FAQs for Serving
MDA FAQ
About Us
Yes, we require that you have a US Medical License in good standing. Your US license must be active, currently valid, and not subject to practice privilege limitations. We are only able to confirm the validity of licenses within the United States. Licenses previously held in another states may no longer be valid but cannot have been suspended by the state.
The long-term program is 3 years because of the impact that Mission Doctors make. In every placement, there is an adjustment period. Doctors serving these three-year terms spend time offering direct patient care, training staff and make a lasting impact. This length of time also provides stability at mission hospitals and clinics.
The minimum of one month is a reflection of the rural nature of the locations where Mission Doctors serve. It can take more than three days just to arrive, given international flights and local transportation. Our short-term doctors are often providing specialty care or providing staffing that allows a local doctor to take a break. Our reason to make it a maximum of three months for short-term is that, although the Retreat / Seminar provides information on culture, an overview on the Theology of Mission, and practical issues, we do not believe we prepare people on a weekend to serve longer than three months. Many doctors have served multiple times, making annual trips.
Mission Doctors serve at existing hospitals and clinics run by Mission dioceses and religious orders. These facilities have varying levels of medical support, but no Mission Doctor goes to serve alone. The local medical staff and the administration work with MDA to ensure that the skills of our doctors can be well utilized. Additionally, with internet access at most locations, Mission Doctors has a group of experienced doctors and specialists who are available to consult long distance. The majority of locations have labs, X-rays, and ultrasounds available.
The safety of our Mission Doctors and their families is of the greatest concern to MDA. Mission Doctors Association is careful in selecting the countries where MDA serves. We do not allowing service in countries where the U.S. State Department advises against U.S. citizen travel.
Additionally, MDA providing training during the long-term program on staying healthy in mission countries, and provides direction to self-study resources for those considering short-term service.
We actively listen to and take very seriously any safety concerns raised by MDA mission doctors and their families, Mission diocese, or the religious orders who run the healthcare facilities where MDA serves. Our Executive Director has visited each service site and an annual visit is made by a member of the program team. We also monitor the news for all areas served by MDA and pass current events on to Mission Doctors so that are up to date on what is happening. If this is a great concern for you, please let us know; we can provide additional information.
The mission site provides housing for all mission doctors and their families. For doctors and their families serving long-term, the mission location also provides a food allowance. MDA provides airfare, health insurance, and a small stipend for these long-term missionaries. While doctors serving short-term cover all their direct expenses, MDA does not charge any fee for arranging and coordinating your trip. We will also work with you to obtain Missionary Fare for your flights, the documents you will need for visas, and ensure that your local transportation is arranged.
Yes, as a 501(c)3 Non-Profit organization, those serving long-term with Mission Doctors can apply for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness and apply their time time serving with Mission Doctors Association – MDA is listed as a qualified organization: https://studentaid.gov/pslf/employer-search/search-tool
Yes! Thanks to the generosity of donors to the James Carey Memorial Fund, Mission Doctors has the opportunity to make the monthly payments on student loans of doctors while they are serving long term. This option is available for qualified candidates, and allows doctors to follow God’s call to serve those most in need.
Most student loans also have the option to defer for up to 36 months. Should you need any supporting documentation required by your lending institution to qualify for deferment, Mission Doctors Association will be happy to assist you.
Yes, MDA provides health and evacuation insurance to all doctors who serve long-term
We always take your interest into consideration. Additional factors including your specialty and the places where your skills can be utilized are considered. For example, we would not send a surgeon to a site with no OR.
Doctors serving short-term may stay with the long-term doctors or at other hospital housing. Most mission housing is simple, with indoor plumbing, electricity, and internet access. Outages of water and electricity are common, but accommodations are in place to minimize inconvenience. The Retreat/Seminar and the Formation Program for those serving long-term will provide specifics on housing at each location.
Yes! While we encourage you not to go home during the first year of your placement, because doing so may interfere with your adjustment to your new culture, many long-term doctors do make a trip home at some point during the three years. Whether it is to attend special family events or visit with grandchildren, the ease of travel has made this much more of a possibility than back in 1959 when Mission Doctors traveled to Africa by ship!
Yes, Mission Doctors serving long term can invite family and friends to visit and see the great work with which you are involved. Many take a vacation in-country when their guests come.
