DOCUMENTATION required for medical personnel, medications and glasses.
DUE ON FRIDAY---FIVE WEEKS BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL IN NICARAGUA.

(please click here for a printable PDF version)  

The documentation  and the format that a team leader must submit for MINSA is very specific. Please hold your information until it can all be e-mailed at the same time. It is strongly advised for the team leader to collect the doctors’ and nurses’ CVs, licenses, and diplomas 2 months before their arrival. Then, meeting the deadline will be in the hands of the team leader. If doctors or several people are gathering meds and supplies, the information must be combined on one Excel spreadsheet with a calculated total value at the bottom. All medications and medical supplies must have an expiration date at least 6 months later than your arrival in Nicaragua. Every item must be individually priced on the spreadsheet. If you purchase a MAP packet, you will need to assign prices to each individual line item. Everything must be e-mailed to the team leader and the team leader must e-mail the documentation at least 5 weeks before the team arrives in Nicaragua. Here is a checklist of the required documents to be e-mailed to nicamissions@gmail.com:
Quick checklist of documents needed:

1. Excel sheet with meds and glasses—best to send on Wednesday before your deadline and before you print and notarize—in order to avoid having to re-do. Your document will be checked for any banned meds or other changes that need to be made before notarizing.
2. Meds list printed on letterhead and notarized
3. 2 Letters of Donation—Spanish and English—on letterhead and notarized
4. License, CV with signature, and college diplomas of doctors and medical personnel
5. Team Information

Further Explanation:

1. Create a Meds list on an Excel document. E-mail the Excel sheet several days in advance of your five weeks deadline for us to review and see if adjustments are required. When you receive approval print on church or university letterhead and notarized on the last page which has the total dollar value. This document can be printed landscape view and notarized over the writing, if necessary. Each page must be printed on letterhead. This will have to be scanned and e-mailed.
This Excel will include all prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, and glasses. Please do not SCAN anything onto your Excel document. Everything must be typed. Documentation from MAP, Blessings International, etc. will not be accepted; it must be retyped on a consolidated spreadsheet. It is necessary to list the generic name and the brand name in two separate columns. It is necessary to list the concentration and /or % of active ingredient. If you are unsure of one, it can be researched on the internet. This is a requirement. Here is the format for your Excel sheet.

VITAMINS: At this time, MINSA/Managua will not allow vitamins to be dispensed without their personal inspection of the vitamins. The time that this would take will not allow our teams to bring vitamins. If this changes, we will post the change here.

GLASSES must be divided on the spreadsheet by the strength of the glasses. Put a nominal donation fee--$100 for all. MINSA informed us that glasses are taxable at customs, and we want to avoid this.
 
Please check your expiration dates one last time before printing to make sure that everything listed has an expiration date at least 6 months later than your arrival in Nicaragua. Excel often switches the format of what you type when you change cells.

2. Two Letters of Donation (Spanish and English on letterhead and notarized)
MINSA requires a Letter of Donation in English and Spanish from the donor of the medications. This letter should be from your church, university, or ministry and personally signed by an official of the organization. To make this process easier for everyone, we have created form letters. Each link below has 2 letters—one in English and one in Spanish—scroll down. Please revise the letters—changing all fonts to black, deleting the header, and typing in the required information. The value cannot be inserted after the letters are signed and notarized. It must look uniform or MINSA will decline it. The letters should be cut and pasted onto letterhead, revised, printed, signed, notarized, scanned, and attached to an e-mail.

TEAMS WITH MEDICAL PERSONNEL (download: PDF / Word)
TEAMS ONLY BRINGING MEDICATIONS/MEDICAL SUPPLIES (download: PDF / Word)
TEAMS ONLY BRINGING OPTOMETRIST AND GLASSES (download: PDF / Word)
TEAMS THAT WILL BRING NO MEDS AND PURCHASE MEDS IN LEON (download: PDF / Word)

3. Team information typed on letterhead but notarization is not necessary
NAME OF CHURCH OR SPONSORING ORGANIZATION:
ARRIVAL DATE:
DEPARTURE DATE:
TEAM LEADER:
ARRIVAL FLIGHT NAME, NUMBER, AND TIME:
DEPARTURE FLIGHT NAME, NUMBER, AND TIME:
LIST OF MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS: (do not list specialty unless they will be performing duties that only their specialty will allow)

The following group will stay at El Ayudante while in Nicaragua.
TEAM ROSTER (names only):

4. Copies of all medical licenses with a valid expiration date. You must be currently licensed to practice in the U.S. to practice in Nicaragua. Medical students are not authorized to practice medicine. They should NOT be listed as a medical professional. They can assist the MDs—like any other non-medical team member. These licenses need to be scanned either as a JPEG or TIFF file and need to be downsized to less than 1MB before e-mailing.

5. Signed Résumé (CV) The Excel download should be used for the CV. This is not a normal CV and only the minimum information should be listed. The CV must be printed and signed. (download: Excel)

6. Copies of college diplomas and certificates that back the information on the résumé. Must have a copy of each college diploma listed. It is advised to only list your last degree earned and the diploma that was received. Do not list your residency or internship unless you present a certificate where you completed the residency or internship. You must submit your MD diploma. If you have it framed or it is very large, a digital photograph works well. The picture must be large enough to print to 8 ½ x 11 size.

After all your documentation is received in Nicaragua, our staff must translate the complete meds list and write a letter to MINSA-León requesting that your team receive approval to practice in the Department of León. These documents must be hand-delivered and then a return trip is required to pick-up the AVAL in Leon. The AVAL will then be hand-delivered to MINSA-Managua with your complete documentation and a letter written by our staff. There may be additional information requested at this time about a specific item. After your documentation is thoroughly reviewed and approved, another AVAL will be written. Again, this AVAL must be picked-up in Managua by El Ayudante staff. At the time of your arrival at the airport, an El Ayudante staff member will present your AVAL to customs at the airport. Your team will be escorted through customs.