The world of medical missions has changed dramatically since Mother Teresa left for India in 1929. Nevertheless, today some 3 billion people still have no access to even the most basic health necessities. One of these is Jose Santos, pictured here in Angola. As an infant he was never vaccinated against polio and tragically acquired […]
Great success is born of passion that defies intellectual assent alone. Triumphant scientists are truly zealous for research. Victorious politicians are infatuated with their causes. Enviable couples are deeply in love with one another. While duty and commitment have their proper place, any formula for success is accelerated by infusing heartfelt enthusiasm. What
Propelled by the devastating 2004 tsunami and the ever-growing global HIV/AIDS crisis, interest in medical missions has never been higher. Many health professionals feel compelled to volunteer their services to those people most in need, but few follow through on these good intentions due to numerous misconceptions about medical missions. Two of the most common
Vast wealth and medical knowledge benefit the world’s affluent, while some three billion persons still lack even the most basic health care. In response, interest in selfless service among health professionals has never been higher. Jean Fields, RN, MSN, is one who makes international service an intimate part of her career. Says Jean,
After living in Angola, Africa, I returned home to Kansas City, where I joined the faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. One of my duties was to the review applications from prospective students. Oh the expressiveness with which they declared motivation to study medicine: to help humanity, to serve the poor,
Harrison Ford, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Tiger Woods, Alan Greenspan, Vladimir Puton. Just name your field of interest, and you no doubt can list its most remarkable personalities. But what about within the realm of international medical service? Who are the ones today who inspire our sentiments and stimulate us to action on behalf
In the 1980s I was living in Shanghai, China, and working at Shanghai Charity Hospital – at that time called the Third People’s Hospital. Out of this experience I wrote the book Shanghai Doctor, published by Zondervan. Against the backdrop of hospital medicine, the book is essentially a biography if Chinese Christians transcending the
The 2008 Exploring Medical Missions Conference is hosted this year by the Institute for International Medicine, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Foundation, Research Medical Center, St Luke’s Health System, the University of Kansas School of Medicine Department of Infectious Diseases, and the University of Missouri School of Medicine International Medicine Program. The Conference will be held on
Abeba was pregnant with triplets and arrived at a rural hospital with increasingly painful contractions of early labor. Prenatal care is unknown in this remote part of the globe, but a quick routine blood test was performed. Doctors shared with Abeba some dreadful news: she was HIV positive. Hours later, her babies were born, accompanied
Most health professionals dream of international service, but what motivates this ubiquitous attraction? For some, it is the reality of human suffering and a resulting sense of personal duty. Certainly the stark conditions of poverty, preventable disease, absent medical care, and needless death that affect developing nations are disturbing. Providing help is a moral