Magen David Adom Australia

Sunday, 6th July 2008

Volunteer

Magen David Adom is operated by some 990 paid employees (ambulance medics/drivers, doctors, paramedics, blood technicians, communication center workers and administrative workers) and by some 6,000 volunteers (youth and adult). Most of the latter comprise a reserve force to be activated in times of emergency or special need. The volunteers are active in MDA's day-to-day operations.

A significant proportion of Magen David Adom volunteers are MDA youth -- volunteers should be at least 20 years old. Initial information in Australia can be obtained by phoning MDA NSW office on (02) 9328 5197. These MDA youth volunteers serve as assistant medics, dispatch center workers at MDA first aid stations, and substitutes for senior staff as required.. Some youth volunteers even serve as first aid instructors in MDA branches throughout the country.

Most branches of MDA in Israel maintain a wide range of youth activities. The MDA Stations also serve as youth clubs for MDA youth volunteers, fostering a high degree of social consciousness among their members. Following their military service, a considerable number of MDA youth volunteers return to MDA as volunteer ambulance medic/drivers, medics in times of emergency, etc. In this way the ranks of MDA youth serve as a continuous and inexhaustible reserve for Israel's national rescue organization. There have been a number of families which have handed the MDA volunteering tradition down from parents to children, with two generations of the same family serving as volunteers in the same station - or even on different shifts of the same ambulance team.

Volunteer Training
The first aid training program required of anyone that wishes to volunteer, is 60 hours long, for the subsidized cost of approximately $40.00. In return, each volunteer commits to giving at least eight hours or his/her free time per month.

The minimum volunteering period is two years and is conditioned upon successful completion of the first aid training program - theoretical and practical.

During the training program, volunteers learn cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, approach to patients, treatment of work and road accident related injuries, treatment of drowning and electrocution victims, treatment of infants and children and much more.

Upon completion of the course, volunteers function as part of an ambulance crew or in MDA stations, administering first aid patients. Such work is demanding and requires both concentration and physical strength. The volunteers' knowledge is updated and refreshed periodically in seminars where the basis of their knowledge is extended and new medical advances are presented.

How Do I Become A Volunteer
Once in Israel, contact Mr. Eli Yaffe, MDA's volunteer activity coordinator.
Telephone: 03-6300228
Fax: 03-6310108