When you hear volunteers talk about service, it can sound like alphabet soup. Here’s a guide of common acronyms and terms so you can talk like a real PCV.
PC – Peace Corps
PCV – Peace Corps Volunteer
RPCV – Returned Peace Corps Volunteer
PCMO – Peace Corps Medical Officer
CD – Country Director
COS – Close of Service
HCN – Host Country National
PST – Pre-Service Training – 3 months of language, security, and job training done in country
ET – Early Termination
YD – Youth in Development
CED – Community Economic Development
TEFL – Teaching English as a First Language
Cohort – A group of PCVs that are trained and in-country together at the same time.
Ad-sep – Admin Separation – Early Termination of service by the Peace Corps for non medical reasons
Med-evac – Medical Evacuation – Temporary evacuation of a volunteer from their country of service to receive medical treatment that is not available otherwise
Med-sep – Medical Separation – Early termination of service by the Peace Corps due to a medical condition that cannot be resolved
Counterpart – Host country national who is working in a similar role to the volunteer
Staging – Intensive training and onboarding done in the US before the volunteers departure
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