Haiti trip

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integratethis

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An organization from my school is planning a relief trip to Haiti , for about a week. I was thinking about going, but am a but reluctant to travel to a developing nation. I want to help out and I think it would look good on my resume. Do you guys think it's worth the risk/economic expense?

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An organization from my school is planning a relief trip to Haiti , for about a week. I was thinking about going, but am a but reluctant to travel to a developing nation. I want to help out and I think it would look good on my resume. Do you guys think it's worth the risk/economic expense?
Do not do this for your resume.
 
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Absolutely not. This trip is basically a glorified vacation for you; as such, it won't look all that good on your resume, and it won't help out the people of Haiti all that much. In general, mission trip participants usually don't have the time, skills, knowledge, or personal investment to make a sustainable change in a third world country. If you seriously want to do something to help those less fortunate than you, then get involved with a local relief organization in your own community and donate your time/money to them consistently. Or if Haiti is specifically a cause you feel strongly about, then get involved through one of the ground-based organizations that has an active long-term presence there.
 
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Well, as problematic as Haiti has been, for centuries now, I still would jump at the opportunity; b/c a. those people really need help-- although their internal tensions constantly amplify their problems; and b. From a global health perspective, it would be a good experience. Are there risks? Yes. But there are risks whenever you leave the country--even if it is to go to Europe. At least your plane flight won't be as long. :)

I have a soft spot for Haiti--their ongoing problems with infrastructure, internal and external politics, deforestation. . .one can go on and on. But I am a sap for helping whomever, regardless of numbers. I also think, generally speaking and humanly speaking, it would be a great learning experience. I have friends that have gone many times, and they truly have a heart for the people. It's all about the people; else what's the point?
 
Q is spot on here. If you want to maximize your aid to Haitians in particular (and not those in need closer to home) send the cash equivalent of your plane ticket and other expenses to a charity that does good work in Haiti. Probably not one run by a pop musician.

On the other hand, my home institution Tulane just added a new secondary question this year asking about your international volunteer work. :rolleyes: We are so 10-20 years behind the times on that topic.
 
Q is spot on here. If you want to maximize your aid to Haitians in particular (and not those in need closer to home) send the cash equivalent of your plane ticket and other expenses to a charity that does good work in Haiti. Probably not one run by a pop musician.

Agree on both counts.

I've been to Haiti-my family visited in the 1980s when I was a kid-and there's no doubt it's a suffering country. There is nothing anyone is going to do on a week long visit to turn around the kind of poverty that exists there. It's going to take decades, maybe centuries. So assuming you're not one of the few people looking to take Haiti on as a lifelong project, better to use your limited time/financial resources to support those who are.

Again, there's no need to go abroad to find people living in poverty. Here in the South, you can't go anywhere without seeing it. The free clinic I'm volunteering at serves mostly migrant workers and others with low-skill jobs, no health insurance, and limited English. It would be a great gig for people interested in helping the underserved; we actually have some premeds working there in various capacities. Including interpreting Creole, which I don't think any of the docs speak.
 
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Lol, I just looked up my old AMCAS app. I actually did a one-week mission trip to Haiti in 2009 and I applied in 2011. I did NOT mention my Haiti trip in my app or my secondaries (apparently I didn't think it was a significant experience).

I only filled out 14 significant experiences, leaving one blank!
 
I just finished my application and it sure was easier to write about the activities I actually cared a lot about than the ones I did thinking it would "look good". Consider your true passions and interests and think about how you can get involved more in those areas. It will save you a lot of trouble down the road when you have to write/speak about what they meant to you.
 
Agree on both counts.

I've been to Haiti-my family visited in the 1980s when I was a kid-and there's no doubt it's a suffering country. There is nothing anyone is going to do on a week long visit to turn around the kind of poverty that exists there. It's going to take decades, maybe centuries. So assuming you're not one of the few people looking to take Haiti on as a lifelong project, better to use your limited time/financial resources to support those who are.

Again, there's no need to go abroad to find people living in poverty. Here in the South, you can't go anywhere without seeing it. The free clinic I'm volunteering at serves mostly migrant workers and others with low-skill jobs, no health insurance, and limited English. It would be a great gig for people interested in helping the underserved; we actually have some premeds working there in various capacities. Including interpreting Creole, which I don't think any of the docs speak.


Agreed. Mostly, the potential benefits go to the person investing whatever time to look, full-0n, on real life struggles outside the US. Are there people in need here? Absolutely. That's not the point of getting a taste of some global health--as you may have touched on in your experience there. So many in N America can't appreciate real struggles and suffering on a larger scale outside of the bubble, that is, the USA. Are there people suffering and hurting here? Yep. I have worked with them for decades now. Overall, the impact is not massively and often individually the same. Opportunities for help may be slow and problematic in the US, but they are much better here than many places. Haiti is one of those places.

So I say if the OP or another had/has a TRUE interest in getting some real life global health experience, I say go for it. If it is just something to do for an application, well, obviously that's bogus. I am sure you found your trip to Haiti as eye-opening. There is no quick or easy fix to Haiti's struggles. Interestingly, on the other side, there sets the Dominican Republic, which does not suffer from the same amount of blight and desperation, in general. It's really fascinating.

I'm looking at the experience as one of learning from a global health and human perspective. It could be a priceless experience for this person, which they would carry with them going forward in their life as both a physician and a human being. That's all I'm saying.

Having said ALL of that; it seems kind of clear from the OP's post that it's not something that they may have a passion or real interest, which is a shame. That seemingly the case for OP, all the other responses, including yours are fair and practical.

Of course, you seem fundamentally more pragmatic than I am. ;) I like to learn of human experience for learning's sake. Amidst all the BS in healthcare over the years, I'm still a poet at heart. But I'm a glass half full kind of person. It's usually a pain in my butt being so, because there is often significant resistance to such a philosophy. I struggle with all the realities and suffering--both the unchangeable and needless suffering. Still, I refuse to give in to a more fatalistic type of mentality--unlike my brother, who studied chem engineering--and is practical to the point of fatalism many times. He still gives me a hard time about my idealism. I've had to learn to balance it with the hard realities. It's tough. Damn right-brain gene!
 
I agree with you that experiencing other cultures is enriching for the traveler and broadens one's awareness of the world around them. Travel in general is good for the traveler. As you noted, however, those are not the kinds of benefits the OP is seeking. :eyebrow:
 
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