Honduras: October, 2024
My second trip to Honduras exceeded my expectations. It was an enriching educational experience both from a medical and leadership standpoint.
Read more →Honduras: July, 2024
I embarked on my first medical outreach trip in late July 2024, through the organization Shoulder to Shoulder, which serves Southern Intibuca, Honduras.
Read more →Lusaka, Zambia: May, 2024
I traveled to the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia to assist with hands-on anesthesia residency teaching and clinical care.
Read more →Africa: March, 2024
I am continually impressed by the privilege of practicing medicine. Traveling to Malawi, Africa was no less of a privilege. Although traveling to one of the poorest countries in the world, we were met by such beauty, kindness, patience, and joy.
Read more →Honduras: February, 2024
During the week of February 3-10, 2024, I participated in a medical brigade serving 8 communities centered around an outpatient clinic in Los Pinares, Intibuca region, Honduras.
Read more →Antigua: January, 2024
UHMLA returned to Antigua, Guatemala this past January, 6th through the 13th.
Read more →Honduras: October, 2023
My experience in Guachipilincito, Honduras was incredibly humbling and impactful. Not only was I able to provide medical care to the local community, I learned about the impacts of global health, embraced a new culture, and established lifelong relationships.
Read more →Kenya: February, 2022
My name is Abigail McRea and I am a second-year pediatric resident at UNC Chapel Hill. I recently traveled to…
Read more →Botswana: February, 2022
It was 7:30 AM, I just arrived at Scottish Livingtonstone Hospital after my 15-minute commute where I saw several kids in their yellow shirts and black bottoms head… It was 7:30 AM, I just arrived at Scottish Livingtonstone Hospital after my 15-minute commute where I saw several kids in their yellow shirts and black bottoms head…
Read more →Ghana: September, 2021
The instant we landed in Ghana, Western Africa, I became tachycardic. My heart was racing with excitement, anticipation, and…
Read more →Sierra Leone: April, 2021
I spent four weeks at the Koidu Government Hospital in Sierra Leone, training local community health workers and…
Read more →Honduras: February, 2020
My clinical experiences in Guachipilincito, Honduras and the communities surrounding Camasca, Honduras were amazing, educational, and eye-opening. Throughout my…
Read more →Rwanda: February, 2020
I had the privilege to travel to Kigali, Rwanda in February 2020 to help provide regional anesthesia for Rwandan patients and teach the University of Rwanda …
Read more →Honduras: January, 2020
Stepping off the plane in Cap Haïtien I was full of excitement and joy. Glad to have the opportunity to return to a country and people who have captured my heart on a previous…
Read more →Haiti: January, 2020
Going on this trip to Haiti was by far one of the most rewarding experiences in residency so far.…
Read more →Guatemala: March, 2019
Since I first travelled to Guatemala in 2017 for my first medical mission trip, this lovely but desperately poor country has held a special place in my heart…
Read more →Egypt: October, 2018
This fall marked Surgical Volunteer International’s (SVI’s) 3rd trip to Mansoura, Egypt to provide top-notch cleft/palate care and laparoscopic procedures to children i n need. Our ability to…
Read more →Dominican Republic: October, 2018
On October 27th, 2018 I accompanied a team of volunteers, including three surgeons, four anesthesiologists and ten registered nurses from Newark International Airport to…
Read more →Rwanda: August, 2018
During August 2018, I traveled to Kigali, Rwanda to provide nerve blocks for surgical anesthesia and postoperative analgesia for patients undergoing upper and lower extremity surgeries. Upon…
Read more →Ecuador: June, 2018
I started planning my trip to Guayaquil in January, 2018 after receiving an e-mail request from Healing the Children seeking volunteer…
Read more →Uganda: April, 2018
As we touched down on the paved runway, surrounded by red clay and grassland, I knew that my journey was about to begin. We were brought to the clinic that we would be working at for the next 2…
Read more →Ghana: March, 2018
“How long has he been unable to walk?” I asked the son of the patient seated in front of me. We were in a hot clinic room within the rural hospital in Nalerigu, Northern Ghana, which these two…
Read more →Honduras: February, 2018
