Merits of Medical Mission Trips

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Beta Cell

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I was recently accepted to UCSF's summer program which lasts 10 weeks and I've been considering going with my school on a 1-week summer program to Peru. I'm fluent in Spanish and my parents don't have a problem paying for it, but I have two problems with the program, 1) It costs $1400 and 2) It's only for one week. I truly would like to go for the experience, but I would also like to be practical (and I do only have roughly a month to spare before the UCSF Summer Research program begins). Since the program is one week, would it show anything to medical school adcoms?

Again, I'm not considering the program simply to impress medical schools, but I really can't justify spending 6 days volunteering my time in a country and having my parents pay $1400 for it. If medical schools do like to see that, I suppose that could be a saving grace. Feel free to opine, thanks.
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i am generally for going abroad and against any program that requires you to pay in order to volunteer.

that being said: i recommend you go on the trip, but stay/volunteer/work there for a longer period of time. that $1400 is expensive for just a week, but a large portion of that no doubt is the plane ticket. once you get there though, everything is pretty inexpensive. and if your parents are willing to pay that, maybe they could support you to stay there for maybe 2 months for not that much more $$$.

again, try to find a non-profit or NGO that will let you volunteer. you should not have to pay anyone to do it though. this type of experience, where you create/initiate an opportunity for yourself, will be much more highly regarded than just signing up for a program.
 
Well, I'm doing UCSF's Amgen Program so I can't really stay for longer than probably 3 weeks, giving me a week to rest.
 
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Beta Cell said:
Well, I'm doing UCSF's Amgen Program so I can't really stay for longer than probably 3 weeks, giving me a week to rest.
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sorry, i read your post as an either-or type question. didn't realize you decided on UCSF already.

personally, i would still go (and for as long as i could...not even taking that one week off in between). but if you just do the 6 day program, remember that it is just 6 days and you paid to go on it. so you can't really market it as anything much more dramatic than that.
 
"again, try to find a non-profit or NGO that will let you volunteer. you should not have to pay anyone to do it though. this type of experience, where you create/initiate an opportunity for yourself, will be much more highly regarded than just signing up for a program."

what kind of experience are you referring to? i combed the web for something that was free volunteering (where you just pay for the plane ride) but couldnt find anything. literally, nothing. what it comes down to is that you will have to pay for lodging and food and transportation within the city.

that being said, are those medical mission trips that you do pay for (something like 6-8 weeks in a foreign country), are they looked down upon by medical schools? even though youre volunteering for 6 weeks in another country that has a great need for it, and if you learned some life lessons from it, will they give it reduced consideration because you paid for and just signed up for a program?
 
medical mission trips are a huge waste of time. Its such an inefficient use of resources. If you want to go on vacation to Peru, go on the trip, but don't pretend its a mission trip. Simply donating $1400 to a charity would do so much more than you flying all the way down there to essentially hand out band-aids.
 
thebillsfan said:
what kind of experience are you referring to? i combed the web for something that was free volunteering (where you just pay for the plane ride) but couldnt find anything. literally, nothing. what it comes down to is that you will have to pay for lodging and food and transportation within the city.
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exactly. what i am talking about are NOT programs. you can browse the web for organizations that provide services, but not every organization actively recruits volunteers or posts openings. you can just use the contact info you find on their site to tell them about yourself and that you are interested in working for them over the summer. at first they can be a little hesitant, but when they learn you are serious, they have a hard time turning down free labor.

and it works. i used this technique to network and wound up working at a high school in east africa. i have friends who did this too and worked in microfinance organizations in asia, assisted ecological studies in costa rica, and worked in clinics in mexico.
 
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If you want to travel, take those spanish skills here and meet some hot spanish chicas.

84670597_9ba6fde2bc.jpg


If you want something to write down on your medical school app, spend $1.50 driving to the local ER or clinic.
 
Having gone on several week-long medical missions trips, I have a different perspective compared to some that have been voiced here. Yes, you won't change the country or make any long-term impact unless you're part of an ongoing initiative that involves a series of short-term trips. However, you will learn a tremendous amount and you'll see things that you'll probably never see in the USA. So, is it selfish to go? Well, many students would not be willing to give up a spring or fall break to work 8 hrs a day and live like they're on a camping trip. However, if you really want to grow and have some stories to talk about in your personal statement, then I don't think you'll have any regrets as long as you go for the right reasons.
 
I went to Honduras on a week-long medical mission trip last summer. I paid around $1500 out of my own pocket, but it was worth it. Like someone said above, I learned a lot during the trip. And it gives me something to write about on my application.
 
DrYoda said:
84670597_9ba6fde2bc.jpg
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The people of this country, especially that city, are ridiculously beautiful.

I have never in my life seen such a high concentration of absolutely gorgeous people in one area.
 
A ticket from JFK or Miami to Peru in the summer is ~$450. So you're basically paying $1000 for food, living, and transport which amounts to about $150 a day for a week. $50 a day is more than enough in South America, so if you take the initiative and try to plan something on your own you can stay there for almost a month and you'd probably have a much more meaningful experience.

