MedicalMissions.com Podcast

Medical missionaries will find their resources to help others limited in nearly every realm of their work-time, skills, financial, emotional, equipment and spiritual to name a few. We know what care is available to patients and come skilled to provide it. But many times we are unable to provide it due to limitations of many kinds on the field. How does one decide what care to provide and whom to p...

Many people involved in health outreach in developing nations realize that sustainable improvement requires that the local community be empowered rather than be seen as passive recipients of aid. But there is no clear and commonly held definition of empowerment. What does it mean? How, if at all, can it be measured? What does it take to create empowerment? MAP International and the Rollins School...

The Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP), Jamkhed, India, has been a pioneer in developing sustainable comprehensive community-based primary health care (CC-BPHC) since 1970, which has empowered communities to address their own health problems and development. Villages are transformed into caring and sharing communities, working together to improve the health of the whole community, especiall...

There is a great shortage of well-trained health care workers. Healthcare education in many nations does not effectively prepare students to be able to work independently upon graduation. These nations focus on use of the lecture method, rather than methods which facilitate adult learning. Realizing this is a problem, nations are increasingly requesting training in how to teach effectively. This s...

Panel Q&A Becoming a Medical Missionary with two missionary docs and two missionary nurses. This session will share answers to how to become a medical missionary. Each person who attends will receive a 3 x 5 card when they enter the room. The moderator will group and select questions, directs them to appropriate panelists, and receive questions from the floor.

Unfortunately, these case presentations demonstrate how many short-term medical missions work against the health development process. The traditional medical mission model often diminishes confidence in the local health system. It can also adversely affect local health care providers economically and subvert their place of authority in the community. Short-term medical missions need to be cognosce...

Spiritual Survival Tips for Short-Term Medical Missions Team

Spiritual Survival Tips for Short-Term Medical Missions Team

Plastic surgery mission trips describes how God can use reconstructive surgery to remove guilt, fear of a curse or evil spirits in many parts of our world. Those with severe congenital and acquired deformities often feel rejected by God and live isolated from their neighbors. Reconstructive surgery often bridges the gulf to God and gives evidence that God does love them. Learn more about plas...

There are not enough dental professionals on the mission field and time and time again I have been asked, "What should I do and what can I do to help those in an emergency situation?" Dental needs and emergencies are ubiquitous on the mission field and often a non-dentist is the only one to care for them. Our time together will give you some important insights and guidelines to care for...

Curative primary care is essential for at least 30% of our patient healthcare problems, and we must continue our efforts to provide and teach high quality curative services. However, if we wish to provide high quality, evidence-based care for the remaining 70%, integration of community health with primary care is essential- especially on the missions field. The integration of primary care and comm...

Despite the declining AIDS death rate and lessening HIV prevalence in many African countries, HIV/AIDS remains a tremendous challenge with medical, emotional, economic and social problems. Using case presentations and an interac- tive format, this workshop will explore HIV/AIDS care and treatment issues particularly from the speaker's experience in Africa. The volume of aid resources doesn mat...

This is one of the principle precepts taught in every med school, and is the basis for all emergency medicine.  But while we are careful to “do no harm” with our patients, we overlook the harm we do in perpetuating a fallen health delivery system by the way we run our practices.  This workshop examines several best practice models of how Christian health professionals have chosen to be p...

Cross cultural Medical missions can be participatory and reap the benefits of integrated ministry, sustainability, empowerment, phase out. What role can the local church play? What are the advantages. How can that be employed? Cases where it has worked.

As a health professional you?re trained to take control and rely on your training and experience to accomplish your work. In ministry, Jesus notes, ?apart from me you can do nothing.? More, he told the disciples to not even leave for the mission field until they had the power of the Holy Spirit. How does that power work and how do you get that into your own life? Don?t leave for ministry until you...

In this interactive session we will discuss what makes HIV prevention and ministry effective, the importance of the active involvement of the church in HIV and why it is essential to tailor strategies to local culture. The session will be based on the experience of the facilitator in HIV prevention (since 1985) and in empowering nationals to develop their own unique approaches to and tools for HIV...

Drug diversion, counterfiting and unethical drugs are not just a major problem in developing nations. This problem has now come home to the USA and affects or potentially could affect any person here as well as those abroad. This workshop will first focus on the magnitude of the problem. New regulations that will be enforced wichin the US will be briefly outlined. Finally there will be a presentat...

The volume of aid resources doesn't matter as much as the implementation philosophy that the aid is being channeled into when you have doctors without borders. The old adage that ideas have consequences is quite true untested and shallow ideas often have negative consequences on those that are being served. This session will explore the difference between a dependency philosophy and an empower...

This session answers the 10 basic questions most often asked by those considering career missionary service.