http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/volunteer/field/faq.cfm
Does MSF consider Doctors of Osteopathy?
Yes, as long as applicants fulfill the other minimum requirements, i.e. completion of residency and appropriate licensure.
http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/currents/archives/2002-2003/jan-feb/Doctors%20Without Borders.htm
Daniel F. Dickriede, D.O., a member of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian relief organization, Doctors Without Borders, and a 1987 graduate of Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, presented "International Medicine: On the Medical Frontlines" on Tuesday, Dec. 3, from 5:15 to 8 p.m. in Irvine 194. The presentation was sponsored by OU-COM's International Medicine Club, with help from the Dean's Office, Office of Alumni Affairs and the Centers for Osteopathic Research and Education.
Dickriede, an emergency room physician based in Cleveland, discussed what it's like to be a doctor performing medical relief work in the Third World.
"One of the reasons I went to medical school was to pursue international medicine," said Dickriede. He said he was inspired by his brother, who worked in the Peace Corps and is currently an African foreign affairs analyst for the U.S. State Department.
"Doctors Without Borders is one of the first relief organizations into war-torn or naturally devastated areas and one of the last ones out as well. We try to work with military precision, although often clashing with governments because of our commitment to neutrality. We've provided medical aid to more than 80 countries across the globe," he said. Doctors Without Borders is also well known as Médecins Sans Frontières or MSF. Dickriede joined the internationally known organization in 1992.
Founded in 1971, the French-based Doctors Without Borders specializes in providing emergency medical assistance to crisis spots in underdeveloped nations or areas. The organization has 18 offices worldwide and each year sends more than 2,500 volunteer professionals, including physicians, nurses and other health-care specialists, logistics experts, water and sanitation engineers, and administrators, to sites of disaster.
Dickriede made his first international relief trip in his fourth-year of medical school, traveling to Philippines with Direct Relief International. His international relief work continued when he signed up for a six-month commitment to Doctors Without Borders. That "six-month" commitment ended 2 years later.
Spending the bulk of the two-year stint in Africa, he worked in north
Uganda, Rwanda, Zaire and Somalia. His work included treating refugees and setting up a health-care system that could serve thousands of refugees.
Dickriede found that the practice of international medicine has some inherent challenges as well, such as language barriers. A native English speaker with some fluency in French, he learned that creativity in communication was a crucial part of his treatment of Third World refugees.
"In one situation, we found that every tribe had its own dialect, and sometimes we would have to translate through a dialect that was several tribes removed from that of our patients," Dickriede said. "We had to try to find someone to translate or just use signs — but that was half the fun."
"I went on three exploratory missions to countries to assess the need for Doctors Without Borders assistance, including to Rwanda, during the genocidal conflict, and to Zaire, during a meningitis outbreak, and I've gone on a relief mission involving a cholera outbreak Afghanistan," he said.
Dickriede also worked above the Arctic Circle, accompanied by his wife, in Alaska for 6 months, serving 15 Eskimo villages in an area the size of Indiana.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=107627
Uganda is a country that has denied pracatice rights to US DOs.
