MedicalMissions.com Podcast

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...

Parasites are the cause of many common tropical diseases. Recognizing the typical presentation and prevention of parasitic diseases can be extremely valuable for those practicing in a tropical setting. We will explore short case vignettes to illustrate the classic diseases caused by protozoa, worms and ectoparasites. Those who wish to present their own cases are also invited to participate. Bring...

Worksite wellness is one of the 5 groups of communities for community engagement. Schools are a specialized workplace. Consistent health / wellness messages in schools and worksites will reach the family from two strategic directions.

Public health is not often formally established in mission's organizations. Public health is a more sustainable compassionate ministries outreach than clinics and hospitals therefore should be a key part of indigenous church strategies.

Community engagement is the facilitation of communities to own their own problems and solutions within their resources. Key cross cultural communications competencies and skills are necessary to effectively facilitate community engagement.

This session will share answers on how to become a medical missionary. Each person who attends will receive a 3 x 5 card when they enter the room. The moderator John McVay will group and select questions, direct them to appropriate panelists, and receive questions from the floor. Probable topics discussed from questions expected are: Guidance, Agencies, Training, Funding, Singles, and Families.

Urban health care and the gospel must embrace our communities. Living, working and serving within the context of the community we serve draws us toward God’s love for people and helps us identify with our neighbors. Should one try to move into communities of poverty in order to serve there? How can we encourage those indigenous to our communities to stay to serve God within the context...

In health care ministry, we share the compassion of Christ. Christ's compassion "suffers with" those we are called to serve. Engaging deeply with our patients can be difficult if our own lives are not bound with our Savior. We can find ourselves disillusioned, distant, or overwhelmed as we share in the suffering of others. Spiritual vibrancy and worship are vital for compassionate mi...

Over 96M Americans live in medically underserved areas (MUAs) right here in the United States. Most MUAs are located in strategic areas of need where service is desperately needed and where people are ripe for the gospel. Medical mission pioneers are responding to needs in our own nation by applying in domestic settings proven strategies that have worked in challenging international fields. These...