People seeking healthcare in North America are increasingly global in their make up. Some 50 million are culturally diverse and operate with understandings of health and medicine that are unfamiliar to most healthcare professionals. Nevertheless, we must effectively understand and communicate with these individuals and families to be successful in assisting them. Consider the following […]
“I’ve lost three more patients today,” writes Ben Cavilla, MD, from the Lubango Evangelical Medical Center in Angola, southern Africa. “One had terminal AIDS. Another had a liter of puss in her belly. And the third was a young child with typhoid fever.” Dr. Cavilla gave up the comforts of British Columbia, paid his
Pirates, Somalia, Mogadishu, battling warlords, Black Hawk Down. These words provoke images of immense anguish and adversity. Most people flee at the thought of providing any sort of assistance under these conditions. But one particular physician from the American Midwest is serving Somalia intentionally, and his identity must remain anonymous due to security concerns. He
Yes, I realize “intensivity” is a misspelled word. But there is just on other than best describes these remarkable days! June 1-12 INMED hosted our first International Medicine Intensive Course. Thirty two “students,” including physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, medical officers, and medical students not only learned the nuisances of serving the ultra poor, but also “encouraged
Many healthcare professionals are enamored over the possibility of serving the poorest of the poor. But what steps follow this vision? First: equip yourself with the essential professional, cross-cultural and personal skills. Your transition from functioning in a community of affluence to one of poverty demands unique, new abilities. Second: join forces with other
“Would serving people in serious need help fulfill my life?” It’s a frequent, even if subconscious, question we ask ourselves. Gary Morsch observes, “People really do want to help one another and make the world better, but they often don’t know how to do it. People are looking for significance in their lives, but
Most Americans today are curbing their excesses, avoiding risks, and grumbling about falling victim to this recession. Now consider the contrast revealed through Richard (Dick) Bransford, a featured speaker at the Exploring Medical Missions Conference on May 29-30: “The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been in civil war for years. I knew
Fresh out of family medicine residency I was eager to polish my skills in tropical medicine just before taking assignment in Angola, southern Africa. The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research offered one of the most reputable courses at the time, and I was thrilled to be accepted into their program in spite of my
David Livingston, one of the 1800’s most beloved personalities, is best remembered as an explorer. He was the first white man to traverse southern Africa, to see Victoria Falls, and to walk the length of the Nile River. But Livingston’s autobiography documents a different identity. He saw himself primarily as a physician and as
Unprecedented numbers of health care professionals are volunteering their services in poorer nations. But their altruistic motives are often quickly tempered by the reality of novel and daunting questions connected with very limited resources, and further complicated by unfamiliar cultural context. For example: • Is it acceptable to diagnose a person’s hypertension, but