilitation, and more. Visit www.hvousa.org to learn how you can become part of our global health community.
