At the AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO Experience
To find out more at Academy meetings, check the program for instructional courses on worldwide service in otolaryngology, or stop by the Humanitarian Efforts Committee Forums to hear about other Academy members’ mission trips – You do not need to be a committee member to attend as a guest. The Annual Meeting is also a great opportunity to meet and interact with other international participants, giving you a great opportunity to make a personal contact and learn more about an area or service opportunity. Click here to view the Annual Meeting & OTO Experience website.
Distinguished Award for Humanitarian Service
The President presents this award at the Opening Ceremony to an Academy member who is widely recognized for a consistent, stable character distinguished by honesty, zeal for truth, integrity, love and devotion to humanity and a self-giving spirit. The awardee is an outstanding example and model to emulate for a life dedicated to a nobler, more righteous, and more productive way for the human to live as an individual on this earth.
The awardee is well known for professional excellence and has demonstrated professional dedication by the giving of professional skills freely, and without desire for personal gain or aggrandizement, to those in this world who cannot otherwise, physically and financially, receive them.
Donation of Textbooks and Journals
Guidelines for Donating Medical Books, Journals, and Media Overseas
Financial Support for Humanitarian Efforts
Visit the Foundation’s donation page to donate to the Annual Fund. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization Tax ID 521219434; as such gifts to the AAOHNS/F are fully tax-deductible to the extent of current IRS regulations.
Humanitarian Efforts Database
The Humanitarian Efforts committee has created a Humanitarian Efforts database of current global initiatives available for otolaryngologists. You can browse this geographical database or submit your own initiative here.
Make a Difference in the World
Consider other opportunities. Is there a local hospital or religious organization that takes such trips, where you could add an otolaryngology component? Do you have language or other personal ties to some area of the world? Contact the International Federation of Otolaryngology Societies (IFOS) or any local contacts to create your own opportunity. Learn more about humanitarian work abroad.
Medical Equipment, Instruments, Supplies and Medications
We work with several groups that accept medical supplies/equipment to be shipped to facilities in need, all around the world. Interested parties, to either collect or contribute, please view Ways to Donate.
Support Resident Travel Grants and Scholarships
The Humanitarian Resident Travel Grant supports residents and fellows who participate in a medical mission for at least one week. Your donation to this fund will help provide underfunded communities in developing areas with medical assistance in otolaryngology, as well as a fantastic service learning opportunity for the grant recipients. Learn More
Wide Range of Opportunities to Help
Humanitarian work is not only disaster relief but a wide range of service opportunities to improve medical care or education that benefit under-served populations.
In the U.S., it may include volunteer work through a local free clinic, head and neck cancer screenings at a health fair, or visits to a Native-American reservation.
When traveling abroad teaching is huge contribution whether is through sharing newer medical technologies or techniques, such as endoscopic sinus surgery, or contributing to research efforts to understand the scope of ENT diseases in developing countries.
Some Academy members have found retirement as a time to shift their focus to volunteer work that includes starting foundations, moving to become the only otolaryngologist in a region, or helping to train new otolaryngologists in a department abroad.
Consider other opportunities. Is there a local hospital or religious organization that takes such trips, where you could add an otolaryngology component? Do you have language or other personal ties to some area of the world? Contact the International Federation of Otolaryngology Societies (IFOS) or any local contacts to create your own opportunity.
