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International volunteering?
- Thread starter PhysioMD
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Do something where you can actually apply your skills. A few weeks doesn't sound like a lot of time though.
https://medium.com/p/b84d4011d17e
https://medium.com/p/b84d4011d17e
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deleted407021
Unnecessarily curt response to someone who was asking a legitimate question.
@PhysioMD I'll bump this for you. I have no experience with overseas work, but it is widely considered to be more or less a waste of time on this forum. Unfortunately, many people here can't seem to think of doing anything unless it has a positive impact on their med school chances. The main reason for this sentiment is that most premeds don't have any real skills to apply when they go overseas and they end up doing essentially nothing, which isn't really very beneficial to themselves or anyone else. Also, knowing how foreign doctors practice isn't of much practical use stateside. If you think you would enjoy it and get a good experience out of it, that would be great. Plus, you have training which could really help some people. Keep looking on SDN and at your school for some good programs that would let you do some good work with your training. Keep in mind that you need to have long term commitment to your ECs and a mission trip doesn't really offer that, but you will determine how much of a positive impact it has on yourself. Good luck!
Please. A simple search yields pages of nearly identical questions with hundreds of opinions on this topic.
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You called?
Here's my take on medical mission trips: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...oseph-kony-and-why-you-shouldnt-do-it.994079/
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deleted407021
Well. I'm sorry a thread on the premed forum bothered a med student to the extent that they felt they should be rude.
Sorry if I came off as rude. (Don't know why my status as med student has to do with this?)
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deleted407021
What I was getting at is that there is a med student forum and a decidedly unoffensive thread in the premed section does not seem like something a med student would be worried about, considering they have an area dedicated to them and problems pertaining to that stage in their career, not the various and unrelated interests of premeds, which can be found in this forum. Obviously, you are very welcome to hang out with us.
Thanks for the invite! Believe it or not, many of us on SDN that are now in med school were once premed and still go on the pre-med forum from time to time.
In my experience, the vast majority of programs or organizations that are out there would provide you with more of a "voluntourism" trip than anything else (think 'that medical mission trip that your friends did in high school'). The link above that @Planes2Doc gave is a great summary. Having done several "medical mission trips" as 'a 20 year old undergrad kid who only had skills to stand around and take pictures' I can tell you that traveling abroad is what you make of it--my last trip abroad was an incredibly formative experience for me that I credit as a big part of my med school application. I think that if you have the opportunity to travel, you'd be a fool to not take it--after all, this is what my parents have worked so hard for (and what I plan to work hard for, so as to give my kids a chance to have great opportunities)--as long as you go in with the right perspective it can be a really great thing.
In my experience, the vast majority of programs or organizations that are out there would provide you with more of a "voluntourism" trip than anything else (think 'that medical mission trip that your friends did in high school'). The link above that @Planes2Doc gave is a great summary. Having done several "medical mission trips" as 'a 20 year old undergrad kid who only had skills to stand around and take pictures' I can tell you that traveling abroad is what you make of it--my last trip abroad was an incredibly formative experience for me that I credit as a big part of my med school application. I think that if you have the opportunity to travel, you'd be a fool to not take it--after all, this is what my parents have worked so hard for (and what I plan to work hard for, so as to give my kids a chance to have great opportunities)--as long as you go in with the right perspective it can be a really great thing.
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I studied abroad in South Africa and had the opportunity to work with SA's Woman of the Year in the OR. It was hands down the best experience of my life. If that's the type of stuff you're looking for, my advice would be to find a study abroad program that gives you the flexibility to work/volunteer while you are taking classes. The program I studied with gave me a one month period to conduct an independent study on a health topic of my choice. I wanted a unique and meaningful experience and felt I could only get that by making personal connections with the locals, as opposed to working with the program's project advisor. When you're abroad, you will frequently hear how skeptical locals are of Americans coming in to "help." If you reach out to people, you are earning their trust from the beginning and this will only open doors. The doctors I reached out to were very understanding of my situation and sincere about giving me opportunities to help since they saw the initiative I took.
You may find a volunteering program that you like, but I have found most to be incredibly expensive and limiting (in terms of experience). What may very well happen while you're abroad is that you find something you really like that is unrelated to your volunteering gig. I think most study abroad programs are good about giving you time to find meaningful experiences outside of class. It's only a matter of you taking the initiative to seek these opportunities.
Hope it goes well and let me know if you have any questions.
You may find a volunteering program that you like, but I have found most to be incredibly expensive and limiting (in terms of experience). What may very well happen while you're abroad is that you find something you really like that is unrelated to your volunteering gig. I think most study abroad programs are good about giving you time to find meaningful experiences outside of class. It's only a matter of you taking the initiative to seek these opportunities.
Hope it goes well and let me know if you have any questions.
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About a third of matriculating students have done international volunteering, according the the AAMC's Matriculating Students Questionnaire. So yes, many people have experience with these trips.
You can probably find an opportunity that will put your PT skills to use in this database: http://www.omnimed.org/Clients/OmniMed/Databasetemplate/Default.aspx
I think it's important to be aware of the various arguments for and against short-term medical trips, no matter how you feel about their utility or value. Reading some articles like this might be useful:
http://journals.lww.com/academicmed..._an_Ethical_Approach_to_Global_Health.27.aspx
http://www.csm.org/articlewhymost.php
http://ethicsandglobalhealth.org
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Here is a great article on the role of the international volunteer:
https://medium.com/p/b84d4011d17e
https://medium.com/p/b84d4011d17e
