Medical Mission Trip Inquiry

[shewillrun]

Hello All,

I am planning to hopefully do 1-2 weeks in Mexico this summer. I'm considering other parts of Central America. It would be nice to meet someone else who may be interested in doing something like that. I'm probably going to go through a few different agencies. I know many have said these kind of trips aren't worth it. I have full intention of becoming a physician who worked in an underserved community. Doctors Without Borders is another consideration of mine. Therefore, these kind of trips will definitely be an amazing experience and relevant to what I want to do.

A little bit about me: Almost 30. PreMed, CNA/Scribe/EMT Work experience. Currently a financial adviser working for a gov't agency. Finishing up my BA and plan to begin a post-bacc program this fall.

If you have any experiences to share from a medical mission trip or something of that sort I'd love to hear about it. If you have a recommendation when it comes to what agency to possibly consider that'd be great.

Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Goro]

I hate to tell you this, but most Adcoms view medical missions as "medical tourism" and give them little credence as a EC. At best, get a LOR from a supervisor/preceptor stating what you did.

 

[jl lin]

Obviously I will not go against what the experts share here; but suffice it to say that I know a group that just came back from Haiti, and their's was NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, a vacation.

So, it really depends in my view. Seems kind of unfair to condemn the work invested, as little as it may seem, as a waste. One person's opinion.

 

[On Eagle's Wings]

Okay, here is my take on all of this in defense of the OP.

I have been hearing the age-old arguments about how medical mission trips are nothing more than medical tourism and how ADCOMS view them negatively. However, I am a big fan of medical missions (in fact, it is what I want to spend my life doing). I did 12 weeks of medical missions during undergrad in Honduras and Mexico, working in rural villages and in hospitals. I experienced almost every type of medicine hands-on, from surgery to family practice to anesthesia to ENT.

Application time, I listed 3 medical mission experiences out of 15 and one of them was my most meaningful. Medical missions played a big role on my personal statement. I applied to 8 schools and got 3 II and 2 acceptances (1 of them with a scholarship to a Top 20). Medical missions was a big part of my application and interviews.

For the OP (and anyone interested in medical missions), if you have any questions, please PM me. I know a lot of people look down on medical missions, but I am a convinced through my experiences that the root of the problem is people going with unscrupulous organizations or go on these trips more for tourism than for medicine. You need to research your organizations closely. All of my mission trips were with organizations that friends of mine had gone on and verified were reputable. I went with BMDMI: http://www.bmdmi.org/ and CHOSEN IMA: http://www.chosenima.org/

I posted more info about these organizations in this thread. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/medical-mission-trips.1152625/

 

[futuremdforme]

Side note: I had never heard of "medical missions" until SDN and I assumed that they were trips purely for medical reasons. Last month I met someone who did a medical mission in Indonesia and the real mission was to convert them to Christianity. She emphasized that it was a mission first, and I realized that I probably missed that entire aspect through basically ever SDN thread.

Are medical missions always with religious undertones? Obviously it is possible to go to other countries to provide medical care, but if there is no religious aspect, is it still a "medical mission"?

 

[On Eagle's Wings]

Side note: I had never heard of "medical missions" until SDN and I assumed that they were trips purely for medical reasons. Last month I met someone who did a medical mission in Indonesia and the real mission was to convert them to Christianity. She emphasized that it was a mission first, and I realized that I probably missed that entire aspect through basically ever SDN thread.

Are medical missions always with religious undertones? Obviously it is possible to go to other countries to provide medical care, but if there is no religious aspect, is it still a "medical mission"?

Doctors Without Borders is a good organization that does medical missions without religious overtones. Medical missions can be done without the religion aspect. It really depends on the organization you go with and whether you are Christian or not. Obviously if you are Christian, you will want to share the gospel while delivering medical care. But if you are not Christian, you can still do medical missions just for the sake of helping people and improving society.

 

[futuremdforme]

Doctors Without Borders is a good organization that does medical missions without religious overtones. Medical missions can be done without the religion aspect. It really depends on the organization you go with and whether you are Christian or not. Obviously if you are Christian, you will want to share the gospel while delivering medical care. But if you are not Christian, you can still do medical missions just for the sake of helping people and improving society.

Thanks! I'm very familiar with DWB and overseas medical volunteering, but I didn't know if it would be called a medical "mission" since it's not religious. You would still count DWB as a medical mission?

 

[gyngyn]

Don't do it for me.

 

[On Eagle's Wings]

Thanks! I'm very familiar with DWB and overseas medical volunteering, but I didn't know if it would be called a medical "mission" since it's not religious. You would still count DWB as a medical mission?

At the very least, it would be medical experience in an under-served area. You are still serving people, just omitting the spiritual aspect of care that is in Christian medical missions. It would still be a fine activity for your app.

 

[futuremdforme]

At the very least, it would be medical experience in an under-served area. You are still serving people, just omitting the spiritual aspect of care that is in Christian medical missions. It would still be a fine activity for your app.

I'm not doing it. I'm accepted and starting in two weeks. I just wanted to understand the terminology.

 

[On Eagle's Wings]

I'm not doing it. I'm accepted and starting in two weeks. I just wanted to understand the terminology.

Got it. Best wishes!

 

[ZedsDed]

Okay, here is my take on all of this in defense of the OP.

I have been hearing the age-old arguments about how medical mission trips are nothing more than medical tourism and how ADCOMS view them negatively. However, I am a big fan of medical missions (in fact, it is what I want to spend my life doing). I did 12 weeks of medical missions during undergrad in Honduras and Mexico, working in rural villages and in hospitals. I experienced almost every type of medicine hands-on, from surgery to family practice to anesthesia to ENT.

Application time, I listed 3 medical mission experiences out of 15 and one of them was my most meaningful. Medical missions played a big role on my personal statement. I applied to 8 schools and got 3 II and 2 acceptances (1 of them with a scholarship to a Top 20). Medical missions was a big part of my application and interviews.

For the OP (and anyone interested in medical missions), if you have any questions, please PM me. I know a lot of people look down on medical missions, but I am a convinced through my experiences that the root of the problem is people going with unscrupulous organizations or go on these trips more for tourism than for medicine. You need to research your organizations closely. All of my mission trips were with organizations that friends of mine had gone on and verified were reputable. I went with BMDMI: http://www.bmdmi.org/ and CHOSEN IMA: http://www.chosenima.org/

I posted more info about these organizations in this thread. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/medical-mission-trips.1152625/

Thanks for your honest opinion, but I'm very curious what "hands-on" experience with surgery, anesthesia, and ENT entails for a pre-med.

 

[On Eagle's Wings]

Mostly just shadowing. If the doctors on staff allow it, they will sometimes teach us to do things like delivering medication through an IV, hold this hemostat or retractor while I cut this ..., get some water and wash all the blood splatters off the patient, and load this syringe with 50 ml propofol. Nothing too drastic, and all under supervision and training of the attending.