Endocrinology - Volunteer Medical Specialist

Department: Telemedicine Program  – Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
Medical Specialty: Endocrinology
Position Status: Volunteer
Location: Remote Only
Time Commitment: up to 3 hours per week/bi-weekly

Position Overview

The Telemedicine Program is looking for Endocrinology Specialists to support medical teams in the medical management of people living with diabetes. Specific topics identified include reinforcement of history taking skills, interpretation of patient self-testing log sheets, and adjustment of insulin doses in response to self-testing results, especially with respect to transitioning patients from human NPH or Biphasic insulin to analogue basal bolus insulin regimens.

Why This Role Matters

In low and middle income countries, access to insulin for self-injection and glucose meters for self-testing is very rare. Over the last few years, MSF has begun to offer these services with plans to transition patients from NPH or Biphasic insulin regimens to basal bolus which requires significant training and education.

The most urgent need is to prepare clinicians to correctly interpret patients’ self-monitoring of blood glucose results and adjust insulin regimens. Clinicians providing care for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) can be nurses, clinical officers, and general practice doctors, none of whom have had dedicated NCD training prior to joining MSF. Standard treatment protocols and algorithms have been developed, but clinicians can adapt their approach to each patient within the confines of those protocols.

About Telemedicine 

The MSF Telemedicine Program helps remove geographic barriers to healthcare by providing secure digital solutions for MSF’s medical teams worldwide. These tools enable clinical collaboration, improve access to specialized expertise, and support more equitable, high-quality patient care.

About Case Management 

The Case Management platform provides remote medical and clinical support to MSF's global medical teams on a case-by-case basis. Volunteer Medical Specialists review and respond to patient cases assigned to them via our secure Telemedicine Platform. Support is provided asynchronously (not in real time), offering maximum flexibility for volunteers.

Key Responsibilities - Case Management

• • Review patient cases assigned to you on the Telemedicine Platform and provide timely medical or clinical advice (within 24 hours).
    • Time Commitment: up to 3 hours a week, though it can vary. Some weeks, there may not be any cases in your area of expertise, while other times you may be asked to provide ongoing follow-up on assigned cases until they are fully resolved.
  • Ensure all advice aligns with MSF guidelines and is appropriate for low-resource settings.
  • Provide ongoing follow-up on assigned cases until they are resolved.
  • Collaborate with other Medical Specialists assigned to the case and share specialized expertise to contribute to a global community of medical knowledge.

About Video Case Discussion

The Video Case Discussion platform is a videoconferencing service that connects MSF projects staff with a Volunteer Medical Specialist to discuss cases pertaining to a specific clinical topic or specialty. Projects supply the cases and clinical questions in advance, and the Volunteer Medical Specialist facilitates a live, virtual group discussion based on the submitted case/question. The goal is to support continuous medical education using the specific clinical scenarios that medical teams are encountering.

Key Responsibilities - Video Case Discussion

• • Join regularly scheduled, bi-weekly, one-hour, online meetings at a prescheduled date and time, based on the time zone of the medical team (recurring meetings are scheduled in advance).
    • Time Commitment: up to 3 hours on a bi-weekly basis.
  • Review the clinical case summary, submitted by the medical team, posted on the Telemedicine Platform, in advance of the meeting.
  • Discuss the clinical case with the medical team during the meeting. Prompt discussion with the staff and provide support, advice, and recommendations as needed.
  • Provide teaching support and guidance on organization of care based on the topics discussed.
  • Post the final recommendation given during the discussion to the Telemedicine Platform.
  • Ensure medical/clinical advice is tailored to MSF guidelines and applicable to the resources available to the medical teams, most often in low-resource settings.

We welcome applications from Endocrinology Specialists around the world. Please note that applications are reviewed and selected based on the needs of our medical teams. We are not accepting applications from general practitioners at this time.

Qualifications

• Medical degree with specialization in Adult or Pediatric Endocrinology or significant practice experience focusing on Diabetology.
  • Doctors enrolled in a fellowship program can be considered for Video Case Discussions.
• Certificate of registration with your regulatory body for the current year.
• Fluency (written and verbal) in English or French is required.
  • Fluency (written and verbal) in Spanish or Arabic is highly desirable.
• Previous experience with MSF or in low-resource settings is highly desirable.
• Ability to easily navigate technology and new platforms on a computer/laptop.

Volunteer Expectations & Onboarding

• 3 hours per week with some flexible scheduling based on volunteer availability.
• Fully remote and support can be provided from anywhere with a reliable internet connection.
• Successful candidates will sign a Volunteer Agreement (covering data privacy, non-disclosure, and medical liability clauses) before joining the Telemedicine Network.
• All volunteers must complete onboarding which includes an overview of the Telemedicine Program and platform training (2 hours to complete).

Next Steps

• Confirm your eligibility by reviewing the qualifications listed above.
• Submit your application, including a brief cover letter or letter of interest, highlighting your relevant experience and your motivation to volunteer with the Telemedicine Program.
• Complete a screening questionnaire to help us better understand your professional background.
• Our Telemedicine Recruitment Team will review your application and be in touch to guide you through next steps if your profile aligns with current program needs.

For more information about the Telemedicine Program, visit https://telemedhub.org/.

For questions, please contact the Telemedicine Recruitment Team at [email protected].