A mission trip, in my opinion, is an easy way for people with money to get a somewhat unique experience. However, I think it's a huge waste of money and as others have pointed out if your sole objective is to do something good then donate the money and volunteer at home. Obviously mission trips are a lot more self serving than anyone who goes on them would care to admit, which is perfectly fine, but if you take yourself a little out of your comfort zone and try to arrange something yourself I'm sure you'll come out with a cheaper, longer, more rewarding trip in which you'll be able to do far more good than you would have done in a week.
 
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i agree that week long mission trips are sort of a waste, but what if youre there for an extended period of time...like six weeks?
 
Beta, I thought you were doing the SRTP and not Amgen...Anyway in regards to your question, if you want to spend that much money during this recession to invest in a developing nation that you clearly must not be that interested in (as evident by this very thread and the overall time period that you will be spending there) then by all means, go ahead.
 
i paid about $350 for a weekend mission trip and it was far more valuable than 3 years of volunteering in an american hospital folding sheets and answering the phone. i got to actually participate a bit in some surgeries (holding the retractor, etc). since i speak pretty good spanish i was actually a big help as we had several doctors that didnt speak much spanish. all the doctors seemed really interested in the work and eager to teach about everything they did. and no fear of hipaa rules and regulations, so you can do a lot. most opportunities fell in my lap there, whereas in america i have to annoy the hell out of doctors before they let me within 10 feet of the patient!!!
 
How fluent are you in Spanish? Like native speaker fluent or years of spanish classes fluent?

I ask because there are a number of language schools, some in Peru, that offer medical Spanish programs. You get to do observation hours in a local clinic in the afternoons after taking intensive immersion spanish classes in the morning. If you're a native speaker it's probably a waste but if you learned through classes the conversation with native speakers could boost your skills and it would be interesting to observe at a local clinic. You could spend one week with your school, delay your flight home, spend 2 weeks in a medical spanish program.

If you're a native speaker or don't want to do spanish school, then do the program if you really want to -- it sounds like a lot of fun to me -- but don't do it for med school admissions because it won't help that much.
 
If you want to go, and you have the money to make the mission trip a reality, then you might as well go and experience as much as you can while you are in Peru.

However, if you do not already have a good deal of clinical exposure, do not use this trip as a way to make up for that. One week of mission experience is nothing as far as clinical exposure goes - and unless you have far more clinical and volunteer experience, it is going to look like a joke on your application.

In summary: if you go, do it for yourself but don't do it to look good to medical schools. It wouldn't be nearly as impressive as you would think.
 
@Norton: I meant SRTP, yes. I copied the letter I received to the AMGEN thread itself (before anyone else had), so it's not like I'm trying to hide something. I didn't even read the SRTP part myself until recently. Honestly, I didn't find out it was for the SRTP until I reread the letter a few days later. It's essentially the same program though, we all live in the same area and get matched to researchers in the same way, etc.

@SarahG: I'm fluent in Spanish. My mother is from El Salvador, so I'm 50% hispanic (though nobody has ever been able to tell as I don't look stereotypically hispanic).

@URHere: I volunteer at the hospital affiliated with my university once a week for five hours. I also spent last year (my freshman year) doing the same thing and over the summer I took two classes and volunteered three times a week for 5 hours. I want to do it for the experience, but like I said, it's expensive and a week long. The only redeeming factor would have been if medical school adcoms really liked it, but looking at mdapplicants.com and other threads here on SDN, it doesn't really seem too impressive. Hopefully next summer (a year from now), I can set up a longer stay so that I can actually gain something from the experience. I never wanted to do this for adcoms, but it fit in with my tight summer schedule, and I was wondering if it was even worth it.

Final Conclusion: It's not worth the money. I'll go next summer when I can devote more time to the program.
 
DrYoda said:
If you want to travel, take those spanish skills here and meet some hot spanish chicas.

84670597_9ba6fde2bc.jpg


If you want something to write down on your medical school app, spend $1.50 driving to the local ER or clinic.
Click to expand...

What city is this?
 
This article sums up my thoughts on global volunteering. Type in www.UniteforSight .org/global-health-course/module9

I was having issues with that showing up, so I had to write it all wonky. Get rid of the space between the two parts of the address.

Anyways, it's a really good read. I think you should make sure you're getting involved in a SUSTAINABLE project. Otherwise, you're doing more harm than good.
 
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Thank you Jolie, that article seemed to cover the same conclusions I was beginning to draw, though certainly not as in-depth.
 
Lukkie said:
i paid about $350 for a weekend mission trip and it was far more valuable than 3 years of volunteering in an american hospital folding sheets and answering the phone. i got to actually participate a bit in some surgeries (holding the retractor, etc). since i speak pretty good spanish i was actually a big help as we had several doctors that didnt speak much spanish. all the doctors seemed really interested in the work and eager to teach about everything they did. and no fear of hipaa rules and regulations, so you can do a lot. most opportunities fell in my lap there, whereas in america i have to annoy the hell out of doctors before they let me within 10 feet of the patient!!!
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yes, let's all go to developing countries to take advantage of their lax medical ethics standards. patients there don't deserve them as much as patients here in the US.