MDA’s mission is: following Christ’s call to heal the sick by providing lifesaving medical care for the poor and training for local healthcare professionals around the world with the goal of sustainable healthcare.
In partnership with local Catholic dioceses and medical facilities, MDA serves patients of all faiths.
MDA was founded in 1959 by the Director of the Propagation of the Faith in Los Angeles, Monsignor Anthony Brouwers, in response to the need for healthcare professionals throughout the world. Monsignor Brouwers partnered with the Catholic Physicians Guild of Los Angeles to establish Mission Doctors Association. See MDA’s “history” page here for more details about Monsignor Anthony Brouwers visionary idea: https://www.missiondoctors.org/history/
As listed in the Official Catholic Directory, MDA is a Catholic, non-profit organization. MDA exclusively sends Catholic medical professionals and partners with existing Catholic medical facilities throughout the world. MDA has a partnership of collaboration with each of the diocese where mission doctors serve.
Though MDA is a Catholic organization, it is a separate 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
MDA is funded entirely by private donors who support the good work of mission doctors serving both long and short-term.
Faith
No, you are not required to sign a statement of faith to serve with Mission Doctors Association, however, we do ask that one of your references in your application to serve be someone that is a witness to your spiritual practice.
We support you living your faith openly in mission by attending mass, getting involved in your local parish’s bible studies or catechisms, or any other ways you’d like to be involved with the Catholic community in mission. However, we do not require any preaching or evangelization while in mission. Instead, we believe your actions as a medical professional and the way you live your life while in mission are your witness to the gospel.
As a Catholic medical professional, you will only provide services within your scope of practice and that you are comfortable providing. Because all of MDA’s mission partners are Catholic medical facilities, local treatment plans remain consistent with Catholic medical ethics. As a mission doctor, if you experience pressure to provide any treatment that you are not comfortable with, we ask that you contact MDA’s Program Director.
MDA has sent many Catholic medical professionals with spouses that are not practicing Catholics. MDA partners with local Catholic dioceses and Catholic facilities, therefore, we do require that any medical professionals that are sent on behalf of MDA be practicing Catholics, and ask that any non-practicing Catholic spouses be respectful and participatory in Catholic practices in mission.
Yes! Most of MDA’s partner sites have offerings of daily mass in the local language and/or in English. We encourage participation as your schedule allows.
We encourage all mission doctors to share their experiences with their families, friends, work communities, and parishes here in the US. We can assist you with this process by contacting your parish newspaper to place an announcement when you depart for your mission service, creating prayer cards for your service, and/or setting up a blog through the MDA website.
If you have friends, family, or members of your parish community who would like to support you financially, we can set up a fund through the MDA website so that all contributions, excepting a 10% administrative fee, go directly towards your service and are tax deductible.
Logistics
MDA offers two programs for Catholic medical professionals to serve in response to their faith:
MDA’s short-term program is 1-3 months depending on the availability of the mission doctor and particular site location needs.
MDA’s long-term program commitment includes the pre-service residential formation program and the long-term mission service. MDA’s formation program is 3.5 months in duration, running from the last week of August to the first week of December. Long-term service in-country is 3 years, including a mid-service, onemonth funded trip home to the US.
The first step for serving long or short-term is to fill out the preliminary application on MDA’s website and MDA’s Program Director will reach out via email to schedule a time to chat on the phone or via zoom call. If you have difficulty with the preliminary application on our website OR if you have submitted your preliminary application through the MDA website but have not received an email follow-up within a week of your submission, please reach out to MDA’s Program Director directly at agarcia@missiondoctors.org.
For long-term service with MDA, it is never too early to begin the conversation! Reach out when you are discerning a call to serve, even if you think you’re a few years out from service. Serving a long-term mission internationally is a significant decision; many mission doctors begin communicating with MDA staff a few years out from their actual service date.
At this time, for an anticipated long-term service in the upcoming year, your application should be completed before the Discernment weekend you choose to attend of the current year.
E.g. if you are planning on serving in 2028, you should attend either MDA’s February 2027 or April 2027 Discernment weekend. Your application should be submitted before the Discernment weekend you choose to attend. If accepted, you would then join us for MDA’s Formation Program in August 2027 and plan your service to begin in 2028!
