What are ADCOMS opinions on Medical Mission trips
I went on a MEDLIFE (medicine education and development for low income families everywhere) to Peru for 10 days almost 9 years ago. We set up popup clinics around Lima Peru and did a development project in one of the neighborhoods. I got to see how poor, and medically disadvantaged some areas of the world are. I got to put smiles on some kids' faces and take vitals of people entering the clinic. However, I don’t really know how big of an impact I really had, or if the money I spent on the trip could have been spent better elsewhere.
It was not till later that I realized that experiences like these can be seen as medical voluntourism and maybe have a negative connotation. I was 19 at the time I did this, and I thought it would be important. I put this experience in my first medical school application, and now I am debating on not putting it in my upcoming application all together (due to the possible negative connotation). The experiences I have had volunteering at children’s hospitals, working in hospitals, and shadowing physicians has given me way more insight into medicine than this 10 day trip when I was 19. I was hoping you could shed some light whether putting this experience in my upcoming application is even worthwhile or possibly seen as a privileged red flag.
Thanks