Medical Mission Trips

[Revenant]

Not to be a cynical A-hole here, but does the whole medical mission trip just seem like a massive waste of time and resources? I mean, sure, you get to hold a few DAB's and take pictures, but as an "worthless" pre-med you are hardly helping people in third-world countries. It seems like nothing more than a rather transparent "hey, look at me, I am holding a DAB, pick me University of X!"

Anyone else think time and resources could be better spent in a more practical (read: actually useful) way like in a community setting where one actually has an impact?

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[Jolie South]

yes

 

[xxbruinxx]

Not to be a cynical A-hole here, but does the whole medical mission trip just seem like a massive waste of time and resources? I mean, sure, you get to hold a few DAB's and take pictures, but as an "worthless" pre-med you are hardly helping people in third-world countries. It seems like nothing more than a rather transparent "hey, look at me, I am holding a DAB, pick me University of X!"

Anyone else think time and resources could be better spent in a more practical (read: actually useful) way like in a community setting where one actually has an impact?

agreed to some extent, but I still feel there's a lot of value to medical missions. Now of course if you're doing it for the sole purpose of an application, well there in lies the problem. But i've gained a lot of perspective from traveling abroad to third world countries (ie. India), not necessarily even in a "medical mission" capacity.

but i do see a point in making a difference in your OWN community...

just my thoughts

 

[barto123]

sure, i think life experience can be gained by traveling to 3rd world countries. but pre-meds shouldn't be so naive to believe they are making a difference by spending a couple of weeks in india or africa as an unskilled medical volunteer. ive heard a lot of stories about people doing "medical missions" and spending 2000 on a plane ticket to walk around clinic or hospital being useless for a couple of weeks, or just being a tool along with the other fools that signed up. if you plan on doing something like this, i would suggest finding a smaller program that actually would need your help where you can actually have some hands on experience, not token med school application stuff. people doing these medical missions and volunteering should look of it as more of an opportunity for them to gain a different perspective on life, rather thinking theyre doing the world a great service, because theyre not.

 

[DoctaJay]

Not to be a cynical A-hole here, but does the whole medical mission trip just seem like a massive waste of time and resources? I mean, sure, you get to hold a few DAB's and take pictures, but as an "worthless" pre-med you are hardly helping people in third-world countries. It seems like nothing more than a rather transparent "hey, look at me, I am holding a DAB, pick me University of X!"

Anyone else think time and resources could be better spent in a more practical (read: actually useful) way like in a community setting where one actually has an impact?

You go on mission trips because you actually want to help people, not because of how it appears on your application. I've gone on more evangelistic mission trips to Zimbabwe and Zambia. I've also gone on humanitarian mission trips to Louisianna after the huricanes hit. I didn't go because of how it would get me into medical school, but because I liked helping others. Adcomms will see through ECs that don't really mean much to you.

The adcomms (one in particular I know) at Hopkins have been nailing applicants who have gone over seas to "help" people but who have never fed a homeless person down the street from where they live or who have overall just never helped people back home. Its not that overseas missions are useless, but don't fly thousands of miles to helps poor Guatamalen children, if you never helped your own people back home. A balance is preferred.

 

[Revenant]

You go on mission trips because you actually want to help people, not because of how it appears on your application. I've gone on more evangelistic mission trips to Zimbabwe and Zambia. I've also gone on humanitarian mission trips to Louisianna after the huricanes hit. I didn't go because of how it would get me into medical school, but because I liked helping others. Adcomms will see through ECs that don't really mean much to you.

The adcomms (one in particular I know) at Hopkins have been nailing applicants who have gone over seas to "help" people but who have never fed a homeless person down the street from where they live or who have overall just never helped people back home. Its not that overseas missions are useless, but don't fly thousands of miles to helps poor Guatamalen children, if you never helped your own people back home. A balance is preferred.

Hmmm.... being a cynic I think the chances of finding someone doing it for the former and not the latter are 1/100. At least such has been my experience seeing the personalities attracted to foreign ventures.

Good to see adcoms can see through BS.

