This is a question for all medical volunteers. Why do you do it? Why do you volunteer? Is it because of personal satisfaction... the desire to help others... because you feel it's the right thing to do... because you think that all medical workers in the U.S. should... a combination of these... or because of some other reason(s)?

All of the above :-)

Everyone wins! People who haven't volunteered before, usually don't realize that they get back even more than they give and often in the most unexpected but wonderful ways.

Why do I feel a drive to do this kind of work? Well, ultimately I seek to promote human welfare. I know one person can make a difference, regardless of how frustrating the process can sometimes be. My spirituality provides a strong basis for my desire to help others, to see others united in a common cause, to work hand-in-hand with other religions, other humans and other nationalities to promote human welfare. As someone else said above, you get back much, much more than you give both in personal growth and many other unexpected ways.  Humanitarian work is not easy. I don’t do it to feel good. I don’t do it to write about it. I don’t do it to tell others that this is what I do. I do it because at my core, I feel that it is my obligation as a person of faith and ultimately, as a human. It is hard work. In fact, it is very, very hard work. It takes me away from my family. It removes me from my comfort zone. It costs me time and money. So it is impossible for me to separate my experiences with the impact that I have on others. We are, after all, only human. Each of us struggles each day with our own shortcomings, our own frustrations, and our own feelings. Why should our experience with humanitarian work be any different? The biggest mistake we could each make would be to walk away from any experience and not learn from it. Whether we seek to engage in a single charitable act or a long-term commitment to humanitarian work, we should seek to grow as individuals and as a community of humans who seek to better the world. We should expect to gain some benefit from doing this kind of work… and maybe if we don’t we are not looking at ourselves closely enough. According to the classic Chinese text, Tao te Ching, “He who knows others is learned; He who knows himself is wise.” I think the answer, for me at least, is to acknowledge that I do benefit personally from doing humanitarian work. But, I do the work in spite of the benefit that I gain from it, not because of it. Above I used the pronouns “I” and “me” initially to make a point – I would argue that at some level participation in humanitarian work is about the individual. But, maybe we should strive to start there and then take our participation to the next level. Instead of attempting to separate individual benefit from the outward impact of humanitarian work, we should focus on the positive impact that each person can make, regardless of the driving force. Writing about the impact of humanitarian work allows each of us to deepen our own personal experience and hopefully allow us to share that experience with those around us. Doing medical volunteer work, I strive to be both learned and wise.

I feel that is a great question in this time and age.  We as people have seen alot go on int he past decade to rethink what we do.  For me it's in the blood.  God has given me a gift and I love it.

I was a paid EMT/CMA for several years.  At the end of the day I felt that I was not satisfied on the inside.  Even through I got the job and I was prasied by my superiors for doing a great job, I still did not feel complete.  So I left the paid sector and went back to volunteering.  Since then I have not returned back to there.  I do a few contracts a year, but I am happy where I am at.

Over all I do it for the satisfaction that I can help and recieve a thank you and that is my payment.

The best part is taking all those years and passing it on to the next generation.

Volunteering is priceless. No one can say we do what we do for the money when we are volunteering. Sustainability. I am not here to create a system of being needed. I am here to mark my spot in a continuum so that others can carry the ball. I am not the only one in the world capable of making ponchos for women who breast feed. I am not the only one telling women to use the Buddy System because no one else seems to be aware women don't hear anyone saying use the Buddy System. I am not the only one putting resource info from United Way into a plastic bag with pen and paper so that people can get to the next level.  I am just part of the ripple in the pond.

I volunteer because there is a Global Health and Humanitarian Summit at Emory April 12, 2014. Build it and they will come!

The Civil Rights Movement did not start with money. It started out with PEOPLE! This year we will have more booths and less speaking. Tony and the students from last year's summit are doing it with only a few doctors coming to the meetings. This year meet us to hear a speaker at Whitehall room 207 at 6:00 pm on Sundays until April 12!  Tell people and BRING PEOPLE!!!!