Important Information

Even though international travel is opening up again we must consider the risks of travel disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are continuously monitoring the international health situation in the countries we visit. We are also keeping up to date on international travel restrictions both within Australia and the countries in which we travel. As you are all aware each state has individual restrictions, let alone each individual Hospital for health care workers. As you can appreciate, the scope is forever changing, we are hoping in the near future these will settle down so we can get a better picture to be able to assess properly.

While COVID-19 has put a halt to the usual way we go about business, it has not stopped us from our working. If anything, this period of change has emphasized how precious the training component of our trips really is. While we may have paused our in-country project visits, for the time being, we are still able to impact lives across the sea via technology and will continue to do so until it is safe to travel.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our newsletters to receive regular updates via email. Click here to do so: ohi.org.au/newsletters/

If you are registered on our database, you can help us out by keeping your information up to date so we can stay in touch as things change.

Open Heart International is a partnership of ADRA Australia and Sydney Adventist Hospital.

Our team however, is comprised of people from all over Australia. It would be impossible for all team members to come from the one hospital as it would likely shut down surgery at one hospital!

With our headquarters in Australia, it is only natural that the majority of our team are from Australia. We welcome applications from Australians living internationally, non-Australian citizens living in Australia, and also the global community. So wherever you live and work on Planet Earth, consider volunteering with us if you have the appropriate skills and experience!

Each team’s composition is based on the needs of the team and the individual country. All job roles that you would expect for quality surgical management are usually included. A list of usual positions are included in the online application. When you apply, please select as many roles as you believe you are qualified to fulfil.

As you would expect, our teams are nearly all filled with clinical staff. There are a small amount of non-clinical staff involved in the teams from time to time for specific reasons. These people are included and recruited for specific roles on an ad-hoc basis.

If you have a non-medical background, perhaps fundraising, marketing, business and/or public relations, we would welcome an individual conversation with you about how you can assist us to achieve our goals. Please contact us for a chat!

To be selected to a position on an Open Heart International team, you must be registered volunteer. You must have a current profile to be considered.

We do not accept applications from registrars, residents, interns or students. The primary reason for this is we are trying to engage, train and teach the local staff in the countries where we work. The use of registrars and/or students, we feel, generally diminishes the teaching and training opportunities for the local people.

Depending on the individual situation within the country we are visiting, registrars may be used where this enhances the team’s ability without reducing the opportunities for local staff to be involved in the project.

Where this occurs, our policy is to approach the relevant consultants who are volunteering in that area about a registrar they would like to nominate.

We recruit volunteers based on their experience, and flexibility to adapt to the challenges of working in developing countries. We are happy to consider Enrolled nurses for some positions.

Open Heart International is very grateful for the interest, however we are usually unable to accommodate these requests. As you can imagine our partners have policies related to non-essential access to clinical areas within their hospitals.

You will need to login to your profile, to access the secure volunteers area. The login can be found on the top menu bar of our website. Once you have logged in you will see a list of upcoming project visits we are planning. Simply select the trip (prior to the deadline) to express your interest.

Please also visit our Volunteer Vacancies page to see what positions we are currently recruiting for.

When selecting a team, suitable team members from the previous Project Visit(s) to the country are invited to return. These team members have first priority to fill the spaces on the team.

Once they have advised their intentions, we know what vacancies exist in the team. We then review our database to find interested volunteers with the right skills and experience for that specific vacancy.

If you are matched with a specific vacancy we will make contact with you to discuss your availability. If you accept a position on a team, we will then organise specific country paperwork (including a criminal records check) with you prior to departure. We will provide information about this process if you are matched to a vacancy.

This is a difficult question to answer. It depends on the vacancies on each Project Visit and also our travel schedule.

You are added to our database of interested people. We will contact you based on vacancies.

The Open Heart International website uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) as a encryption protocol to provide communication security over the information you are providing to us. You can view our SSL certificate details by clicking on the padlock icon. Generally speaking, the padlock icon will be near the address bar in your internet browser, but its actual location will vary depending on the browser you are using.

Once the information is transmitted to the server, it remains secure. We use a well known and reputable hosting company who utilise industry best practice to ensure the security of their web servers and hosting accounts.

Our website content management system and software is regularly updated to ensure security is kept up to date, and we also undertake rigorous commercial penetration testing to ensure data security and integrity.

For more details, please visit our Privacy Policy.

There is no cost to be included in our database.

If you are selected for a team, you will be asked to make a financial commitment to Open Heart International. This amount varies depending on the location, and currently ranges from approximately $1,500 to $3,500.

You are able to personally pay this yourself or fundraise this amount.

Open Heart International organises travel and accommodation on your behalf including payment. Other than travel incidentals (which we discuss with you), there are usually no other major expenses you need to budget for.

The first thing to consider is that as a volunteer you’ll be incredibly busy. The days (or nights) are long! We would prefer that you do not consider bringing your partner or family, as this puts additional resource demands on us and also on our local partners. It also interrupts the accommodation provisions and in some cases it can alter the team dynamics.

Our suggestion is that you consider adding some extra time to your visit, and have your loved one(s) travel with you prior to the Project Visit commencing, or have them meet you at the end of the Project Visit.

We are always looking for the best possible staff for our Project Visits. This is both in terms of clinical experience and also your passion and flexibility towards working in the developing world.

In some nursing disciplines we have more demand for places than we have positions in any given year, and we then must decide on which people would be most suitable for our teams.

For our cardiac projects, we are always keen to hear from Intensivists, Anaesthetists and Perfusionists, particularly if you are working in a paediatric environment.

For cardiac nursing disciplines we would expect that you have at least 2-3 years experience in a cardiac unit and/or high dependency unit. Neonatal, paediatric and adolescent experience (with or without cardiac experience) is well regarded.

Please ensure your CV reflects specifically reflects your experience, and also your experience levels in neonatal, paediatric, adolescent and adult nursing.

All volunteers need to submit to a full criminal check completed prior to their deployment. This has been done partly because of Australian Government requirements, but more importantly because we take child safety and protection seriously.

Open Heart International has an online service to streamline this process, and we cover the cost associated with the check. A full criminal records check is more expansive than a Working with Children check.

We ask that you upload two photos. Please take a photo similar to the one on your passport. This is used for various applications that we complete on your behalf for medical registrations in the countries we visit.

The second is a casual photo. There is no specific requirements for this photo, other than you should be clearly identified in the picture. This photo is used to identify you in various places on our website, primarily in the blog section.

To gain more understanding of what to expect as a volunteer, we recommend you read our Volunteer Guide.

You should also familiarise yourself with the Code of Conduct and the Volunteer Agreement.

We highly recommend you download our Volunteer Guide which will assist you in getting better acquainted with our organisation.

If you are selected for a Project Visit, you will receive additional information with more specific information about the project and country that you will visit.

We highly recommend you download our Volunteer Guide which will assist you in getting better acquainted with our organisation. Feel free to contact us if you have any other questions.