Medical Missions Outreach?

[creekland]

Middle son (finishing sophomore year as a pre-med in college) is planning on doing a summer medical missions trip with Medical Missions Outreach.  This is the first I've heard of them.  Does anyone here have any firsthand knowledge they'd care to share (either publicly or via PM)?

 

Here's their link:

 

http://medical-outreach.com/

 

The Hive seems to know (or have experience with) everything... how about this one?

[creekland]

Was I actually able to stump the Hive on this one?  That would be a first... but considering how specific it is, I suppose not super surprising.

[DawnM]

I am not familiar with that particular mission agency.  I am far more familiar with World Medical Missions and Samaritan's Purse as they affiliate with our missions and their medical group.  (I grew up as a Missionary Doctor's daughter.)

 

However, in looking at them, they look legit.

 

Our church has their own medical missions teams that go out.  They even go out to where I grew up.

 

Dawn

[creekland]

I am not familiar with that particular mission agency.  I am far more familiar with World Medical Missions and Samaritan's Purse as they affiliate with our missions and their medical group.  (I grew up as a Missionary Doctor's daughter.)

 

However, in looking at them, they look legit.

 

Our church has their own medical missions teams that go out.  They even go out to where I grew up.

 

Dawn

 

The main reason he likes this particular group (besides the timing working out) is that they are interested in volunteers coming who are willing to be trained in medical procedures.  Since he's just a sophomore in college and we have no medical folks in our family/local circle of friends, his actual "hands on" has been rather limited.  He does volunteer in the hospital and such things, but in our country, liability reasons don't allow him to do much.  He won't exactly be doing surgery there either, but it sounds like they are far more willing to take someone under their wings and give them some good experience.

 

He's fully ok with all the less-than-ideal living issues and has BTDT with other trips he's taken to underdeveloped countries (slept on a floor with no flush toilet around over spring break).  He's definitely ok with the work hours, etc.

 

Medical missions is his eventual goal, though I've no idea if he will do it part time or full time.  (He will have med school debt to pay off.)

 

It all sounds good, but one never knows, so I thought I'd ask.

 

[creekland]

It's now official.  My guy has been accepted to go to the Ivory Coast this summer with this group.  He's thrilled (as are we as we expect it will be a great experience for him).

 

So, if anyone in the future comes across this thread or has questions about the group, I guess I'll be the one who can answer them (or can ask him to answer them).  ;)

[FaithManor]

Creekland, I don't know a thing about this group in particular. However, Ican say that the rules of practice in many third world countries goes something like this, "You can save my life? Ease my suffering?" Okay then.

 

He'll see a lot and be involved in a lot. One of my frieds, as the child of a doctor and a nurse in Togo, West Africa had performed her first life saving c-section on a birthing mum who was going to die and if memory serves she was 16 at the time. The others docs were already in surgery and her mom and the other two nurses were dealing with life threatening injuries and snake bites in the make shift ER. She had already assisted on numerous c-sections....very common there because the women would sometimes labor for three days before finally being brought to the clinic. The baby had already died, but she did a good job and mamma lived.

 

The CNM who delivered two of my boys also worked in Africa and had dne more and seen more than most of the OBGYN's in the practice. My MIL has been to Nicaragua three times on medical missions and though onky licensed here as a BSRN and nursing professor, set bones, stitched, performed a couple of c sections as well as an appendectomy, one emergency hysterectomy, etc. If you set up a clinic, people will come in droves. It overwhelms the docs and anyone with even cursory medical knowledge gets pressed into action!

 

It's going to be an eye opening experience for him.

[creekland]

Thanks Faith!  That sounds a bit like things he is expecting (though I don't know that he's ready to DO a C-section, assist, definitely).  From their website on what to expect is this:

 

Here are some other things you can expect:

1. Expect to work- this is not a vacation – we typically treat about 500 patients daily.  This means getting up early, working all day, and being extremely tired by bedtime.
2. Expect to use your creative thinking skills – rarely is our clinic site a true clinic.  We set up in schools, churches, etc, which means that we must be creative in how/where we set up the clinic – our supplies are limited.  We don’t have everything at our disposal, therefore we come up with creative solutions to accomplish our goals.
3. Expect to push yourself outside of your comfort zone.
4. You will be exposed to a different culture, different customs and probably a different language than you are used to.
   • You may see illnesses that you have never seen before
   • You will see poverty and difficult situations
   • You will try new foods
   • Although comfortable, hotel accomadations are not comparable to hotels in the United States.
   • Weather conditions are sometimes very hot, sometimes very cold and clinic settings are often uncomfortable.
5. Expect to have fun.
   • We will have a time of designated site-seeing and shopping.
   • We are a light-hearted group and enjoying laughing!
6. Expect to be flexible.
   • You may be asked to work in an area doing something you have never done before.
   • We may have to change the way we are doing things based upon situations that arise.
   • Plans may change due to unforeseen circumstances
   • Our motto is: Be fluid- flexible is too stiff

Medical missions is something he has desired to do from his first trip overseas to an underdeveloped country (not a medical trip, but he got to talk with a doctor there on such a trip).  This is his first experience himself.  We'll see what he thinks.  Based on the "expectations" he feels it is a great fit and is eager to go and get a start.  The work ethic/needs and fluid/flexible part fits him just fine.  The lead doctor going is from Baltimore (if I'm understanding correctly), so there's a chance they could meet before the trip too.

 

All in all, I'm getting good vibes at this point - a great fit.

[FaithManor]

Creekland, did they give you a list of immunizations for him? Given that he's going to be in contact with a lot of body fluids in a far less than sterile environment, I think if this were my child, Hep B, Typhus, Yellow Fever, Cholera, and malaria pills (the good ones, not the bad ones and if you ask the pharmacist he/she will know what I‘m talking about and can tell you what to ask the doc for) and possibly gammaglobulin or whatever globulin shot it is that boosts the immune system.

 

Yellow Fever and Typhoid are not fun shots and tend to provoke fevers, aches, chills, and general 24-48 hr. misery and used to be done in a two dose series so plan accordingly. Also, most health departments do not carry them. Yellow Fever had to be done at U of MI med center, typhoid in Midland, and the local doc didn't know about the good vs. bad malaria pills so both dad and I ended up with malaria...oh.the.joy. NOT! So definitely get the good stuff.

 

Neither of us was required to have typhoid or yellow fever in order to enter the countries we were traveling to, but we were mighty glad when we arrived that we had them!

[creekland]

He's supposed to be checking on required immunizations - esp while he's still in Rochester and can get anything he needs easily at their teaching hospital (even though some aren't covered by his insurance).

 

I know he had the Typhoid vacc before he went to Haiti this year on Spring Break, so he should be set for that one.  He also had others then, but I'm not sure what - it's whatever was recommended.

 

We're definitely not anti-vacc folks.  We prefer vaccs (or pills) to nasty diseases.