MedicalMissions.com Podcast

Scientific and technical advances are often seen as the key to best medical practice and have become the aspiration of both developed and developing countries. But to focus only on biological processes is to ignore other powerful influences on the causes and management of illness. A solely mechanistic approach fails to deal with the basic requirement of patients to be cared for as people - in body...

The increasing globalization of society has paradoxically led to a fragmentation of cultural homogeneity. In the past, cultural competence meant that you knew enough about a country or society to avoid offending the people with whom you interacted. You can no longer assume that the social context of any geographic region, even your own home, is culturally unified. This is an even greater problem w...

The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven shaped every aspect of Jesus’ ministry - - his healing, prayers, teaching and even his identity . As we follow him in health care missions, the Kingdom should also define our goals, methodologies, and ways of relating with those we serve and with our co-workers. It should fuel our hope and our perseverance.

Worldview is the lens through which we see and understand the world around us. As such it colors everything we do and say. Without an adequate understanding of the target audience's worldview, our response, medical or theological, will likely be less effective than it could be. In missiological terms, our response to medical and spiritual needs will not be contextual. Understanding their world...

Everyone who has been on a medical mission has some embarrassing and/or hilarious stories of cultural or language blunders. Sometimes the events are just funny. Sometimes they can seriously compromise relationships and the intended impact of the whole mission, including our Christian witness. This session offers perspective, spiritual grounding and practical tools for building healthy relationship...

How do you “Do No Harm” when you are often practicing beyond your training? How do you treat everyone “fairly” in a context of unlimited need and limited resources of time, equipment, supplies and staffing? Using real life examples, we will examine the practical application of the ethical principles of non-malfeasance, benevolence, autonomy and justice in the difficult situations faced by many med...

Long-term improvement in health-related indicators for a population depends on coordinated interaction between communities, local leaders, government, and technical experts. Long-term input from outsiders can be valuable, as can coordinated input from outsiders who engage in appropriate partnering relationships with nationals. This workshop will identify several successful models for partnering wh...

This session is design for those who already have an understanding of human trafficking and need guidance regarding how to develop a protocol to respond to victims of trafficking within a hospital or clinic. The session will cover the steps necessary to develop a response protocol and the elements that should be contained in a good protocol.

If you feel the Lord might be calling you to healthcare missions the time to begin planning is now. Prepare your heart and your personal balance sheet by living a missionary lifestyle today. Reorder your priorities and push back on the materialistic culture we live in. You may find the blessing beyond your expectations.

Traditional short term mission trips focus on going to an area and "doing" work for a people group or "working alongside" a local ministry for a few days. Often when the mission team leaves it creates a hardship for the locals as the "doers" have gone leaving work still to be done. What if we could train the local believers to do the work that we are doing? This sessi...

Microfinance has become a very popular strategy for helping to stabilize and grow the incomes of poor families in the Global South. Given the close association between economic prosperity and physical health, there is a tremendous opportunity to integrate microfinance progams with various health initiatives. This workshop introduces the basic concepts of microfinance and gives examples of attempts...

Healthy individuals and families require healthy communities. Historically, many attempts to create such communities have used a "needs-based approach" which focuses on the deficits and short-comings in those communities, the assumption being that outside resources would be the catalyst for change. In contrast, an "asset-based approach" identifies, connects and mobilizes the re...

ART (Atraumatic Restorative Treatment) is an minimally invasive method of treating caries in selected teeth which is being used in developed and developing countries throughout the world. It consists of restoring teeth with glass ionomer restorative material, hand instruments and materials available in limited resource areas. The purpose of this lecture is to explain the ART approach including adv...

A discussion of the highs and lows of long term hospital based missions. Mission hospitals afford opportunities for deeply meaningful service but not without significant challenges and often at considerable cost.

Nursing practice varies from country to country based on the healthcare needs of that country and the educational systems in place for educating nurses. This panel is made up of nurses who have been educated outside of the US and now practice here as well as US nurses who have become familiar with the nursing practice in their mission host countries. Come learn how nursing is both the same and dif...

Whether your client with the shoulder issue wants to return to playing sports or just wants to be able to return to pain free activities around the home the therapist's challenge is the same...evaluate and treat a complex and amazing joint. During this session there will be a review of anatomy and evaluation techniques of the shoulder. We will discuss treatment options from a "generalist&...

Oral lesions can present clues of a systemic conditions—the appearance, the character 
of the lesions, the size, the duration, and the location of the lesions can give some insight as to a possible systemic implications. On the mission field, without all the desired tests and studies, it is very helpful to have an idea what lesions may be part of a systemic condition and what lesions are most like...

This session will give an overview of the current picture of trafficking in persons within the United States including international and domestic trafficking with an emphasis on child sex trafficking, the major form of trafficking in persons within the U.S. In addition, the session will address specific indicators of human trafficking for the healthcare professional and how to help identify victim...

Among the poor and the vulnerable, children are the most vulnerable and needy. Several responses have been implemented to serve orphans and vulnerable children, including adoptions, orphanages, child sponsorship, and various children-focused programs. This session will review some of these, share some lessons learned, and highlight some best practices and principles from several African countries...

Poverty is commonly associated with lack. Long term missions in Haiti has received significant contributions to address that lack during the last several decades - personnel, materials and more. What is the current status in this hurting country? Is this help continuing and in what ways? What is being done and can it be done differently? There are some initiatives in the country that are rising as...

This workshop will explore concepts, principles and recommendations for the involvement of people of faith and the local church in HIV and AIDS ministry. At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to: • Identify characteristics, roles and functions of faith communities which are suited for HIV and AIDS ministry and programs. • Explore personal and congregational barriers that hi...

The panel will address the challenges and rewards of serving internationally as a single person. It will provide food for thought and prayer for those who are considering and preparing for cross-cultural service.

Missions is about who we are and what we're called to be. We often think of missions as primarily something we, or others, "do." Of course we engage in missions but when we look at the Bible we find that missions is at the heart of God's story of making all things new in Christ. We are called to take part in this story--not only tell it and study it but live it. When we see that...

This session describes how healthcare professionals, working in developing countries, will require a lot improvisations. In addition, the speaker will explain how healing requires more than healing just the body. There will be a discussion on how to provide healthcare with limited medications, technology, help and limited understanding. There will be a brief discussion on how healthcare providers...

Sign up for this workshop when you arrive at the conference registration desk. Space is limited The skills of wound management and suturing are frequently needed by medical and nursing professionals in mission settings. Often there is not a surgeon available, and the next most qualified person to take care of the patient may be you. Accurate suturing skills are an important part of acute wound man...