After my previous medical mission trip to Honduras, in the summer of 2013, with my medical school (Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine), I was eager to head back. At that time, I had…
Read more →Nicaragua: February, 2018
Being a part of a medical mission to a poor village in Nicaragua was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, behind only Haiti…
Read more →Guatemala: February, 2018
For two weeks I volunteered at Hospitalito Atitlán, a nonprofit hospital located in Santiago, a town in Guatemala with the majority of people of Mayan indigenous heritage. I rounded with the…
Read more →Nicaragua: January, 2018
The Lawrence Family Medicine Residency for the past fifteen years has worked with the Bridges to Community organization to provide medical care in the Mongallo region of Nicaragua. This was my…
Read more →Mali: November, 2017
I wasn't sure exactly what to expect when I decided to go on the trip to Mali. I was very excited as it was the first time I was going to an African country that was not Nigeria (where I was…
Read more →Honduras: November, 2017
As I made the terrifying landing into the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, we started the 6 hours journey to the clinic I quickly learned that each mile traveled from the capital the country…
Read more →Guatemala: September, 2017
Motorcycles, tortillas and fever, oh my! In the Peten Department of Guatemala, where the weather is really hot, mosquitoes and bad roads are abundant and chronic diseases of hypertension and…
Read more →Malawi: May, 2017
I spent the past month working in the Pediatrics Department at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi, a small country in sub-Saharan Africa and one of the poorest…
Read more →Haiti: May, 2017
The very first patient that sat down in front of me had an abscess encircling the inner border of his eye that had been growing for a week. The child barely reacted as he listened to me explain…
Read more →Ecuador: May, 2017
My experience in Ecuador was priceless. As a pediatric resident physician, I discovered how important it was to learn from the community their beliefs and practices at home which were impacting…
Read more →Haiti: May, 2017
As I stepped off the airplane in Cap Haiten a wave of excitement spread over me. It had been a dream of mine to be part of a global health trip since junior high school and it had finally come…
Read more →Uganda: April, 2017
This recent trip to Uganda has given me many valuable lessons at a time when I was feeling burnt out in my residency. The opportunity to make a difference for the people there has reignited my…
Read more →Nepal: April, 2017
I get first day jitters. This is a problem I've had since I was much younger and I know exactly what to expect. The walk to Patan Hospital, however, set a new bar for first day jitters. Dodging…
Read more →Cameroon: April, 2017
My experiences at Mbingo Baptist Hospital in Cameroon have undoubtedly been some of the most impactful in my career thus far. I spent my days running the pediatric and internal medicine wards,…
Read more →Nicaragua: March, 2017
Our team was composed of fourteen physicians and other individuals who provided logistical support. We provided care for the people of San Pablo, which is about ten miles east of Masachapa.…
Read more →Rwanda: February, 2017
The International Organization for Women and Development, Inc (IOWD) is a non-profit charity based at the Kibagabaga District Hospital in Kigali, Rwanda dedicated to three primary goals:…
Read more →Haiti: February, 2017
Stepping off the airplane in Cap Haitien, my first impression of the country was sheer beauty. Craggy green hills and clear blue skies stretched out around me. Then as we drove for hours over…
Read more →Nicaragua: January, 2017
In January, I joined 2 faculty and several of my resident peers on a service trip to the RAAN Nicaragua. I am grateful for the opportunity and the support the Josephson Fund provided me. During…
Read more →Nicaragua: January, 2017
In February, I traveled to Nicaragua with three other residents, two attendings, and a nurse for a 2 week global health rotation. We spent most of our time in a government health post in…
Read more →Haiti: January, 2017
I just returned from my third medical mission to Haiti with Hands Up for Haiti. Leading this trip was Atlantic Health System attending pediatrician Dr. Hement Kairam. Haiti is a beautiful…
