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Volunteering Abroad?
Started by muffeoniv
Experience third world poverty and then make a dumb statement like that.. I guarantee that you will see a lot more inequalities in a third world country than in any part of the US. Its people like you that make my stomach turn when I think about the innocent third world children living in horrendous conditions!
It's not just about helping people, it's also about developing your cultural competence and exposing you to environments and people and ideas that you may not have the chance to encounter at home. I'm not an adcom but I'd imagine having a diversity of experiences in a human services context would be a good thing for someone who wants to be a physician.
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LOL, SDN never fails make me laugh when it comes to just how slow and ******ed some people are! 👍
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tens of thousands of kids under the age of 5 die each year because of malnutrition, yet we have an obesity epidemic in this country... why do you think you have to go to a developing country to see horrible things like this? OBVIOUSLY its much worse in other countries, but I people don't realize that there are horrible things in our own country...
There are plenty of people here that need help, yes. However, most people that volunteer abroad do not simply do it to help. There are countries in much worse shape than the US. Also, I feel the majority of study/volunteer abroad do it for the experience.
I feel that your post in analogous to this: A lot of people have gone to New Orleans to help out down there, even though the nearest major city could probably use help. See what I did there?
Deworming orphans in Somalia is far from a requirement to get into medical school. If the obesity problem in America gets you so fired up then go volunteer at a fat camp for teens or something. Stop caring so freaking much about what you think schools want to see and just get involved in stuff you actually care about and show that you're actually interested in medicine.
You are making a real reputation for yourself in the last two and a half days, and it's not a good one.
I feel that if you go abroad to volunteer yet you never volunteered close to home it shows inconsistency, but if you've volunteered both here and abroad that's only a good thing.
Volunteering abroad is super-expensive though, and I personally couldn't justify doing that unless I spent a few weeks doing it and I could provide a service that the locals couldn't.
Volunteering abroad is super-expensive though, and I personally couldn't justify doing that unless I spent a few weeks doing it and I could provide a service that the locals couldn't.
yes of course, the other thing is this... my friend wants to be one of those doctors that goes and tries to save the world in africa (nothing wrong with this but...) the way you fix things in 3rd world countries isnt by sending doctors with backpacks over there (no disrespect)... the way you fix it is by UNICEF pouring billions of dollars each year in vaccines into countries to eradicate diseases and building health infrastructures ect. ect.
is it similar to the way we pour antibiotics into developing nations to create wonderful breeding grounds for MDR nasties?
so while we wait on those billions to come in from various governments and donors, we'll just do nothing, because you think it's stupid.
and you think you're the first person to come up with the idea to help these countries build up their own healthcare systems?
just stop posting in this thread, thanks.
and you think you're the first person to come up with the idea to help these countries build up their own healthcare systems?
just stop posting in this thread, thanks.
fixed
hmm. I see where the op is coming from on a certain level. I have seen lots of pre-meds from my school go to various african regions or latin america just because they think it'll look "super spectacular" on their resumes or boost their "i really care about other people" criteria. but half the time they were complaining about the smells and lack of electricity etc. and just wishing they were back home in their cozy suburbia, basically a lot of them missed the plot. however, I do think that if you go over to these areas with realistic expectations (people aren't going to worship you for being white/american/clean, people won't understand what business you have there in most cases) and have a good amount of humility you can really be moved and understand that you're not saving the world by spending a week in somalia but you are experiencing it.
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^ if that is your point then its fair enough, otherwise there is really no point to this thread.
Surprisingly, I actually agree with everyone here (including bleargh ..yea I know dude, the space time continuum is ******). I spent a summer in India working at a cancer hospital. The point wasn't to save the country, but it was learn about cancer, dealing cancer patients, and experiencing how medicine is practiced in a country with a completely different set of cultural and social norms. I don't think I could have a chance to do that once I start med school.
I think experiencing medicine abroad can really open your eyes to the field, and you will be able to appreciate what we have in this country much more. You should do it, not for the sake of applications, but for yourself.
Surprisingly, I actually agree with everyone here (including bleargh ..yea I know dude, the space time continuum is ******). I spent a summer in India working at a cancer hospital. The point wasn't to save the country, but it was learn about cancer, dealing cancer patients, and experiencing how medicine is practiced in a country with a completely different set of cultural and social norms. I don't think I could have a chance to do that once I start med school.
I think experiencing medicine abroad can really open your eyes to the field, and you will be able to appreciate what we have in this country much more. You should do it, not for the sake of applications, but for yourself.
