Marek Banas, a medical student at Lincoln Memorial University, just returned from her INMED service-learning experience at The Surgery, a general practice clinic in Kampala, capital of Uganda. I find her account one of the most compelling I have ever read.
“The Surgery is potentially the best clinic in Uganda,” she writes. “People who did not have a conclusive diagnosis came from all over Uganda as well as neighboring countries to be helped by The Surgery doctors.”
Marek continues, “Patients included wealthy Ugandans, tourists, expatriates… and abandoned infants – who were on occasion brought into The Surgery after being found on the street or in dumpsters.”
Many healthcare professionals are enamored with the possibility of international service. Yet relatively few ultimately make this a part of their career. In reply to what motivates her, Marek says, “My desire to help the marginalized people springs from a moral imperative I found in myself years ago. I feel I have been lucky in life and it is my responsibility to share my fortune with the forgotten ones.”