Key provisions of the federal government’s health insurance mandates were postponed last week. Nevertheless, amid frustrating electronic health records, flat salaries, declining reimbursements, and the ever-present threat of litigation, healthcare personnel persistently ponder, “Maybe it’s time that I pursue the career I once dreamed of…”
What is your dream career? Many wax poetic describing their vision in virtuous terms like compassion, innovation, respect, enduring impact, and caring for those who would otherwise be abandoned. Others envision emulating the lives of great role models, citing Mother Teresa, Paul Farmer, David Werner, Albert Schweitzer, and Florence Nightingale.
Such a dream may call you far away to people who are entirely foreign. Bono and Bill Gates fighting AIDS in Africa may come to mind. On the balance, providing effective healthcare in such low-resource, cross-cultural settings is both rewarding and dauntingly difficult. Medical resources will be minimal, cultural context baffling, and language learning a likely essential. This career path will demand your all.
Can you live out such a dream while practicing healthcare in Europe or the United States? Certainly. Among our refugees, immigrants, poor, and medically illiterate are a multitude of individuals who would benefit. But you will also need to practice amid the obstacles of federal mandates, EHR, and stagnant salaries. This career path will also require great devotion.
In your expression of virtue through the practice of healthcare – regardless of the location – you will confront enormous odds. Cower before to these challenges? Remit in the face of harsh circumstances? Never. You must find reassurance in your inner conviction and in like-hearted partnerships.
We at INMED would like to join with you. Because of these exacting challenges INMED offers service-learning opportunities at our Training Sites in twenty-five nations, as well as in the United States. We can match you with an exemplary mentor – a modern day Schweitzer or Nightingale – to facilitate your transition from practice despair toward offering a world of care.