Without a doubt, most nurses go into nursing because they want to improve the lives of others, be it in their own community or halfway around the world. Many would volunteer all the time if they could, and few can watch televised reporting of natural disasters without feeling compelled to call up their local Red Cross to find out how they can help. But volunteering in everyday conditions or in times of disaster takes more planning than a quick phone call, as Jeanne Leffers, PhD, RN, and Julia Plotnick, MPH, RN, FAAN, the authors of Volunteering at Home and Abroad, well know.
“Nurses who rush to the scene of a natural disaster can actually cause more harm than good if they don’t work through a volunteer coordinating agency such as the Red Cross. If you get there without the logistical support of a volunteer agency, you can actually contribute to drain on essential resources like food, water, and shelter; cause additional traffic congestion; and cause coordinators to have to stop their work and figure out what to do with you,” says Plotnick, former chief nurse and assistant surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service and long-time global volunteer.
Volunteering abroad in developing countries or areas recovering from war can be even more complicated, and that’s what drove Leffers and Plotnick to write their book—the only book on the market specifically aimed at nurse volunteering—so that nurses can be effective volunteers and world citizens.
From identifying and selecting the volunteer opportunity, to organizing personally and professionally for the trip, to acclimating to the experience and new surroundings, and even how to re-enter society, the practical tips in this book are helpful for both the novice and the experienced volunteer.
Leffers, a nurse educator with more than 25 years of experience, is a faculty member for the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Her extensive volunteer work extends from the United States to the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Uganda and Haiti. Plotnick, who served 23 years in the U.S. Public Health Service, routinely traveled abroad through Eastern Europe and Africa on disaster-relief missions. She currently serves as chair of the Health Volunteers Overseas board of directors. RNL
Ordering information
Volunteering at Home and Abroad: The Essential Guide for Nurses, by Jeanne Leffers, PhD, RN, and Julia Plotnick, MPH, RN, FAAN; published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International; ISBN: 9781-930538986; price: US $24.95; trade paperback, 256 pages; trim size 6 x 9; available at www.nursingknowledge.org/STTIbooks
