Paediatrician

Paediatrician

Caption After two months unable to reach care, a mother of five brought her child to a hospital for the first time. Adegey Ali’s daughter had been sick for two months before the family could reach the hospital in Baidoa, 30 kilometres from Gofgaduud, the rural area where they live. © Yahya Mohammed/MSF

Working with us as a paediatrician is demanding and very rewarding.

From managing Intensive Therapeutic Feeding Centres during a nutrition crisis to caring for children struck by cerebral malaria, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) paediatricians provide lifesaving care every day in our projects.

Responsibilities

Paediatricians are based in projects.

You will often care for children affected by some or all of the following:

• Malaria
• Malnutrition
• HIV/AIDs or TB
• Injuries sustained in a conflict zone
• Trauma
• Tropical Diseases

Application guide

Read our guide on the application process for all overseas roles

Read our guide >

Role requirements

• Proven professional experience after registration – ST3 level for paediatricians. We are however flexible, and will also take all relevant experience into account where possible.
• Current or recent clinical experience
• Full GMC or Irish Medical Council Registration (doctors without this will need to provide a transcript of training, from a recognised training faculty and proof of original registration in the country they are registered in)
• Available for a minimum of nine months
• Minimum of three months’ work, volunteering or travel experience in low- and/or middle-income countries
• Willingness to work in unstable areas
• Adaptable and able to work in a multicultural team
• Flexible and able to manage stress
• Able to provide training and supervision to others
• Fluency in English
• Diploma level of training in tropical medicine and/or infectious disease (especially TB and HIV/AIDS) from a recognised training provider, for example, the London or Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (see FAQs for more on accepted training in Tropical Medicine).

Assets

• Minor surgical and obstetrical experience
• Managerial and supervisory experience

Languages

We're currently looking for paediatricians with good French or Arabic skills.

If you can speak French or Arabic you're much more likely to be accepted onto our register.

Your language level may be tested during the recruitment process.

Stories from the field

Doctor Conor Kenny spent four months in Greece working with refugees who had traveled as far as the village of Idomeni on the Greek/Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonian border.

In this podcast he discusses seeing women and children being teargassed and hit with rubber bullets, and the eviction of the camp that forced thousands of people to find another route through Europe.