Would this be considered “voluntourism”?

[deleted823905]

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A physician at my church leads an annual 3-month Christian medical mission trip to serve remote and underdeveloped villages in his home country (it’s my home country as well, although I immigrated to the US at a very young age). He is licensed to practice in the US, but was originally a physician in his home country and is familiar with the needs of specific communities in his home area.

The mission trip has a medical component but also an evangelistic component. I have the opportunity to go on this trip, mostly to help on the evangelistic side of things by playing music and leading workshops. However, because I want to be a doctor, the physician is letting me shadow him as well.

I know medical mission trips are usually neutral or viewed negatively on an app. If I put this on my application, how would this experience be viewed (is it voluntourism)? Also, how would I classify this experience? Can I call it clinical because of the shadowing?

 

[LizzyM]

Three months is a pretty long trip. If your faith community has a longitudinal relationship with this overseas community and is there annually, there is less of a concern about medical tourism.

If you go, call this volunteer non-clinical and emphasize that it was an evangelical service trip. Only count the hours you actually spend doing the activities... don't count 168 hours/wk.
If you shadow the doc while you are there, include this in your experience section under the heading "shadowing". Only list the hours you actually spend shadowing. It would be very beneficial if you could shadow the same doctor in the US and be able to compare and contrast the delivery of health care in the US and in this remote village.

 

[Catalystik]

because I want to be a doctor, the physician is letting me shadow him as well.

Can I call it clinical because of the shadowing?

No. Shadowing isn't considered a volunteer activity. You do it for you; it doesn't help other people.

 

[Goro]

A physician at my church leads an annual 3-month Christian medical mission trip to serve remote and underdeveloped villages in his home country (it’s my home country as well, although I immigrated to the US at a very young age). He is licensed to practice in the US, but was originally a physician in his home country and is familiar with the needs of specific communities in his home area.

The mission trip has a medical component but also an evangelistic component. I have the opportunity to go on this trip, mostly to help on the evangelistic side of things by playing music and leading workshops. However, because I want to be a doctor, the physician is letting me shadow him as well.

I know medical mission trips are usually neutral or viewed negatively on an app. If I put this on my application, how would this experience be viewed (is it voluntourism)? Also, how would I classify this experience? Can I call it clinical because of the shadowing?

Going on trips primarily to convert the heathen won't get you much traction. You can list the shadowing as shadowing.

 

[Catalystik]

Going on trips primarily to convert the heathen won't get you much traction.

Not a good demonstration of cultural sensitivity?

 

[Goro]

Not a good demonstration of cultural sensitivity?

Do we want to get shifted over to SPF??

 

[deleted823905]

Three months is a pretty long trip. If your faith community has a longitudinal relationship with this overseas community and is there annually, there is less of a concern about medical tourism.

If you go, call this volunteer non-clinical and emphasize that it was an evangelical service trip. Only count the hours you actually spend doing the activities... don't count 168 hours/wk.
If you shadow the doc while you are there, include this in your experience section under the heading "shadowing". Only list the hours you actually spend shadowing. It would be very beneficial if you could shadow the same doctor in the US and be able to compare and contrast the delivery of health care in the US and in this remote village.

No. Shadowing isn't considered a volunteer activity. You do it for you; it doesn't help other people.

Thank you!!!

Going on trips primarily to convert the heathen won't get you much traction.

Is this something I should be concerned about? Everyone has different views about faith, evangelism, etc and maybe I might offend an adcom who doesn’t share the same views or has had a bad experience with religion (e.g. maybe they think it’s arrogant to try to convert people to my faith, etc). Any tips on how to approach this on my app and during interviews?

 

[Goro]

Thank you!!!



Is this something I should be concerned about? Everyone has different views about faith, evangelism, etc and maybe I might offend an adcom who doesn’t share the same views or has had a bad experience with religion (e.g. maybe they think it’s arrogant to try to convert people to my faith). Any tips on how to approach this on my app and during interviews?

You have a right to express your faith. But the conversion trip itself won't be worth much for the religious aspect on a med school app.

But spending a prolonged time in other cultures is valuable.

I hope my pal @HomeSkool can elaborate further, as he spent considerable time in South America on such a trip.

