Choosing Between Volunteer Abroad Programs

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ambhoo

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Hey everyone,

I had a question concerning which volunteer abroad program to choose for this winter. I am entering my junior year, and I plan on volunteering in India and have two options:

1) Unite for Sight (in Chennai)-a group on campus in which I am a board member

2) a student run non-for-profit organization on my campus that I plan on joining this fall (volunteer in Northern India)

I am having difficulty deciding which program to participate in. Both programs could provide me with an awesome clinical experience, yet they have their pros and cons:

UFS
pros: organization that I have been a part of for 2 years and for which I have a board position--will show consistent leadership and passion for a specific organization; in the field of ophthalmology, which interests me for the future

cons: requires in addition to the cost of airfare a $1600 fee and an additional $1600 down payment which is given back after the program; would only be able to volunteer for 10 days based on time conflicts with the beginning/ending of my winter break; larger organization w/more bureaucracy, so don't know how "large" of a role I could have; requires an additional raising of 100 eyeglasses (which most students purchase for an additional ~$130)

pro/con: spending majority of the time primarily doing visual acuity exams and observing other physicians conduct eye surgeries

campus non-for-profit
pros: no additional cost aside from airfare; student run (~30 students) with much "larger" role for me and not much bureaucracy, focuses more on the entire clinical check-up rather than only focusing on the eyes, allows students to actually train and learn how to do checkups on individuals, able to spend ~25 days volunteering due to the timings not conflicting with my school's winter break

cons: not an organization I have been involved with until this upcoming fall, so it does not show a consistent passion in 1 endeavor as UFS does

Just to give you guys some additional information--I am having difficulty financing the UFS trip, which would require me (including the the down payment which is given back) to raise approximately $2500 more than what I raised this summer. However, if the opportunity is worth it, I can work hard and try to come up with the money somehow. Any thoughts on this decision would greatly help me out. Both look like awesome programs with great missions.
 
My mother (ophthalmic surgeon) works for one such organization she does some pro-bono work in underdeveloped countries (Including India)

So here's how it works (for India)

There are these NGO's (Non government organizations) these are not funded by the federal govt. but by private donations from around the world these organizations have a list of doctors who work at different clinics (in poverty ridden areas)

When a student applies for the program you get assigned to one of these clinics and you shadow the doctor, your experience may range from doing nothing to fairly "medical" procedures.

My mom and her team usually does let the student do basic things like drawing blood if she finds the student to be proactive and genuinely interested.

You MUST be prepared to live in some pretty adverse conditions, no electricity, mosquitoes and unbareble heat (no fans or AC's w/o power)

My moms team has had students from UK , Germany and France and a few from US too, as they also need experiences like these before they apply to medical school

-Also I strongly advise NOT to volunteer during the summer (It gets really hot in most parts of India)

--Bottom Line
You really need-to-want-to do this otherwise it will be a nightmare BUT it is by far the best experience I have had in my life

-Good Luck 🙂
 
Thanks I definitely agree about really wanting to do this. Though, back to my question, which program do you advise based on the pros/cons I listed?
 
Okay,

So I would pick the campus non-profit organization, because 25 days is a good amount of time to spend in a new country and get valuable insights of a new health care system and actually contribute something, as far as continuity is concerned, do what you feel will give you better experience as a student NOT how the adcoms will look at it.

I feel 10 days just wouldn't cut it... its like a week by the time you get used to the place and get over jet-lag it'll be time to pack you bags and leave !!
 
As someone in public health, I feel that I have to respond. There are student groups galore that think or try to "help" by giving students clinical experiences to impoverished countries. It makes the student groups feel glamorous and sexy. Are you really helping if students are doing clinical checkups? Absolutely not. Are you allowed to do clinical check ups or blood draws at your university affiliated hospital? Absolutely not. So why should college students be doing clinical check ups on poor impoverished people who think that they're being seen by doctors?

In my college days, I was one of those students in the student groups that did this. The poor people didn't know that we had no idea what we were doing. We thought that we knew how to do clinical check ups. How hard could it be, right? We found out the year after that someone died because of us. Someone said that they had a headache, so we gave them tylenol. That seemed simple enough to us. The person had an infection and didn't go to a real doctor because she thought that we were the doctors, and she thought that we were special U.S. doctors who would treat her the best.

I was horrified. That's what led me to public health. These are real people with real illnesses who need real doctors from their own hospitals. The bad practices are so rampant though that when you're in the midst of it, you don't know the worst of it until you personally harm someone. It just seems normal at the time and what everyone else is doing it. You can always assess your international options by thinking this: Would I be allowed to do this at my university affiliated hospital? If no, then don't do it. Please.

There are a whole lot of international options, but you need to go with reputable and ethical options. I have personal experience with Unite For Sight, and they are ethical and respectable. They're the only ethical and respectable volunteer option that I've ever seen. They're really doing astonishingly good work. You can feel good that you're really and actually helping.
 
Without reading anything except the title

Go abroad. You can always find GOOD clinical experience, at a different location, with a different group, at a different time.

You need clinical experience, but what you do to obtain it really isn't going to make or break you.

Go abroad and experience the world.
 
It makes the student groups feel glamorous and sexy.
Click to expand...
I absolutely disagree, the first thing that hits you when you arrive is this feeling of guilt of having access to such great medical facilities and you really start appreciating the facilities that we have access to in this country may such a feeling of "glamor" exists before you hit the shore but it soon dissipates

I have NEVER seen anything like that I feel your being overly skeptical !!

Doctors around the world know better than that, they would never allow a 20 so student without a degree to administer any sort of medication... there is always a nurse involved looking over you and you will never be allowed to take part in the medical decision making procedure...

As far as medicine in the US goes, you ONLY go to a hospital when you cannot take care of your condition at home in these developing countries people die because they cannot afford tylenol they die of high fever or diarrhea... very simple morbidities...that needed just that one pill to cure...

These charitable organizations need educated people who can do something/anything useful to help them they do not want us there to replace medical personnel but be an additional helping hand

Comparing that system to that of your multi-million dollar university facility is ludicrous they are worlds apart..im going to leave it at that
 
mitl, If only I were being overly skeptical. Unfortunately I'm not. What I described happens every day. Third world countries do not need students doing clinical check ups or blood draws. The patients there need their own doctors, and they do have doctors there, and pharmacies that sell medicine.

Tylenol is not going to save or cure anyone. A fever is a symptom, and Tylenol lowers the fever to make the person more comfortable. Tylenol does nothing to treat the underlying condition that would cause someone to die. You said that people die because they can't afford Tylenol, but that's not what happens.

I myself have seen the problems that I wrote about, and there are lots of publications with similar examples. This is why we need students to choose international volunteer options that are reputable and doing good work, not causing irreparable harm.
 
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