Who trains the healthcare professionals who will go on to serve with Doctors Without Borders, Samaritans Purse, the United Nations, or International Medical Corps? Mainstream healthcare education does not prepare them for work in low-resource and international settings. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Barriers to effective, longer-term service in international health are enormous: unknown diseases, strange languages and customs, and work often without the benefit of laboratory, imaging, pharmacy, or consultants. Added to these are personal fatigue, financial limitations, and strained interpersonal relationships.
How do successful global health volunteers overcome these barriers and go on to serve with esteemed organizations with distinction? Training is critical, both to acquire the necessary skills and to coach future volunteers through the complex personal journeys. Throughout the year, INMED provides training and coaching through our Professional Diploma and Master’s Degree in International Health (MIH) programs, with over 1,200 graduates since 2004.
Julie Rosá is INMED’s most recent graduate. She is a family physician from Hiawatha, Kansas. Over the last year Dr. Rosá completed the MIH degree, including her scholarly project about developing a family medicine residency in the Middle East. Later this year, she and her husband will be moving to Kanad Hospital in UAE to launch such a new residency program.
June 8-9, INMED training and coaching go into light speed with one-day course in Ultrasound, OB Ultrasound, Helping Babies Breathe, Essential Care for Every Baby, Helping Mothers Survive, and Hands-On Skills for Low-Resource Healthcare. June 10-11, we enter hyperdrive with the 17th annual Humanitarian Health Conference in-person in Kansas City – an event to inspire, equip and connect participants with sending organizations and global health careers.
Who trains tomorrow’s international doctors and nurses? It’s INMED!