Jolie South said:
Anyways, it's a really good read. I think you should make sure you're getting involved in a SUSTAINABLE project. Otherwise, you're doing more harm than good.
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:thumbup:
 
i think its definitely clear that most people who've posted to this forum think that week-long (or even weekend long!) trips generally do not benefit the communities they take place. i'm wondering where youre gone for 6/7 weeks an truly immerse yourself in a culture and work at an organization that does some real good to the community. if you pay a large sum of money for this, what are the merits of this in the eyes of medical school adcoms? i'm not asking how they see it as a clinical experience, just as an experience in general
 
the work is important of course. but expressing your sincere motivations and a nuanced understanding of the nature of this type of work should make adcoms look favorably upon the trip. but the most important thing is probably what you were able to take away from the trip more than what you were able to do there. i dont recall anywhere on the AMCAS that requires you to disclose the amount of money you spent paying for these things.
 
docontheroc said:
the work is important of course. but expressing your sincere motivations and a nuanced understanding of the nature of this type of work should make adcoms look favorably upon the trip. but the most important thing is probably what you were able to take away from the trip more than what you were able to do there. i dont recall anywhere on the AMCAS that requires you to disclose the amount of money you spent paying for these things.
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Agreed. I think being able to do that was a big part of my application.
 
Go, I did week long trips in the US, and although looking back, it only put a drop in the bucket, it was so worth it. You'll get a lot out of the experience, despite the relative shortness of it.
 
Bacchus said:
Go, I did week long trips in the US, and although looking back, it only put a drop in the bucket, it was so worth it. You'll get a lot out of the experience, despite the relative shortness of it.
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I think there's a big difference between trips done in the US and abroad. You're from here so you don't have to deal with language and cultural differences. That's a huge obstacle that you've already overcome.
 
My grandparents live in El Salvador and I've gone and lived with them over summers for the past 7-8 years (my cousins are there and I've been joining the Salvadoran National Soccer Team (I'm a dual citizen) on the practice squad in recent years). It wouldn't really be culture shock as I've seen similiar situations (perhaps worse) in El Salvador. Truth be told though, my grandparents are not poor and live in one of the nicest places in the capital city, so my living conditions are very comparable to what I have at home. Nontheless, I've seen the begging in the streets, homeless children running around, people working all day for $7 total, etc.
 
To the OP, go on the mission trip. If money isn't an issue than you'd be cheating yourself out of a very unique experience. And as far as sustainability is concerned, you can make connections while you're there and then when you have time the following summer, or even in med school you can set up your own experience for less money and a longer time. But this one week trip could be your foot in the door to many opportunities in the future.
 
Don't waste your time. There are plenty of opportunities in the US dealing with persons in similar conditions that you can do for FREE and also have a big impact. I do health services for the American Red Cross. I have deployed to disasters all over the US where I oversaw health needs of the evacuees. They pay for everything, and the impact you can have on some of these people is huge (you might be the only medical attention they have gotten in years). You can still deploy to disasters as a non-medical person with ARC as well and have the same impact (when it boils down to it, it's all community service). Feel free to PM me if you need more info.

Not to be a hater, but I seriously cannot imagine how much you could help on the trip without medical training, background, and license.
 
Check out www.bruceperu.org , they're a great tiny little volunteering organization that runs out of Cuzco. They are fully self sustained and it's a great way to learn about the culture and do some responsible traveling. You could volunteer with them for that 3 weeks and still end up paying less than that trip you've got lined up.

I volunteered there for 3 weeks and it was one of the best trips I've taken. Looking to volunteer as a way to boost your app is definitely not the way to go into it. Just do it because it's fun!
 
Another thought for people looking to make a difference is to consider serving in our own country....where many people are living in poverty, hungry, and without many of the resources that are taken for granted in urban areas. These communities often have very limited physician access and must make due with telemedicine, local health aids, flying hundreds of miles for simple procedures, or go without entirely..... Just saying that one does not need to travel to another country to find communities in need. If you're looking to work with underserved populations, travel overseas is not always the only option.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/02/05/rural.alaska.villages/index.html

Rural Alaska also just happens to be one of the most beautiful places in the world...:love:
 
pakola said:
To the OP, go on the mission trip. If money isn't an issue than you'd be cheating yourself out of a very unique experience. And as far as sustainability is concerned, you can make connections while you're there and then when you have time the following summer, or even in med school you can set up your own experience for less money and a longer time. But this one week trip could be your foot in the door to many opportunities in the future.
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that would be sustainability for you not the population.
 
real culture shock doesnt even begin to hit you until a couple months in...
 
Bacchus said:
The OP speaks Spanish. It will be a bit of culture shock, but he'll get over it in 1 - 2 days, I'd imagine.
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Off Topic,but I totally thought you were a girl lol
 
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