Cultural competence is our ability to cooperate effectively with people of different cultures. This is especially important in the increasingly complex cultural milieu of healthcare, whether set in Kansas City or Sri Lanka. Consider the case of Kate, a nurse practitioner at an urban safety net clinic in North America. Kate is interviewing a distinctly […]
The heartening North American response to Haiti’s earthquake has tragically not been replicated in the case of Pakistan. With twenty percent of the nation underwater, some 1100 people known dead, and four million now homeless, this catastrophe ranks among the worse in modern times. Yet extreme distance and unfamiliarity cause most in our midst
INMED is continually approached by universities that are scrambling to provide global health training and service opportunities. What is driving this demand? YOU CHOOSE: A = Student interest B = The Gates Foundation C = Inspiring role model D = University professors Indeed, the wave of demand for curriculum in global health
I am aghast tonight over the tragic news of a British physician, Karen Woo, and ten other aid workers killed this week by gunmen in an ambush in a remote area of northern Afghanistan. The team was on site working at an eye clinic they had earlier established. In fact, in 2003 their organization
In Bangladesh forty years ago one infant in five died during the first year. Today, only one infant in twenty dies. WHAT is the reason for this progress? You choose: A = Childhood vaccinations B = General economic development C = National health insurance D = Malaria prevention In his provocative book
What is the best formula for physical health? Actually, it depends upon whom you ask. People of some Asian cultures think that to be healthy they must eat snake, do Tai Chi, worship their ancestors, and never, ever give blood. Those from particular African cultures believe to be healthy they must eat a special
Last night a lady arrived at Ghana’s Baptist Medical Center in labor with twins. Our ultrasound quickly confirmed their heart rates were low, and a Caesarian was needed at once. A familiar scenario out here – and for the last 60 years it was the American doctor who performed these surgeries. But times are
One of the most disturbing elements of today’s ‘short-term medical missions’ phenomena is how individuals boast over the number of different countries where they have served. In truth, the learning curve is steep for each new healthcare facility. Commitment and consistency are necessary for one to learn the ropes and actually make a significant
Just a typical day at Ghana’s Baptist Medical Center: This morning I arrived find to 27 new patients admitted to the pediatrics ward by the nurses overnight! That’s 27 kids with malaria, sepsis, pneumonia, dehydration, all on top of chronic malnutrition. Next up, I rounded on 55 adults with snake bite, malaria, tuberculosis, bone
Pictured here with the children of Nilerigu, Ghana’s first orphanage. Attitudes toward orphans and care provided are quite culturally-dependent. In more traditional African communities to concept of an “orphan” was almost unheard of. All children have relatives, and if their parents died, they are naturally absorbed into the home of their kin. Only in