“This woman is in labor, but the baby just will not descend!” Dr. Akua spoke anxiously and with good reason. He’d just graduated from medical school in Ghana and only yesterday joined me at the Baptist Medical Center in northern Ghana to begin his years of public service. We examined the lady, found her […]
Disasters and ongoing deprivation mark the first years of this new century. Just consider Haiti’s earthquake, Pakistan’s flood, Somalia’s war, and North Korea’s hunger. The heartening response from many is to donate our personal time, talent, and treasures to provide rescue and assistance to those in distress in the world’s most impoverished communities. But
Disasters and ongoing deprivation mark the first years of this new century. Just consider Haiti’s earthquake, Pakistan’s flood, Somalia’s war, and North Korea’s hunger. The heartening response from many is to donate our personal time, talent, and treasures to provide rescue and assistance to those in distress in the world’s most impoverished communities. Just
The week of June 14-18 INMED hosted 69 participants for the 2010 International Public Health Intensive Course. These included nurses, public health specialists, pharmacists, physicians, and graduate students from the entire range of health fields. Remarkably, most participants had significant international experience caring for those most poor. Topics included Health Leadership, Building Organizational Capacity, Water &
On June 7 INMED welcomed 43 participant to the University of Missouri-Kansas City for the 2010 International Medicine Intensive Course. Many of these highly motivated individuals have significant experience in serving forgotten people in multiple nations, and came to further sharpen their skills. Participants included 13 physicians, 2 resident physicians, 7 medical students, 7 physician
This weekend INMED enjoyed the company of some 450 students and practicing healthcare professionals at the 5th Exploring Medical Missions Conference. Complementing these participants were representatives of 35 sending organization – recruiting volunteers for service opportunities among the most neglected citizens of our world. I’m particularly touched by presence of some very many “heroes
Have you considered helping out in Chile or Haiti? Clearly, these acute crises in health will be palpable for months to come as the nations rebuild. There exist an abundance of opportunities for you who dream of serving people in critical need, who have polished your skills, and who are now ready for action
The day following Haiti’s earthquake I received this message from Dr. Jim and Sandy Wilkins, who have served at Haiti’s Christianville Medical Clinic since 1999: “Our house fell down while we were in it. Our clinic building is half down. We worked for 24 hours straight, suturing and bracing fractures. 5 died here, 2
I am pondering that fact that healthcare professionals who want to serve the very poor often need to renew or broaden their expertise – those skills in public health, leadership or divergent specialties they once learned, but have not used in the years since their careers became more focused. This requires a commitment to
I received several questions this week from international-minded medical students regarding what specialty to select. Wonderful are your intentions over how to best prepare yourselves for a life of serving! My short answer is, choose the specialty that most interests you. There exists the misconception that only primary care specialties are appropriate for medical