Key provisions of the federal government’s health insurance mandates were postponed last week. Nevertheless, amid frustrating electronic health records, flat salaries, declining reimbursements, and the ever-present threat of litigation, healthcare personnel persistently ponder, “Maybe it’s time that I pursue the career I once dreamed of…” What is your dream career? Many wax poetic […]
Ethiopia? East Saint Louis? El Salvador? Compassionate healthcare persons are prone to bold moves on behalf of marginalized people wherever they are located. This movement is accentuated by professionals who inspire us all toward similar service. The winners of the 2013 INMED Awards, just announced at the Exploring Medical Missions Conference, are exemplary models.
Can you do medical missions at home? Is it possible, even healthier, to fulfill your visions via service to people in your midst? “Yes absolutely,” responds Colette Fleming, pediatrician at Samuel Rogers Health Center. “I want to do a medical mission trip to Haiti. Here, on the other hand, I immerse myself everyday among
This moment I am writing from Angola in southern Africa where I work each summer. Volunteering here requires a significant personal, emotional, and financial investment. Is it right for YOU? Let’s dissect the outcomes you would expect from a term in Africa and explore whether such a venture is in your future: You will
What makes for effective medical education? In the clinical setting we often speak of, “See one. Do one. Teach one.” It’s learning via role modeling, active participation, and skill transfer. Enter the INMED International Medicine and Public Health Hybrid Courses… Just days ago we concluded the fifth round of these courses. Hours of lectures? Worse
“Theirs is unbearable pain: mothers and fathers recounting their helplessness to alleviate the hunger of their children – hunger often compounded by the rigors of malaria, breathlessness of pneumonia, and lethargy of prolonged malnutrition. I scramble to offer assistance, but there is no end to their need. The difficulty is knowing how to help
The Joplin Tornado of May, 2011 on caught many of us well-intentioned but unprepared to respond effectively. I, for one, felt a deep sense of pain over the catastrophe unfolding just 100 miles a way. But I also realized frustration that at such late notice there was little I could do to assist.
Today’s citizenry and healthcare profession students are more keenly aware of the needs of marginalized people. I’ve noticed how educational institutions are rapidly developing curriculum and field experiences to match community and student expectations. As a result of such demand, however, health educators are grappling with how to best provide effective, relevant international healthcare
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