 

[apricotattack]

Although premeds admittedly know very little, in some places in the world (for me, rural West Africa) armed with "Where there is no doctor" and some cash, you can do more than you think. Sometimes just being a white person in a small village makes people think you're a doctor.. not that you can perform surgery and start dispensing ARVs or anything, but you can probably identify an ear infection and get some amoxicillin, or clean up an infected wound on a daily basis, if you stick around somewhere for several weeks. Also, you have the distinct power of helping people who come to you monetarily: some may approach you for help who would never have gone to the health center. If you can help somebody's health significantly with a few dollars and your time (which is quite possible), then you've done something real.

But I also trash on these 2-week, 40-person medical missions to places like Costa Rica, which has a health care system arguably better than ours.

 

[Jolie South]

Although premeds admittedly know very little, in some places in the world (for me, rural West Africa) armed with "Where there is no doctor" and some cash, you can do more than you think. Sometimes just being a white person in a small village makes people think you're a doctor.. not that you can perform surgery and start dispensing ARVs or anything, but you can probably identify an ear infection and get some amoxicillin, or clean up an infected wound on a daily basis, if you stick around somewhere for several weeks. Also, you have the distinct power of helping people who come to you monetarily: some may approach you for help who would never have gone to the health center. If you can help somebody's health significantly with a few dollars and your time (which is quite possible), then you've done something real.

But I also trash on these 2-week, 40-person medical missions to places like Costa Rica, which has a health care system arguably better than ours.

i worked in rural west african villages and could not argue more against giving people money for health care.

because of a woman who was there before me, the people are worse off than before and don't think that paying for their own healthcare is important. it taught them to depend on others and was absolutely unsustainable.

cost-reductions on expensive procedures and drugs . . .ok

giving all treatment away for free . . . doing more of a disservice than helping

teaching people how to run small income generating projects so that they can pay for their own health care . . . BEST

 

[xpinchx]

Although premeds admittedly know very little, in some places in the world (for me, rural West Africa) armed with "Where there is no doctor" and some cash, you can do more than you think. Sometimes just being a white person in a small village makes people think you're a doctor.. not that you can perform surgery and start dispensing ARVs or anything, but you can probably identify an ear infection and get some amoxicillin, or clean up an infected wound on a daily basis, if you stick around somewhere for several weeks. Also, you have the distinct power of helping people who come to you monetarily: some may approach you for help who would never have gone to the health center. If you can help somebody's health significantly with a few dollars and your time (which is quite possible), then you've done something real.

But I also trash on these 2-week, 40-person medical missions to places like Costa Rica, which has a health care system arguably better than ours.

Most of these programs you can volunteer for make sure the pre-meds that tag along aren't performing anything they're not certified to do in the US, and if you make any claims that you did make any clinical decisions off os US soil in your personal statement you may be getting yourself and the program you signed up for into some trouble.

I think traveling to a third world country can be a life-altering experience if you go for the right reasons. Wandering around a makeshift clinic surrounded by people whose language you can't speak just to fluff up your app isn't a right reason. If you truly want to help there are non-medical mission trips you can go on that will have a huge impact on the native people you're helping (i.e. building a school or something along those lines.)

 

[dally1025]

Your points are oftentimes true. However, it is possible to make changes in a community within several weeks depending on the work you do there. On my first mission trip I went into the area naively thinking I'd sweep in the town and make great changes. Needless to say it didn't happen. We brough a ton of medical supplies which helps the residents but they're long gone by now. We were able to make one lasting change (the type that matters) by bringing the supplies to build a well for water and helping them learn how to install, repair, and use it. I took a longer trip the next time but before I left I had a stronger understanding about what I would actually be able to do . I went for the more selfish reasons of learning to speak Spanish, gaining a different worldview, etc (ironically the vast majority of the people I told about my trip praised me for my selfless actions etc). Did I save lives on this trip? Probably not, but did I learn things that will make me a better doctor? I sure as h#$@ did. I think the potential of a mission trip to actually make a change in the community depends on the type of mission and how much time you are willing to spend. Short-term missions just don't really seem to bring about much effect unless you can find a way to bring about a change that will last longer than a couple of months (ie eduate the people to help themselves when you are no longer around).