Read more →Nicaragua: January, 2017
As the accompanying faculty member on the ENALCE Global Health Elective, I worked for a week with three MS4 medical students and Nicaraguan physicians and public health workers in various…
Read more →Uganda: January, 2017
During our two weeks in Uganda, a team of family medicine doctors volunteered in a rural health care clinic in Ddegeye, called Engeye. There we not only cared for the village inhabitants but…
Read more →Haiti: January, 2017
I always knew I wanted to incorporate global health into my career as a physician. I waited until my 3rd year of residency because I wanted to have enough experience to be able to effectively…
Read more →Guatemala: January, 2017
After dreaming of following in Dr. Ben Josephson’s footsteps for many years, this January I made my dream come true by joining my life-long friend Hilary Bartels, MD in Guatemala on a week-long…
Read more →Haiti: January, 2017
My interest in global health was stimulated during my undergraduate years when I travelled back to my birth country to work with my cousin in health clinics in the Kibera slums of Nairobi,…
Read more →Ghana: November, 2016
The Ghanaian healthcare system is not fully equipped to independently provide surgical services for the >5,000 children born with congenital heart disease (CHD) in the country each year. With…
Read more →Rwanda: October, 2016
I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the Benjamin H. Josephson Fund for supporting my medical mission to Rwanda. The purpose of this mission was to provide care to women with…
Read more →Uganda: February, 2016
This February I went on a medical mission to Uganda. Our team consisted of 8 physicians; 4 residents and 4 attending physicians. It was a good mix, everyone was kind, receptive and easy-going.…
Read more →Honduras: February, 2016
The three weeks I spent in Guachipilincito with the Brown/Shoulder to Shoulder brigade were a fantastic next step in my global health education. As one of the brigade leaders, during the first…
Read more →Uganda: January, 2016
I recently traveled to Mbara, Uganda for 3 weeks of working on the ground with the Obstetrics residents at the Mbarara University of Science and Technology. MUST is the second largest teaching…
Read more →Nicaragua: January, 2016
"Thank you," to the trustees of the Josephson fund for your help with expenses related to our recent trip to the RAAN in Nicaragua. I led a group of attendings, residents and a medical student…
Read more →Haiti: January, 2016
They say you can leave Haiti but Haiti never leaves you. My January 2016 global health trip to Haiti taught me a lifetime of lessons that I will never forget. Secondary to a winter storm, our…
Read more →Malawi: December, 2015
I thought my eyes had surely deceived me when I stepped into Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi. Imagine three to four children on a bed with no linens in a stiflingly hot children's…
Read more →Guatemala: November, 2015
It was humbling moment for me. It was the first day we gathered outside of the clinic to address all of the people that were waiting for us. We welcomed them and it was amazing to see the…
Read more →Haiti: November, 2015
Cap Haitien, Haiti is a city struck with poverty, and its population's access to basic medical care is limited by a short supply of medicine, medical equipment and a lack of basic…
Read more →Ghana: September, 2015
Working at the Baptist Medical Center in Nalerigu Ghana was a whirlwind. We started work as soon as we landed in Nalerigu. That day we did evening rounds, where Dr. Morehouse our pediatrician…
Read more →Haiti: August, 2015
This summer I had the pleasure of traveling with the organization Hands Up for Haiti on a pediatric public health focused mission trip for one week from July 26th to August 2nd. The focus of…
Read more →Haiti: May, 2015
This was my second mission with Hands Up for Haiti. Each day, Monday through Friday, we were in a different clinic, in a different village in the north shore of Haiti, or in Shada, the slums of…
Read more →Haiti: April, 2015
There were other such situations but I believe this gives you a flavor for what we were up against. One of our clinic days was spent in a set on a plateau higher in the mountains. It was about…
Read more →Guatemala: April, 2015
As always, our mission saw many patients whom we know well, as well as many new ones.…
Read more →Uganda: April, 2015
