- Name: Ravi Jaipaul
- Age: 30
- Current location: St. Agnes, Cornwall, UK
- Home town: Ponoka, Alberta
- Education: Bachelor of Nursing (University of Alberta), Diploma in Tropical Nursing (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine), Masters of Public Health (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
- Current position: Public Health Practitioner, Medecines Sans Frontieres (MSF) / Doctors Without Borders
- Organization description: MSF is an international medical humanitarian organization, providing services to people living in war and conflict zones.
- Bio: Ravi Jaipaul is a passionate believer that life should be spent trying to improve the human condition. Ravi specializes in public health, project management, emergency nursing, health promotion, lecturing and international development. He has extensive management and leadership experience, most recently running a health care system in South Sudan with Doctors without Borders. He has worked in Nicaragua, Peru, Northern Canada, United Kingdom, Rwanda and South Sudan. Ravi has a BSc from the University of Alberta, as well as a post-graduate Diploma from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He received a Masters in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where his focus was on rebuilding health care in fragile states, reducing inequities in health and data analysis.
- Countries I've worked in: Nicaragua, Peru, Ecuador, Rwanda, South Sudan, Thailand, Greece
- Sector / subsectors: Health, Nursing, Public Health, Humanitarian Health
- Areas of expertise: Nursing, tropical medicine, humanitarian healthcare, refugee health, public health
- Country: Ecuador, Greece, Nicaragua, Peru, Rwanda, Sudan, Thailand
- Region: Central America, South America, Africa, Asia
- Sector: Health, Humanitarian
- Degree subject: Health, Nursing
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Please tell us about yourself and your work.
Learn more about Ravi's career as a public health practitioner.
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Can you tell us more about your experience with MSF? Where you were working and what you were doing?
Ravi explains his inspiration and his journey doing humanitarian work with MSF / Doctors Without Borders.
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Walk us through a day working in the refugee camp.
Always expect the unexpected and be prepared for the worst situations if you're working as an international humanitarian nurse, or health practitioner. Ravi talks about his worst fears on the job and how he overcame them.
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Can you tell us about your humanitarian training in Germany? It sounds intense!
Ravi reflects on the training he received in Germany before travelling to South Sudan. Learn more about what a kidnapping scenario looks like.
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What educational and work experiences led you to work with MSF?
Ravi went from small town Alberta to travelling around the world providing nursing support to vulnerable populations. He shares the three most important skills for becoming an international nurse.
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What do you enjoy about working internationally?
When you work in an international team, there is always something to learn. Ravi talks about the team of local logistics and healthcare practitioners on the ground.
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What has been the most challenging aspect of your international work?
How do you balance working in refugee camps with managing relationships with partners and family back home? It's not easy.
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What skills and abilities does it take to succeed in your line of work?
Ravi shares his secrets to not burning out in the field as an international humanitarian nurse.
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Can you tell us about your Master's in Public Health? Do you think it's necessary to specialize in your line of work?
The first time Ravi applied for a job with MSF, he was turned down. Learn more about his determination to gain the attention of employers.
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What's your overall advice to someone interested in pursuing this line of work?
It's important to ask yourself some hard questions before you dive into a career in humanitarian health.
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Anything else you'd like to share?
Within his first week on the job in South Sudan, Ravi realized something important—and surprising—that would change his career pathway, and his approach to working in the field of humanitarian health.