For short-term service with MDA, we recommend reaching out as soon as you begin to feel curious about serving short-term. All short-term mission doctors are required to attend MDA’s annual Spring Retreat Seminar, which is currently only offered once per year at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. After attending the Spring Retreat Seminar, we recommend allowing 3-6 months of planning time before your anticipated departure for service. During this 3-6 months, you will work directly with MDA’s Program Director to establish a service site, timeline, secure your travel visa, medical and evacuation insurance, lodging, and any other preparations before departure.
However, if you already have a planned timeline for medical mission service that does not align with the time of year that MDA’s annual Retreat Seminar is offered, please reach out directly to MDA’s Program Director at agarcia@missiondoctors.org to discuss alternative options for preparation.
- Step 1 – Fill out MDA’s Preliminary Application – After receiving your submission, MDA’s Program Director will reach out to start a conversation about your timeline for service!
- Step 2 – Fill out MDA’s long-form application, reference forms, background check, and psychological evaluations.
- Step 3 – Attend a Discernment weekend (usually offered once in late winter and once in spring) at MDA’s Mission House to learn about the history of MDA, the process of entering long-term service, and what long-term service will look like for you and your family.
- Step 4 – Meet with our psychologist to ensure that you are ready for a 3- year commitment to mission.
- Step 5 – Accept your invitation to MDA’s 3.5-month residential Formation Program from August to early December.
- Step 6 – Participate in MDA’s Formation Program, and in early December, be commissioned for service here in Los Angeles.
- Step 7 – Depart for your 3-year mission after the holiday season!
- Step 1 – Fill out MDA’s Preliminary Application – After receiving your submission, MDA’s Program Director will reach out to start a conversation about your timeline for service!
- Step 2 – Attend MDA’s Retreat Seminar for Catholic medical professionals interested in short-term service – usually held annually in the spring. During this weekend, you will hear from MDA veterans, board members, and staff about topics related to service such as: Working and Living Safely in a Resource-Limited Environment; The Big 3: HIV, TB, and Malaria; Details of MDA’s Site Partner Locations, Theology of Mission; and Spirituality of the Catholic Doctor.
- Step 3 – After attending the weekend, work with MDA’s Program Director to determine a timeline and location for service.
- Step 4 – Fill out the long-form application, references, background check, and service waiver. Work with MDA’s Program Director and missionary travel agent to make travel arrangements for your time in service. If necessary, work with MDA’s Program Director to secure a travel visa and acknowledgment of your medical license from the mission country’s medical board.
- Step 5 – Depart for service!
- Step 6 – Return from service and share your experience with others through a blog post on the MDA website and by filling out MDA’s service feedback form.
- Step 7 – Consider returning for another short-term service.
The mission house is where the residential formation program is held for long-term candidates, and is also the site of MDA’s offices. It is located in Los Angeles in the Hyde Park neighborhood.
In collaboration with MDA’s sister organization Lay Mission Helpers, MDA hosts a residential formation program for all long-term candidates, their spouses, and families, accepted to serve as mission doctors. This formation program is a full-time, residential program that is centered around 3 goals: personal development, spiritual development, and cross-cultural awareness.
For short-term candidates, MDA hosts an annual Spring Retreat Seminar at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. The event runs from FridaySunday and is always free to attend. MDA’s Retreat Seminar Presenters are MDA veterans, board and staff members who can speak personally to long and short-term medical mission service. Some of the topics that are covered are:
- Spirituality of the Catholic doctor
- Living and Working Safely in Resource Limited Setting
- Theology of Mission
- Overviews of MDA’s mission partner sites
The formation program is 3.5 months, running from the last week of August to the first week of December. This time period is not included in the 3-year commitment but is required for all long-term candidates. If you have difficulty in attending the 3.5 month in-person formation program, please talk to MDA’s Program Director about the specific difficulty and we will work with you to find solutions.
If you are serving in Latin America, you will need proficiency in the Spanish language. If you need resources to begin this process, please let us know! For all of our African mission sites, you will be provided a translator for any patients who do not speak English, but we’d recommend learning a few words and phrases in the local language as well! If you’d like extra help with learning the local dialect, MDA will assist you with finding a language teacher on-site or other language resources before your departure.
Yes, you are welcome to move freely in and out of the mission site during your service – this new country is your home! Once you are familiar with the public transit system in your country, you may travel on public transportation incountry, or arrange transportation through the diocese or hospital. We only ask that you and your family do NOT ride any motorcycles within country.