 

[theKingLT]

There are definitely some good things about this particular trip that have been mentioned above - that there is a consistent, long-term presence in the same community, that the physician in charge (and you!) are familiar with the culture and sociopolitical issues in the area, etc.

However, regardless of what specific religion you're trying to convert people to and any adcom's experience with that religion, this trip could be perceived negatively. Many global health experts consider any sort of mission trip with an aspect of conversion to be ethically problematic for the following reasons. Obviously I don't know if these apply to your trip, but they are issues you might get asked about in interviews.

1) The people you want to help may feel like they have to convert in order to access the resources you're offering. There is a huge power differential here.
2) If you are choosing to do work in another country, your role is to meet people where they are. You should not be trying to change local traditions, culture, religion, etc. because you perceive yours to be superior.
3) In some cases, it may be dangerous for the locals to stray from the traditions, culture, and religion of that region.

Trying not to totally derail this thread, but I'm curious. A friend of mine goes on trips to Egypt to provide medical care to coptics who have been persecuted in various ways. Could this be seen as unethical since they focus on a specific religious group?

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Trying not to totally derail this thread, but I'm curious. A friend of mine goes on trips to Egypt to provide medical care to coptics who have been persecuted in various ways. Could this be seen as unethical since they focus on a specific religious group?

I would assume your friend does not turn away Muslims at the door but rather works in specifically Coptic areas.

As for rubbing an Adcom the wrong way with going on a conversion/mission trip, you can always demonstrate your awareness/recognition of the ethical dilemmas and how you addressed them either in the activity description, secondaries, or even your personal statement.

 

[Catalystik]

Any tips on how to approach this on my app and during interviews?

Focus on the service components of your "international relief work" rather than on the proselytizing /evangelical elements.

 

[deleted823905]

There are definitely some good things about this particular trip that have been mentioned above - that there is a consistent, long-term presence in the same community, that the physician in charge (and you!) are familiar with the culture and sociopolitical issues in the area, etc.

However, regardless of what specific religion you're trying to convert people to and any adcom's experience with that religion, this trip could be perceived negatively. Many global health experts consider any sort of mission trip with an aspect of conversion to be ethically problematic for the following reasons. Obviously I don't know if these apply to your trip, but they are issues you might get asked about in interviews.

1) The people you want to help may feel like they have to convert in order to access the resources you're offering. There is a huge power differential here.
2) If you are choosing to do work in another country, your role is to meet people where they are. You should not be trying to change local traditions, culture, religion, etc. because you perceive yours to be superior.
3) In some cases, it may be dangerous for the locals to stray from the traditions, culture, and religion of that region.

I didn't know this was so ethically problematic. I like @OneTwoThreeFour 's suggestion of demonstrating awareness of these ethical dilemmas during my interviews, but I honestly don't know much about it. I'm going to try doing my own research about this but if anyone could point me in the direction of reliable resources/articles/whatever I would be really grateful!

Thank you for all the responses; this has been pretty enlightening (and possibly a good sampling of the views I might encounter on the interview trail?)

 

[LizzyM]

This is a good thread from last year:

Voluntourism and adcomm cognitive dissonance

 

[HomeSkool]

I agree with @Goro that you have a right to express your beliefs, and I see nothing arrogant with attempting to convert others to your faith. On the contrary, if you've found something that brings meaning and joy to your life, I think sharing it with others demonstrates altruism. Giving of yourself in the service of others through a charitable entity like a church is a great way to volunteer nonclinically.

As Goro mentioned, spending time immersed in another culture is valuable. I spent two years as a missionary in Brazil, during which time I gained an appreciation and love for a culture not my own. While many of the specific cultural aspects I observed in Brazil have little relevance to my stateside medical practice today, the broader experience of being "a stranger in a strange land" has helped me appreciate the cultural differences that exist amongst my patients.

As other have indicated, the shadowing you may do on this trip doesn't count as clinical volunteering, nor can it be substituted for shadowing a physician in the US. While I encourage you to list nonclinical time spent volunteering on this trip, I urge you to think hard before listing the shadowing hours. They aren't volunteering hours and they don't serve shadowing's purpose of helping you see whether a US physician's work is right for you, so I think they're of doubtful benefit to your application.