Become a UN Nurse in Peacekeeping Missions


Nurses have the noblest professions because they help save lives and make people better by providing the needed medical care in places where there is a lack of proper healthcare infrastructure and villages torn by war and natural disasters. The United Nations has a lot of overseas jobs for nurses who want to serve in trouble-hit countries like the Sudan, Haiti, and Liberia. For some people, working for the UN and helping people who are less fortunate is a rewarding experience even though you will be far away from your family. Though an honorable endeavor, going to peacekeeping missions can be dangerous especially if you are assigned in remote villages war-torn Afghanistan and Iraq. Your security protection from either the U.S. and Coalition forces or private security contractors does not totally guarantee your safety there.

Depending upon your work and assignment, nurses may not get the usual salary that many nurses would want. The concept of working for the UN is all about volunteerism. When you are confronted with serious problems and tremendous challenges of taking care of a village ravaged by a deadly epidemic or a city engulfed in sectarian violence, you would learn new ways of handling that the necessary medical care is provided no matter what the situation. Unlike in the typical confines of the hospital and healthcare facility, you will learn to adapt to new things.


The United Nations and its corresponding agencies scattered across the world and in cooperation with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent provide career opportunities for people interested in nursing abroad. Just visit their websites and find out the list of overseas jobs. Complete the necessary requirements and paperwork. Before you are deployed, do a lot of research about the country that you will be going to. Study their history, the people and their culture, and the way they live so that you can adjust yourself from the difficulties and challenges that you are about to face.

Aside from your extensive working experience and nursing specialization, a prospective nurse applicant also need to know about a bit of geography, sociology, and foreign language to work well in places where understanding the people that you’re dealing with would be a challenge.

Gaining valuable experience as a UN nurse can help you a lot when you transition back to the private sector and work in large hospitals and medical centers. Your crisis management and healthcare administration skills in a very tough environment can serve you well if you work as a hospital administrator.

Working for the UN gives you lot of contact person that can help further your nursing career both in public and private sector. Nurses who have a long career in overseas humanitarian efforts are in demand in large pharmaceutical firms and hospital systems.

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