Thanks to the generous support of the Benjamin H. Josephson, I spent 6 weeks in East Africa, teaching point-of-care ultrasound to front-line physicians at two of the region’s busiest hospitals.…
Read more →Honduras: March, 2015
Imagine living in a community where children walk an hour and a half for middle school, where doctor and dentist are only available two weeks a year, and where patients like yourself walk up to…
Read more →Rwanda: February, 2015
Team Heart is a volunteer organization comprised of doctors, nurses, and technicians that travel to Rwanda to perform open heart surgery on patients with rheumatic heart disease. Surgery takes…
Read more →Uganda: February, 2015
Traveling to a third world country to provide medical treatment was the reason I became a nurse. I always knew that helping the underserved and those who have nothing was what I truly wanted to…
Read more →Honduras: February, 2015
Virginia Commonwealth University in contingency with Shoulder to Shoulder, Inc. and Fairfax Family Practice afforded me the exceptional and unique opportunity this year to engage as an active…
Read more →Haiti: January, 2015
I did not know what to expect when I made the decision to go to Haiti on a volunteer medical trip. Of course I did my research so I knew that I would be practicing medicine in a 3rd world…
Read more →Kenya: December, 2014
In 2015, Kijabe Hospital will celebrate 100 years of providing excellent medical and surgical care to rural communities in central Kenya. As a visiting anesthesia resident at Kijabe, I was able…
Read more →Honduras: November, 2014
Arriving in Honduras was a life changing experience. It was the first time I had been in a third world country, and my first medical mission. I have been training for this kind of experience…
Read more →Haiti: November, 2014
It was a hot Thursday morning. One of the nurses had graciously offered her personal home for us to set up a make shift clinic inside of it. We rearranged some furniture, sifted and divided the…
Read more →Rwanda: October, 2014
I would like to thank the Benjamin H. Josephson Fund for supporting my medical mission with the International Organization for Women and Development (IOWD) to Kigali, Rwanda. My primary goal…
Read more →Ecuador: September, 2014
Chronic disease is winning in urban Ecuador. The neighborhood surrounding El Centro Medico would be considered a "food desert" in the US. Much like the urban populations of the United States,…
Read more →Malawi: July, 2014
Having spent two years living and serving in Malawi, I feel like I had very realistic expectations about what my experience would be like volunteering at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in…
Read more →China: April, 2014
An April visit to the Women's and Children's Hospital of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, China illustrates both the contribution and limits of charitable work in a developing medical system. When…
Read more →Haiti: April, 2014
It is now a month after the return of our week-long trip to Haiti. Although I've returned to work and the life I was living before, the images of each moment I experienced still flash through…
Read more →Rwanda: February, 2014
I had the privilege of participating in Team Heart's annual cardiac surgery mission trip to Kigali, Rwanda. Team Heart, a nonprofit organization founded in 2007, works to provide care for…
Read more →Haiti: November, 2013
I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Haiti and provide medical care through an organization called Hands Up for Haiti. This was a one week medical mission, with a team of physicians and…
Read more →Honduras: November, 2013
Having traveled to Agua Salada, Honduras I have come to appreciate the complexity and necessity for medical services in this area. Being a resident physician in the United States, practicing in…
Read more →Ghana: November, 2013
Heat. Odor. Pain. Body fluids. Work. Need. Reward. Learning. Lots of it.…
Read more →Guatemala: October, 2013
On October 19-27, 2013 I traveled to San Raymundo, Guatemala with Refuge International as part of their medical mission program to provide primary care, dental care, and surgical services to…
Read more →Haiti: April, 2013
I recently returned from a medical mission trip to Haiti. On arrival to Port-au-prince, we traveled to Cap Haitian. We were then transported to Bod Me Limbe, a small, rural village in northwest…
Read more →Guatemala: April, 2013