 

[LizzyM]

The adcomms (one in particular I know) at Hopkins have been nailing applicants who have gone over seas to "help" people but who have never fed a homeless person down the street from where they live or who have overall just never helped people back home. Its not that overseas missions are useless, but don't fly thousands of miles to helps poor Guatamalen children, if you never helped your own people back home. A balance is preferred.

I'm hearing the same from my adcom this season. They are scratching their heads at why this foreign travel to "help people" suddenly seems from the applicant perspective as a required element of the application.

 

[Meatwad]

Not to be a cynical A-hole here, but does the whole medical mission trip just seem like a massive waste of time and resources? I mean, sure, you get to hold a few DAB's and take pictures, but as an "worthless" pre-med you are hardly helping people in third-world countries. It seems like nothing more than a rather transparent "hey, look at me, I am holding a DAB, pick me University of X!"

Anyone else think time and resources could be better spent in a more practical (read: actually useful) way like in a community setting where one actually has an impact?

Dr JPH and I went off on this about a month ago. The thread got closed down, because it was originally about something completely unrelated to useless pre-meds in Africa, but that's what it ended up about. Was a rousing good time for all (basically, me, JPH, and Polynikes). There is much that is true with your original post regarding pre-meds wanting to "do the Africa thing," to stand out.

 

[Phoenix.]

I'm hearing the same from my adcom this season. They are scratching their heads at why this foreign travel to "help people" suddenly seems from the applicant perspective as a required element of the application.

My guess is that applicants think that it will demonstrate several potential things about them:

1) social/global awareness/interest in the vein of another volunteering activity;
2) international experience (some schools, particularly NWU, love study/work abroad experiences, and this might suffice);
3) perspective (both by living in another country and learning to tolerate other views and cultures, as well as the troubling healthcare situations in other countries which even just as a comparative matter may be good to personally observe);
4) an interesting experience which will likely yield plenty of fodder for secondary essays;
5) an experience which not everyone has the time or resources to do, and which may help set them apart (however, given your response above, obviously this is not an unusual experience); and
6) perhaps the advice of pre-health advisors? (this one I'm just guessing at).

Anyway, I did not undertake such a mission, but I am envious of those that have. I don't kid myself thinking that I would be doing more good by going than my plane fare alone would provide, but I do think that I would benefit personally from such an experience. In fact, I would love to go abroad at some point during medical school (but hopefully at a point where I could be of more usefulness).

Regardless, I completely agree that such an experience would ring entirely false if done without local community service to back it up.

 

[sanchopanza]

I'm going to Mexico soon for a mission, where I'm going to serve as the translator for a small group of two doctors and a couple nurses. I'm assuming I'll be useful. And I'm not doing this for my application (hell, it ain't even ON my application since it's a future event).

I hope none of you guys have things on your application that you did just so they'd be there, on you're application. That's pathetic, and does not speak of qualities I'd like to see in a doctor.

 

[Phoenix.]

I'm going to Mexico soon for a mission, where I'm going to serve as the translator for a small group of two doctors and a couple nurses. I'm assuming I'll be useful. And I'm not doing this for my application (hell, it ain't even ON my application since it's a future event).

I hope none of you guys have things on your application that you did just so they'd be there, on you're application. That's pathetic, and does not speak of qualities I'd like to see in a doctor.

I don't know. I wouldn't call it pathetic. Look at it this way: Imagine that you are dedicated to becoming a doctor and are sincere in your passion to pursue medicine and to do good with what you learn in medical school. But imagine that while you have lots of volunteering, community service, and clinical exposure that you sought out because you were interested in it, you may believe (correctly or incorrectly) that there's a hoop to jump through that you're not as interested in (for interest, research). If medicine is really your dream and your goal, wouldn't you also try to find some research experience so that no one thinks your application is lacking and that you've got broad experience in the healthcare field even though you may not personally be as interested in research?

I didn't do this myself (I was interested in clinical research), but did for a moment or two consider searching out some bench research (which I'm not personally interested in) because I did think that a school or two that I was interested in would really like to see that in an ideal applicant. Was I pathetic for considering it? I don't think so.... Would I call someone else pathetic that did undertake bench research just because they thought that it was a semi-required component of a good med school application? No. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that their underlying motives are good, even if the were not personally passionate about that one activity. But that's just my two cents.

