This session with consist of a brief presentation followed by a panel discussion during an open question and answer period. Becoming a surgeon on the mission field, especially if one is interested in teaching, is a process which is more complex and takes more preparation than expected. The session is designed for medical students, surgical residents and those wishing to leave their practice to join the ranks of career missionaries.
The presentation will feature the personal experience of a physician assistant who has provided healthcare in the developing world most recently in Latin America, India and Africa. The advantages of the training and healthcare provision capabilities of the mid-level, the obstacles to healthcare provision in the developing world and the means by which those obstacles can be overcome will be discussed. The importance of national partners in the medical mission field for follow up and if possible for continuity of care will be examined. The speaker will present an overview of organizations that are recruiting mid-levels for short and full term medical missions.
This presentation will challenge participants to focus on where the Master is at work in their lives and inviting them to join Him in global health missions. The motives for global health missions in the context of the needs and expectations of those to be served will be examined. Participants will be encouraged to reflect upon the health and well being of their body, mind and spirit through a series of guided questions. A process for gathering and engaging a partnership team for accountability and spiritual support will be discussed.
Is it possible to do true academic style residency training at mission hospitals in developing countries? Does the lack of resources and scarcity of mentors result in inferior training and therefore inadequately trained graduates? What governmental or regulatory bodies are involved in non-university based training programs in the developing world? Do short term visiting faculty really make a difference? How can spiritual discipleship be woven into medical and surgical residency training? During this breakout session, Dr. Carol Spears (missionary surgeon and Assistant Program Director at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya) and Dr. Agneta Odera (Kenyan physician in her third year of General Surgery Residency Training at Tenwek) will share their experiences in starting and developing a General Surgery Training Program in partnership with the Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons. They will share their own stories of challenges, mistakes, areas of ongoing deficiency, as well as helpful hints, blessings, and personal stories. The goal of this session is to provide a minimal set of requirements needed for a successful residency training program and to provide information on resources available to assist new programs. The approach of training others to then go and train others models the example Jesus established in his ministry on earth.
