I think I've caught the bug -- the "global health bug". To be perfectly honest, I never quite got it... until now. I've always known that it is important and tons of physicians dedicate their careers to it. Only after I got back from a KidsCareEverywhere trip to Vietnam did I understand how life-changing, perspective-altering, and fulfilling an experience it can be.
How does this work with my academic niche of medical education? Interestingly, I find global health a natural extension of my niche. Global health, in a way, is all about education. If you have an interest in education and even if you haven't thought about doing international work in underserved countries, I encourage you to at least explore it. It takes so little effort and few resources to make a tremendous impact in local health care systems.
I was just informed of a new international opportunity from an orthopedist friend at UCSF and San Francisco General Hospital, Dr. Rick Coughlin, who has been extremely involved with global health. UCSF sends orthopedic residents to various countries including Uganda and Bhutan.
Map of BhutanFor the first time, Bhutan is looking to build a medical school and is interested in specifically recruiting board-certified emergency physicians to volunteer their time to teach local physicians about EM. Assignments are for 4 weeks. The sponsoring non-profit organization coordinating these efforts is Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO). Check it out!
