Opinions on Medical Brigades?

[KCraig]

I know that a lot of programs are seen as unfavorable, but I was wondering if anyone has heard anything about the Medical Brigades? My sister's university is planning a trip to Nicaragua.

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[Turkishking]

I know that a lot of programs are seen as unfavorable, but I was wondering if anyone has heard anything about the Medical Brigades? My sister's university is planning a trip to Nicaragua.

I wouldn't do it.

 

[deleted781806]

I know that a lot of programs are seen as unfavorable, but I was wondering if anyone has heard anything about the Medical Brigades? My sister's university is planning a trip to Nicaragua.

While I've had a handful of friends who greatly enjoyed their experience with the Brigades on trips to Nicaragua, you do need to be cognizant that you really can't function in any clinical capacity as an undergraduate student outside of greeting patients and potentially translating for care providers. I think that it could still show a commitment to volunteerism, but the same kinds of experience can easily be found in the city that you live in, I'm a fan of the push towards more local involvement rather than "voluntourism" which is establishing a bit of a foothold in the US. I think it's also a little ridiculous that you need to raise your own funds for accompanying these groups on their trips. Look into the specific program and see if it really speaks to you, but definitely be realistic about what you expect you can get out of it.

 

[Weirdy]

Its a vacation.

 

[aalamruad]

I did it. It's meh. It's expensive, and the while the temporary clinics are very valuable to the villages they visit, the actual volunteers make very little impact. I'd only recommend it if you can hold a significant and long-term leadership position in your chapter, or if you're very interested in global health as a potential career.

 

[Espressso]

I did it. It's meh. It's expensive, and the while the temporary clinics are very valuable to the villages they visit, the actual volunteers make very little impact. I'd only recommend it if you can hold a significant and long-term leadership position in your chapter, or if you're very interested in global health as a potential career.

I went on two and I loved it. I also held prominent positions within our chapter during 3 out of my 4 years of UG. I second @walloobi on the point about being interested in global health. I know I am, and these trips just reiterated it for me. It made a significant impact in terms of my path towards medicine.

I would recommend doing a "water" brigade or a "public health" one if your school is doing those. The water and public health brigades are much more valuable for the local communities. Plus, as a volunteer, you'll be making more of a direct impact. However, the medical/dental brigades are great too.

 

[Incomparable]

Don't do it. Save your money.

Find something you are passionate about in your community.

 

[all things possible]

Just show up to Nicaragua and volunteer directly with NGO's. Something you can actually be useful for and won't waste money on programs costs and fees. Immerse yourself in one of their Spanish-speaking communities and work with street kids, teach english, or even help develop healthy initiatives for single mothers, etc.

Much more impactful, fun, and a chance to learn about the culture, practice the language, and a great humbling opportunity.

 

[Goro]

Medical tourism.

I know that a lot of programs are seen as unfavorable, but I was wondering if anyone has heard anything about the Medical Brigades? My sister's university is planning a trip to Nicaragua.

 

[Myelinationiskey]

I've gotten good feedback from all my interviews on my medical brigades to Honduras. I certainly didn't treat the trips as voluntourism, and made a point to speak to that.

I think a lot of it depends on what you take out of it. I got involved at a deep level in the organization and it really influenced my application and interests in medicine as a whole.


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[Phoenix628]

Check to make sure that your school understands the concept of sustainability and holistic development. That's the one thing that makes Global Brigades stand out from other abroad trips (although it could still do a better job). Instead of just a medical brigade, there are also several others, including public health, water, environmental, and business, that provide better long-term work. The system is designed such that medical can go into a community first, and work with local physicians to provide immediate care. Then, each of the other brigades can move in to address other, less urgent aspects of development.

Finally (and this is the key), all the brigades LEAVE the area, such that the community is self-sustainable in the future. Again, the system is not perfect, but if you can understand the model and its flaws, I would highly recommend any of the brigades.

 

[Nave]

OP, I wouldn't waste your time.

Check to make sure that your school understands the concept of sustainability and holistic development. That's the one thing that makes Global Brigades stand out from other abroad trips (although it could still do a better job). Instead of just a medical brigade, there are also several others, including public health, water, environmental, and business, that provide better long-term work. The system is designed such that medical can go into a community first, and work with local physicians to provide immediate care. Then, each of the other brigades can move in to address other, less urgent aspects of development.

Finally (and this is the key), all the brigades LEAVE the area, such that the community is self-sustainable in the future. Again, the system is not perfect, but if you can understand the model and its flaws, I would highly recommend any of the brigades.

Lots of non-profits use buzzwords like "sustainability" and "holisitc".
Why do local physicians need the help of unqualified undergraduate students? There isn't anything you could do that a community health worker couldn't.
That is the goal of 99% percent of non-profits. To "work themselves out of a job".
I would highly disrecommend going on a brigade. If we as students were as alturistic as we claimed to be, we would donate the money that was going to spent on this brigade to a charity that saved the most lives per dollar (see effective alturism). Let's call this what it is, a self-fullfillment brigade.
Edit: @Phoenix628 Sorry, I don't mean to diregard your experience.

 

[RogueBanana]

Medical tourism.

There it is.

I was waiting for goro to drop the tourist bomb

 

[Goro]

That's how we view it. A pathologist colleague of mine introduced me to the term

There it is.

I was waiting for goro to drop the tourist bomb

 

[Sardinia]

I have been doing food pantry and soup kitchen volunteering for a period of two years. These operations often involve volunteers to assist with both the front and the back end of operations. Front end is very person-to-person and involves creating an environment where people get their orders in a timely manner and conveying that you will service them as soon as a table opens. Back end is warehouse operations and involves a lot of logistics like which food products need to be moved out due to demand or because of an expiration date. At any time you will have to switch hats and be ready to work the other side if either side are short staffed.

The most important quality for any volunteer opportunity is that you believe in the mission. If you are volunteering hours into an operation that you don't believe in, then you are wasting your time. You are also likely wasting the time of the organization. I have always been skeptical when it comes to high school / college volunteers resume padding their application for schools when they have to be manually told to perform actions on a week by week basis instead of them trying to plug themselves into the environment and finding out what needs to be done. This results in them only being given menial tasks that seem meaningless. My number one agitation is when they browse their phone in between finishing one task and being told to complete another task. If you are only volunteering for 2 or 4 hours, please commit both body and soul to the hours you volunteer there.

For me personally, I had been evicted and lived out of my car for a period of weeks. I then entered into an arrangement of cyclical housing. During this time, I ate anything and everything that was offered to me by the grace of God. To say the least, when my life stabilized I felt indebted to the food allocation resources that enabled me to have a future. I don't expect other people to be as passionate as me or to resonate to the same extent when they take on volunteering jobs, but I can't stand people that go through the motions and don't make a single effort to get into the head space of the community they are serving.