Healthcare outside the NHS - Voluntary Agencies
If you are interested in furthering your career in healthcare, but find that the NHS is not to your liking and you have no wish to join the private sector, you may want to consider the voluntary agencies.
Many voluntary organisations are highly professional and employ fully trained staff to help them supervise or develop volunteers. A specialist or even a generic management job with a voluntary agency can breathe life back into your enthusiasm for your profession, broaden your horizons and help you develop unexpected interests.
This article looks at the wide range of possibilities open to qualified staff working in the voluntary and charitable sector. If you are interested in becoming a voluntary worker in healthcare sector, see our separate article - The Voluntary Army.
Your destination depends on your clinical or professional specialty. It is important to remember that there are three primary career streams for healthcare professionals in the voluntary/charitable sector.
- In the first career stream you may work as a practitioner in your own field, but in a very different setting. Doctors with A & E experience may go to Medecins Sans Frontiers; nurses with experience of palliative care can work for McMillan.
- In the second career stream you may find yourself one of a small team or as a sole practitioner, advising a charity or voluntary body on a technical aspect of healthcare. Large charities such as the Red Cross and Oxfam retain medical advisors as their permanent staff; smaller voluntary organisations may simply contract with an external specialist - perhaps on a part-time basis - to advise them.
- In the final career stream, your medical or healthcare qualification may be a useful background to a managerial post. You could find yourself as a Public Relations officer, senior manager or even in marketing or human resources for a charity or voluntary body. You may use this as a stepping stone to a different career or to help you pursue an existing part-time interest.
It is well worth remembering that this kind of work is infrequently advertised and much sought after. Your chances of success increase if:
- You have a professional qualification or post-qualification experience in a relevant area.
- You are up to date with both clinical practice and more strategic issues in your specialist field.
- You have other, relevant experience such as current or previous involvement in voluntary or charitable work.
If all of this sounds difficult or impossible to develop with your current commitments; do not despair - it can be done!
The key is to target yourself at your chosen area rather than relying on a "scattergun" approach. If you are interested in a specific area of work, contact the relevant charities or voluntary bodies. Many, (such as VSO) already have useful information packs on the kind of experience they are looking for.
Above all, attitude is critical. You will need to be flexible, adventurous and totally professional. The demands are considerable but the rewards may be well worth the effort!
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