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Volunteer Abroad with Medical Brigades

Global Brigades is the world’s largest student-led movement for global health.

Pre-medical students work alongside physicians, local healthcare professionals, and community leaders to support ethical, sustainable healthcare systems while gaining meaningful clinical exposure, developing cultural humility, leadership, and systems-level understanding that medical schools value.

Volunteers don’t “drop in” for short-term service, they contribute to long-term, locally led systems that continue year-round.

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Why Global Medical Brigades?

This is not a one-week medical trip.

Global Medical Brigades is part of the world’s largest student-led movement for global health. Students work alongside physicians, local healthcare professionals, and in-country teams to support care that continues before, during, and long after a Brigade ends. Every clinic, education workshop, and follow-up visit is part of a year-round partnership designed to strengthen local health systems — not replace them.

For pre-med students, this means learning medicine in context: understanding access, continuity of care, and the realities patients face beyond the clinic.

If you’re looking for hands-on global health experience grounded in ethics, partnership, and impact — this is where your journey starts.

What to expect on a Medical Brigade

As a medical volunteer, you’ll gain hands-on exposure while contributing to ethical, community-driven healthcare delivery.

Volunteers can:

Shadow licensed physicians during patient consultations
Support pharmacy operations and medication distribution
Assist with patient intake and health screenings
Lead health education workshops for children and adults
Collaborate with local healthcare teams and translators

Every role is designed to support patient care without exceeding volunteer scope — always guided by licensed professionals. Curious what it's really like to shadow doctors while on brigade, read our blog.

"Being a part of Global Medical Brigades has been everything and more. Our trip to Honduras was a trip of a lifetime and something I will always take with me. Being able to work so closely with doctors, pharmacists and dentists gave me first hand experiences into healthcare in a 3rd world country. Being able to see what a difference we made in these families lives was a humbling experience and something I will always take with me. It made me realize how important the little things are in life and to not take them for granted. In the future, I would love to do another brigade."

Meagan Reed

Medical Brigades Volunteer
Seton Hall University Chapter

"Going on a medical brigade to Honduras was the best decision I ever made. I feel like there’s so much more to life now. When you have an experience that changes you so much, that calls into question everything you’ve ever known about life, of course you’re going to have many things swirling around in your head. So many things you can’t even put into words. I think of my brigade experience as placing a mirror in front of my life and making me see (and even question) the choices I make and the way I live."

Alana Hartley

Medical Brigades Chapter President
Oakland University Medical Brigades Chapter

"I had the opportunity to brigade to Ghana last winter break and it was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. Before going to Ghana with the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy Medical Brigade, I was hoping that this clinical trip would give me an introduction to the medical field in a less developed country. I expected to learn about the health care system in Ghana as well as learn some elementary medical skills. I soon found out that this trip was beyond my expectations, because my experiences in Ghana didn’t just give me a glimpse of the medical field; it boosted my passion to become a pediatrician exponentially."

Cheryl Cheah

Medical Brigades Volunteer
University of Arizona College of Pharmacy Chapter