Our surgeons provide life-saving care to vulnerable people all over the world.

As an MSF surgeon, you will supervise all aspects of the surgery department. You could be called to perform a caesarean section in a temporary health facility for displaced people in South Sudan, through to performing a highly technical operation on a child disfigured by noma in Nigeria. Surgical work with MSF is incredibly varied.

“In eight days, we had 328 gunshot wounds, but it was exciting as well as challenging work.” – John Buckels, MSF surgeon

MSF surgeons are responsible for providing the best surgical care possible for our patients. You will work in close collaboration with the team, training staff in the operating room and on the surgical ward. Our surgical projects deliver high-quality care, with internationally standardised protocols and hygiene procedures.

This is an exciting and diverse role involving some or all of the following:

Responsibilities

• Undertake pre-operative consultations, evaluating the surgical risks with the anaesthetist, and obtaining the patient’s signed consent to operate
• Carry out emergency and scheduled surgical interventions
• Provide post-operative clinical care and carry out ward rounds (in collaboration with the anaesthetist, operating theatre nurse and ward staff)
• Coordinate the implementation of MSF clinical policies, tools, guidelines and protocols
• Carry out the collection and analysis of quantitative surgical data
• Support organisation of the operating schedule and monitor the use of materials and equipment, advising on supply needs
• Organise the hospital emergency disaster response plan and run practice drills
• Manage, train and supervise the surgical team

Depending on our activities and needs, your responsibilities may be adapted according to the specific projects.

You will not face these challenges alone; other MSF team members (both international and locally hired staff) will provide technical support, including comprehensive guidelines and protocols.

Requirements

• Specialist surgery qualification
• Recent clinical experience (at least six months within the last 24 months)
• At least one year’s post-specialisation professional experience
• Willingness to work in various surgical fields (gynaecology/obstetrics, orthopaedics, skin grafts, war surgery)
• IT skills (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Fluency in English and/or French
• Available for a minimum of six weeks
• Commitment to MSF’s work and values
• Strong team player
• Willingness to work in all kinds of contexts worldwide, including unstable areas
• Adaptable and able to work in a multicultural team
• Flexible and able to manage stress
• Self-driven with a solution-oriented approach
• Ability to train others

Assets

• Experience working in developing countries
• People management experience
• Fluency in Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic or Russian
• Versatile experience in different surgical fields such as caesarean sections, orthopaedics (including fixators) and skin grafts
• Training courses in humanitarian surgery in austere environments, as offered at the Royal College of Surgeons or the University of Louvain.