This April I had the good fortune to complete a one month rotation at the Hospital Nacional Pedro de Bethancourt in Antigua, Guatemala. The Hospital Nacional is an academic public hospital…
Read more →India: April, 2013
In April 2013, I had the opportunity as a third year resident to volunteer with the Himalayan Health Exchange program in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The month-long medical…
Read more →Peru: April, 2013
The day after returning from Iquitos, Peru I wrote in my gratitude journal what I was thankful for. Thankful for clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, fresh fruits and vegetables to eat,…
Read more →Nicaragua: January, 2013
I cram in the back of a pickup truck with two attending physicians, another resident, a physician's assistant, our Nicaraguan guides and boxes of medical supplies. The heavily potholed dirt…
Read more →Jamaica: August, 2012
In August 2012 I had the privilege of volunteering at the PRM Homeless Shelter in the small rural town of Port Antonio, Jamaica. I had met the Medical Director of the Shelter, Dr. Paul Rhodes,…
Read more →Argentina: August, 2012
Last month I had the wonderful opportunity of doing an international rotation in Tanti, Argentina. Tanti is a small mountain town (population ~ 5,000) in the sierras in the province of Cordoba.…
Read more →Cambodia: July, 2012
I was fortunate enough to join a medical mission trip led by Global ENT Outreach to Phnom Penh, Cambodia from July 15 to July 20, 2012. This was the largest volunteer group to date for our host…
Read more →Honduras: June, 2012
I arrived in San Pedro Sula Honduras at mid day on a Saturday in early June 2012. We were a group of about twenty, 4 residents, three attending physicians, and a pile of dedicated students in…
Read more →Rwanda: March, 2012
As my plane taxied towards the gate at Kigali International airport, I could see the glittering lights over the valleys out yonder. This country had risen out of a very dark and painful chapter…
Read more →Ethiopia: February, 2012
Over the past 16 years I have had the opportunity to participate in several medical missions. Each mission has touched me in a very special way; sometimes it has been the people we helped, or…
Read more →Rwanda: February, 2012
The International Organization for Women and Development is an organization dedicated to its mission to help women with obstetric fistulas in Rwanda. The group performs three surgical mission…
Read more →Haiti: February, 2012
We arrived in Cap Haitien on Saturday afternoon and drove out to the Open Door mission in Bois de Lance. On Sunday morning we went to church and noticed a child with a red eye. After services,…
Read more →Nepal: February, 2012
My first introduction to healthcare in Nepal came with the realization that political battles of medicine are everlasting. The Jaya Buddha Hospital, a private not for profit organization in…
Read more →Ecuador: February, 2012
As an operating room nurse and veteran of many surgical missions over the past twelve years, I traveled with Ecuadent Foundation to Salinas, Ecuador February 3 - 11, 2012. Our primary mission…
Read more →Haiti: November, 2011
I was fortunate enough to participate in a medical mission trip to Jacmel, Haiti with a non-profit organization, Community Coalition for Haiti (CCH). I went with a team comprised of 3 surgeons,…
Read more →Haiti: November, 2011
We landed in Port au Prince and walked out of the airport into what felt like a hot 90 degree summer day. Perhaps it was because it was actually 90 degrees, or maybe because of the long sleeves…
Read more →Honduras: November, 2011
When I arrived in Agua Salada, Honduras, I went for a hike and came across Maria one of the midwives and a community figurehead walking slowly up the trail to her home. I spoke with her in…
Read more →Haiti: November, 2011
As my plane taxied towards the gate at Kigali International airport, I could see the glittering lights over the valleys out yonder. This country had risen out of a very dark and painful chapter…
Read more →Himalayas: October, 2011
The Himalayan Health Exchange is an organization that for over a decade has brought in Western medical teams and set up camps throughout the year to secluded regions in the Himalayas. I…
Read more →Cameroon: October, 2011
The first 5 weeks of my trip were spent at BBH which is located in Kumbo, a small town in the Northwest province of Cameroon. The Children's Ward treats both medical and surgical patients and…
Read more →Liberia: September, 2011