All non-medical spouses are greatly welcome in all of our mission sites for any skills they bring to mission! There are many opportunities for projects or roles in the diocese depending on their work history and specialty. During the Formation process, the Formation Team will chat more with any non-medical spouses about their goals and desires for the mission service; often non-medical spouses have valuable skills that they may not have considered that can be of great use to a mission site!
During long-term service, your children get the wonderful opportunity to grow up in a new culture and witness your and your spouse’s faith in action. Before departing for long-term service, MDA will collaborate with you and the mission site to see what options are available for schooling, whether local, online, or mix of both.
For short-term service with MDA, you are welcome to serve with or without your family. For long-term service with MDA, we require that your spouse and dependent children serve together
We congratulate you on your growing family! If you are healthy and comfortable doing so, you can continue to serve as a missionary until the seventh month of your pregnancy term. At this point, MDA will provide financial support for you to return to the US to give birth. You are welcome to return to service with the newest member of your family after the baby’s first round of vaccinations are complete.
For long-term Mission Doctors, we will provide financial support for any CMEs that are necessary to maintain your active US medical license throughout your long-term service.
Our mission doctors serve in many countries primarily throughout Africa and Latin America as partners to existing Catholic medical facilities. For a list of our sites, please see our webpage on “where we work” and “who we need”:
https://www.missiondoctors.org/where-we-work/ and https://www.missiondoctors.org/who-we-need/
Mission doctors always serve at already existing Catholic medical facilities at the invitation of the local Catholic Bishop. Mission doctors only serve where they are invited, welcome, and needed.
If a Catholic medical facility would like to reach out about a potential partnership with MDA, they can reach out to our Program Director, Amie Garcia, directly at agarcia@missiondoctors.org.
Our mission is committed to sustainable healthcare, so we do not send mission doctors to emergency-response service sites or conflict zones.
However, in times of crisis when MDA has been unable to send medical personnel to serve due to the restrictions on travel to mission partner countries and re-entry to the US, i.e. during the COVID-19 pandemic or the 2026 Ebola crisis, MDA has fundraised to send supplies and provide training for our mission partners in areas affected by the crisis. If you would like to contribute to the emergency response funding, please reach out to info@missiondoctors.org.
The process of determining where you will serve is a collaboration between you, MDA, and our mission partner sites. Your input will be heavily considered in this decision. In this conversation between you and MDA, we will consider the medical needs of our partner facilities, your specialty or scope of practice, professional opportunities for any non-medical spouses, the time in which you are available to serve (especially if serving short-term), and site suitability for children or single women mission doctors.
Ensuring that you and your family can serve safely as witnesses to your faith is MDA’s first priority. For those serving long-term, a part of our health and evacuation insurance through Aetna includes a subscription to Crisis 24 Horizon which provides alerts for events in every mission country. During service you will also have access to this subscription.
If there is a situation in-country that threatens phone or email communication access to MDA staff, or the ability to travel safely within or outside of the country, MDA will coordinate your safe evacuation immediately. MDA staff will do the same if there is a country-wide medical emergency necessitating an evacuation, such as COVID or an Ebola outbreak.
In the event of significant injury or illness, medical evacuation will be arranged.
The number of medical personnel varies greatly per site, but unless serving at a health outpost, there will be at least one other doctor at every mission hospital.
MDA has a network of Catholic medical professionals that can serve as a resource during service within the scope of HIPAA guidelines. Feel free to use your own network for consultations as well!
MDA sends Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants.
MDA’s sister organization, Lay Mission Helpers, sends Registered Nurses for long-term service. Please see their site for more information or to get in contact with their Program Director: https://www.laymissionhelpers.org/
Unfortunately, you cannot bring your pet to a service site with you for long or short-term service with MDA.
If there is a family emergency while serving long-term, MDA will provide the financial support and assist in coordinating your return home to be with your family.
Part of MDA’s mission is to provide training for local professionals to build capacity beyond the length of each mission doctor’s service. You are encouraged to teach anything within your scop of practice, but we ask that you find ways to share your knowledge in a culturally respectful way with your local counterparts.
Some of the main differences between volunteering with CMMB and MDA are the length of mission trips, fundraising requirements, and opportunities for families to serve together.
