In 2010, The Continuing Medical and Dental Education Commission of CMDA approved a working group to investigate the experience of medical missionaries with a view to providing information to assist mission agencies in setting a current and sustainable medical mission strategy. The PRISM (Patterns and Responses in Intercultural Service in Medicine) survey is a research report that summarizes those findings. This talk will involve a discussion of the salient, challenging, and sometimes surprising findings of what our full-time, long-term cross-cultural colleagues are facing today.
Excellent local training for Christian health professionals is one sure way to improve health services in many developing countries. Local schools, colleges and universities train the entire continuum of health workers – from community-based to specialty medical care professionals. Unfortunately, the quality of training is uneven in these institutions and local professionals may have not fully considered why being a Christian health professional is unique and special – making this a growing area for missions. This session will explore issues in developing robust, high quality Christian training centers for health professionals through partnerships with a network of Christian health professionals. This session explores lessons from such partnerships with US and Canadian universities involved in Uganda Christian University’s highly successful nursing and public health program, as well as other higher education partnerships. In particular, we will highlight the requirements for partnerships, the emerging role of technology, and implications for future development. Participants will have opportunities to share from their own experience, and help frame issues for future development.
Frontline health workers are vital to local health systems, as they are often based in the community and come from within the community they serve. They include community health workers, nurses, midwives, pharmacists and others who primarily work at the community level. They help families and individuals connect to health services, and in some cases are capable of providing lifesaving assistance. Where and how are these people identified and trained? What is the emerging role for medical missions in this area? This session will explore the emerging trends, opportunities and requirements for training of front line health workers, identifying challenges of recruiting qualified workers to serve in underserved areas. Examples will come from a review of international research on frontline health workers and personal experiences shared from the East Africa context. Participants will have opportunities to share from their own experience, and help frame issues for future development.
This session will be a review of treatment of commonly seen parasitic infections while overseas. The focus will predominantly be on parasitic infections of the gastrointestinal system but will also cover some dermatological infections as well.
Deformities, both congenital and acquired, have a profound and often negative impact in the Emerging World. Deformities may be internal as well as external. Though internal deformities may not be seen they are often more severe and debilitating. The negative effects of external deformities are seen world-wide and in every culture and civilization. In the West, children born with deformities are often operated on early and may not be seen in public. Though family members may often ask “why us,” any negative thoughts are kept to themselves. In the emerging world, children with deformities, especially external ones, are often kept inside the house where they are hidden from view, and they are only taken outside with a shawl or blanket covering the deformity or at nighttime. Treatment for deformities is often not readily available in the developing world. When they are seen by other members of the community, some think the family has been cursed or that the deformed one is indwelt with an evil spirit. When these children are brought to a mission hospital, reconstructive surgery may not completely eliminate the deformity or its consequences; however the significant improvement allows the children to be accepted into the local society. The treatment of these children gives the missionary doctor and hospital staff a great opportunity to show the love and compassion of Jesus Christ and many parents and older children have come to know Christ as their Savior.