 

[Revenant]

I'm hearing the same from my adcom this season. They are scratching their heads at why this foreign travel to "help people" suddenly seems from the applicant perspective as a required element of the application.

It also seems like any advantage in the process based on foreign trips seems to give major advantages to kids that can afford pissing away 2000 dollars and making the tiniest impact possible. Like if they had spent that 2000 dollars and 300 hours of service towards a local habitat chapter they could have helped to build two houses. Or they could have donated their time and money to a soup kitchen and made a worthwhile impact.

These ventures just seem like a cheap advertisement, like a sick photo-op.

 

[LizzyM]

It also seems like any advantage in the process based on foreign trips seems to give major advantages to kids that can afford pissing away 2000 dollars and making the tiniest impact possible. Like if they had spent that 2000 dollars and 300 hours of service towards a local habitat chapter they could have helped to build two houses. Or they could have donated their time and money to a soup kitchen and made a worthwhile impact.

These ventures just seem like a cheap advertisement, like a sick photo-op.

The foreign trips that give the greatest advantage are made by Peace Corps volunteers. The opportunity cost is high (two years of your life) but the alumni are very impressive.

 

[Revenant]

The foreign trips that give the greatest advantage are made by Peace Corps volunteers. The opportunity cost is high (two years of your life) but the alumni are very impressive.

My post was more in relation to the two week trips to Guatemala to "help people", which amounts to nothing more than a photo-op.

 

[Jolie South]

My post was more in relation to the two week trips to Guatemala to "help people", which amounts to nothing more than a photo-op.

Right, I think she was just saying that the only abroad trips that are worth anything are Peace Corps service and that to participate in this requires a 2 year commitment.

 

[154241]

I originally wanted to do something abroad during the year off I have right now, but reading SDN rants made me think twice about how useful I would actually be. I'm interested in public health but have no experience, and I have nothing to offer in terms of clinical skills either. So I took the advice of people saying "look in your own backyard for ways to help" and found this opportunity with a Katrina recovery organization outside of New Orleans. I may not be able to design sustainable development projects or diagnose malaria, but I can sure as heck gut houses and do paperwork around headquarters. And the perks of traveling like interacting with different cultures definitely hold here if you've never lived in New Orleans. There are some pretty cool people down here. (I love the accents!) I wish there was a good way to corral all these premeds with a year off and focus their energies on Katrina projects. (Provided, of course, they really want to help--it can be thankless, frustrating work sometimes, from what I've seen so far.) One of the big problems, it seems, is that people who want to move back down have lives and two mortgages to juggle, so it can be hard to get anything done in terms of rebuilding, etc. So it would be great to have a pool of long-term help and labor down here who don't have families and stuff to worry about. Just my thoughts.

 

[TheRealMD]

Lol, the simple thing is that if you don't realize by going overseas that there aren't just problems over outside of the US but inside too, then your trip was pointless. However, I'd argue that US media just covers it up a lot better.

Like for instance, a few months ago, there was a lady at a LA county hospital who bled to death on the ER floor. I'd say it should have made headline news, but it probably didn't. Now a person who went overseas should be more aware of the problems of the world (and realize that the US is a part of it too) and know that the US isn't immune to these problems either.

But if you stay in the US all the time, then you'll think the rest of the world is a fairy tale land that just doesn't exist. That's why you should go out.

 

[ChiDoc27]

I completely agree that going on two week medical trips to "save the world" are utterly useless, but there are instances where medical mission trips can be very beneficial to all. One of my best friend go EMT certified then went to Africa for 7 months where he helped in various hospital emergency rooms. The shortage of medical personnel made his presence all the more useful. Also, next summer I am spending 14 weeks in west Africa after I get EMT certified so that I can be more useful in the hospital. If you combine your trip with research, it can be even more beneficial. (I'm having the trip paid for by an undergraduate research grant for my senior thesis, for example). There is a lot of good that can come out of these trips if they are done properly.