MDA offers opportunities for two lengths of service: long-term service (3 years) and short-term service (1-3 months).
There is NO fundraising requirement for serving long or short-term with MDA.
For long-term service with MDA, 100% of costs of service are taken care of by MDA.
For short-term service, the costs vary depending on the mission site, and service is self-funded. If you’d like to fundraise within your community for your short-term mission service, we have fundraising tools to share with you!
Finances
Long-term service with MDA is completely funded by MDA’s generous donors!
MDA provides financial support throughout the duration of your long-term service and provides a small resettlement fee upon your return to the US that is calculated based on the size of your family and the length of your service.
MDA provides a monthly stipend to cover living expenses in mission and a small annual vacation allowance for in-country travel. In agreement with MDA and the serving mission doctor, the local diocese provides housing and a stipend for food or access to regular meals.
In addition to a monthly stipend and vacation allowance throughout your mission service, MDA provides airfare to mission at the start of your service, round-trip airfare
back to the US for your mid-service trip home, and airfare for your return flight back to the US at the conclusion of your mission service.
MDA also provides comprehensive medical and evacuation insurance to all serving missionaries throughout service.
If you have medical school loans, MDA will make your monthly loan payments while you are serving long-term in mission.
Short-term service with MDA is self-financed or fundraised through your community. The primary costs associated with short-term service are: airfare, medical/evacuation insurance, in-country travel, food, and in some cases, accommodations. MDA has fundraising tools to assist you with sharing your mission with your family, friends, and parish community! Please let MDA’s Program Director know if you’d like to connect about fundraising or other ways to share your short-term service.
If you have medical school loans, MDA will make payments on your behalf throughout the duration of your long-term service. Please see our page on the James Carey Memorial fund for more information about this: https://www.missiondoctors.org/james-carey-memorial-fund/
Additionally, your 3 years of service with MDA qualifies as a portion of the service needed to qualify your loans for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
Yes! For long-term service MDA provides all mission doctors and their families with very comprehensive health and evacuation insurance.
If you are serving short-term with MDA, we require that you purchase your own medical and evacuation insurance for the duration of your service. We recommend the IMG’s Patriot International Platinum Plan. A quote for this plan can be found through their website here: https://www.imglobal.com/
Currently none of MDA’s mission partner sites require malpractice insurance to serve. If your US-based practice requires you to have malpractice insurance to serve in mission, please contact us about options for this.
You are not required to raise any funds to serve long-term with MDA. However, we encourage you to invite family, friends, and members of your parish community to support your mission through prayer or other means.
Short-term service is self-funded, and fundraising is welcome to cover costs related to service but is not required.
Yes, you will have lodging for the duration of your service. Lodging options vary per site and will be discussed with you before determining your service site.
This will depend on the mission site and whether you are serving long or short-term, but before departure, MDA’s Program Director will debrief you on where/how you will get your meals during service.
If you have the need for childcare during service, MDA’s Program Director will collaborate ahead of your arrival with the local diocese to hire someone from the community to take care of your children while you and your spouse are working. This is very common, and usually the diocese has someone in mind for this job.
Yes, if you need healthcare services during your mission, you can seek care in the facility you are serving in, or if you are in need of more intensive care, MDA and the local diocese will secure you transportation to the nearest referral hospital.
If during long-term service you need a specialized procedure, MDA will support your travel to a nearby country or back to the US for these services.
In the event of emergency, MDA’s insurance will provide evacuation medical evacuation services to the nearest specialized center.
We ask that during service you allow yourself to focus on your work in the medical facility you are serving in, the spiritual aspect of mission service, and your connection to the local community. If you have concerns about not practicing in the US during long-term service with MDA, please let us know about your concerns and we can have a longer conversation about this together!
We are always in need of prayers and financial support! Please take a look at our blog page to see those mission doctors currently in service and add them to your daily prayers.
To contribute financially, you can do so via our website, by calling into our office (213.368.1875), or sending a check or cash to the following address: 6102 S Victoria Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043.
All gifts are tax-deductible. MDA’s federal tax identification number is 95- 6110132, and the name on record with the IRS is Mission Doctors Association. For additional information for those considering a planned gift contact the office at 213.368.1872.
If you wish to contribute via a donor-advised fund, please visit https://www.missiondoctors.org/give-through-your-donor-advised-fund/.