Medical mission trips

[rdk322]

I'm actually a 2nd year DO student. I was debating on where to post this but seeing how allopathic gets more traffic I wanted to post here.

I'm looking for a short medical mission trips abroad (~2 weeks). My school has a few but not around the time that is convenient for me with limited spots. I'm interested in FM and volunteering abroad has always interested me. Can anyone recommend any organizations or groups I should look into? Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Moose A Moose]

DO Care International

 

[Winged Scapula]

Why not just vacation abroad?

Medical mission trips, while common in the premed world, are much less so for medical students. If you must combine and international experience with your education consider doing a fourth-year elective abroad.

Residency programs are not really clamoring to see mission trips, especially for such a short period of time, on applications. You got enough to do during school, including studying for your licensing exams, but I would not spend my vacation doing one of these.

 

[masaraksh]

Why not just vacation abroad?

Medical mission trips, while common in the premed world, are much less so for medical students. If you must combine and international experience with your education consider doing a fourth-year elective abroad.

Residency programs are not really clamoring to see mission trips, especially for such a short period of time, on applications. You got enough to do during school, including studying for your licensing exams, but I would not spend my vacation doing one of these.

What she said. Just go on a vacation. And if you're dying to volunteer I am sure there are programs in your area that need help. Its funny, I saw fb photos from someone who went on a 'medical trip' abroad. Looked like a glorified vacation.

However, if you are set on doing something medicine related abroad (and thats fine) you should realize that 2wks is not going to yield anything substantial. If anything, you'll be more of a bother. Thats why we're telling you to take a vacation.

But... I know there are programs as parts of residency where residents spend a few months abroad. E.g. I saw a path resident give a lecture about spending a few months in Japan and Africa. Worked on several research projects in lab medicine. Performed tons of autopsies (apparently they are done at a very high frequency there) and participated in medical student teaching.

 

[nycdocmd]

You should also seriously think about what you (we) can actually contribute as medical students.

For this reason - a lot of organizations don't offer to work with medical students.

A lot of the time - you're doing stuff like hauling boxes and completely unrelated to your future training/work - not that there's not value in this. Just depends on your motivations.

That being said a few do - probably smaller ones (I know you said you're interested in FM, but still...)
Ones that I have volunteered for personally
http://www.uniteforsight.org/
http://www.haitimedicalmissionsofmemphis.org/

 

[On Eagle's Wings]

Here are some great organizations I have personally been involved with. They are reputable organizations where you get real medical experience. I listed both of these experiences on my application and I was never asked about medical tourism or any of those related issues.

BMDMI: http://www.bmdmi.org/
- Teams go on 1-week medical mission trips to Honduras. I joined several teams for several weeks. Good variety of experiences, from surgery in a hospital to medicine in rural villages. One of my teams was almost all medical students from a medical school in the US.

CHOSEN IMA: http://www.chosenima.org/
-2 week medical mission trip to Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. I have also worked with medical students here.

I am a huge fan of medical missions (it is what I want to do with my career). Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[PatsyStone]

As a second year med student, you have no useful clinical skills, and any program that expects you to do clinical work--even if you're well supervised--is ethically questionable.

I also agree with the above that 1-2 weeks is not a lot of time unless it's for a program like Operation Smile that offers a definitive treatment. If you want to help people, volunteer in your local community or donate to MSF. Remember, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and volunteering abroad--especially in medicine--can cause harm.

 

[On Eagle's Wings]

As a second year med student, you have no useful clinical skills, and any program that expects you to do clinical work--even if you're well supervised--is ethically questionable.

I also agree with the above that 1-2 weeks is not a lot of time unless it's for a program like Operation Smile that offers a definitive treatment. If you want to help people, volunteer in your local community or donate to MSF. Remember, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and volunteering abroad--especially in medicine--can cause harm.

At my medical school, the medical missions offered are at hospitals in third world nations designated by the school as teaching facilities. We go with physicians from our own school who help train us. Also, my school does teach clinical skills in the first year, such that by the end of MS1, we are required to be able to do complete physical examinations and patient interviews. It really depends on the medical school you go to. My medical school is heavily mission focused, and we train with the intent of going on missions. The school actively encourages people between MS1 and MS2 to go on mission trips to practice their new skills and for additional training.

What I do see as unethical is letting people who are sick die without treatment, rather than sending doctors and student physicians who have the skills to save lives to these areas. The hospitals and clinics there are established ones, so there will be long term good, as long as there are people serving there and training the local physicians as well.