In our era of natural disasters, social unrest, and economic turmoil, this question is more than academic. We want our personal lives and our organized efforts to be significant, even virtuous. A first step is to identify with whom to invest our good will, and so the question: What people group is most distressed? […]
This month INMED introduces refinements to the INMED Diploma is International Medicine & Public Health – DIM&PH. For some time select educational institutions have offered diplomas in tropical medicine and hygiene. INMED and myself have carefully looked at such programs with a passion for how the training could be improved. The major deficiencies of
“My boy, Tomas, is urinating pure blood!” Her speech was pressured and rapid fire. “He’s been hemorrhaging for days. Is my boy going to die? ” The anxious mother lifted her son, moving the pool of accumulating blood from the floor to her lap. The young, listless, glassy eyes of Tomas met mine, and
As a medical student I dreamed of sharpening my skills on behalf of the world’s most poor. I dreamed of attending the esteemed John’s Hopkins School of Public Health, taking the diploma course at the London or Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. What escaped my notice at the time was that I
“Why would you take away her last hope? If you tell my mother about the metastatic colon cancer she will die immediately! That would be cruel and I forbid you!” Luping’s son and I spoke in low voices just outside her hospital room. He continued, “I brought my mother to America to receive the
Some 600,000 women die worldwide each year from pregnancy-related causes, and 98 percent of these deaths occur in developing countries. The major causes of maternal deaths in developing nations, in numerical order of importance, are hemorrhage, peripartum sepsis, abortion, eclampsia and obstructed labor/ruptured uterus. Regarding the latter, obstructed and prolonged labor alone leads to
How would you work to improve the health of an entire community, rather than just one person at a time? We NEVER talked about this when I was in medical school, not even during our tiny public health course. I could wax poetic concerning all the reasons for focusing on health needs of individuals
“The kid’s been seizing for an hour, but the dad won’t let us give anything. No drugs, no oxygen. This kid’s gonna die!” The paramedic’s speech was pressured. “He’s turning blue and the convulsions have not stopped since I picked them up in the shopping center parking lot. What else could I do?”
What curriculum do you use to complement global health classes, international electives, study abroad, or even cross-cultural competency? Unfortunately, most universities and residency programs have little to offer beyond thick textbooks. For the last year, Micah Flint and I have been creating for INMED a new series of online, self-paced courses covering the major
“You cast a spell on my babies, Doctor. Surely my babies are going to die! Your envious, evil eye, it discloses the wickedness of your heart!” She pulled her twins tight against her chest. “You are an agent of the Devil,” she spewed. I was stunned at the young Hispanic mother. We were