Down the driveway, the design of opulence awaits. Tucked safely from the bustling Tubman Boulevard, gated from the blind beggars and one-legged tramps, protected from the direct blare of…
Read more →Mongolia: September, 2011
Currently, I am a third year pediatric critical care fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSCSA). I want to take this time and thank The Benjamin H. Josephson, MD fund for…
Read more →Cameroon: September, 2011
After arriving in the country, we immediately drove to the Banso Baptist Hospital. Located in the relatively small town of Kumbo, the latter part of the drive there consisted of unpaved roads…
Read more →Haiti: September, 2011
I just returned from spending a week in the Bas Limbe region of northern Haiti. While there, I was the sole dedicated pediatrician. I worked with a family physician from Canada, an emergency…
Read more →Guatemala: July, 2011
I have served rural and underserved populations before so I thought this experience will not be much different and shall not be any more challenging. For sure I was in for a surprise.…
Read more →Ecuador: July, 2011
I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincerest gratitude for The Benjamin H. Josephson, MD Fund�s support for my participation in Ecuadent�s July 2011 Medical Mission to…
Read more →Kenya: July, 2011
During my six-week rotation at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, I worked 60 hours per week on inpatient wards. I also spent time in specialized outpatient clinics including…
Read more →Haiti: July, 2011
(Beyond the mountains, more mountains). Before travelling to Haiti this summer, I researched the needs in Haiti (and they are many). As a gynecologist, I was drawn to their desperate need for a…
Read more →Liberia: June, 2011
The state of healthcare was deeply damaged by the 14-year civil war that took place in Liberia from 1989-2003, and the need for pediatric care particularly dire. In a conference I attended…
Read more →Ecuador: May, 2011
I recently returned from an amazing trip to Ecuador to participate in the Shoulder to Shoulder May Medical Brigade. My primary purpose as a pediatrics resident was to provide acute care for…
Read more →Haiti: May, 2011
On January 12, 2010 Haiti was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, the country's most severe earthquake in over 200 years. By February the Haitian government confirmed a death toll of 230,000.…
Read more →Haiti: May, 2011
My colleague, Dr. Mana Mann, and I arrived into Port au Prince on Saturday and were taken directly to Bernard Mevs Hospital by Medishare representatives where we remained until our flight home…
Read more →Bangladesh: April, 2011
In April 2011, I had the opportunity to travel to Bangladesh and help train local health care workers to treat common pediatric illnesses, screen for malnutrition and provide direct care to…
Read more →Haiti: April, 2011
On 15 April I flew from Newark, New Jersey to Port Au Prince, Haiti. I was traveling with a team sponsored by the Coty Group. This organization was founded some 28 years ago as an exchange…
Read more →Honduras: March, 2011
Awesome. Thrilling. Humbling. Stirring.…
Read more →Honduras: March, 2011
EVMS makes a medical mission trip annually to Honduras to work with the non-profit group Global Medical Brigades each year for Spring Break. The trip is not financed by the medical school but…
Read more →Bangladesh: March, 2011
I spent the month of March providing medical care to patients in rural Bangladesh. After landing in Dhaka, the capital, it was a ten hour bus ride to the coastal district of Chilmari and then a…
Read more →Uganda: March, 2011
Uganda has a population of 32 million people. Given that there are a only a handful of dermatologists to serve Uganda's population, I was unsure of what to expect. Patients came in from across…
Read more →Ecuador: February, 2011
THANK YOU for the support provided by The BJF that enabled me to participate in a wonderfully successful surgical mission in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. This was my 12th mission to this tiny country…
Read more →Nigeria: December, 2010
I traveled to Abuja, Nigeria in December of 2010 to work in a facility that treats over 7,000 underserved patients annually. There, I spent most of my time in the inpatient pediatric ward, as…
Read more →Mexico: December, 2010
In December 2010, I joined a team of 53 medical volunteers on an inaugural Operation Smile medical mission to San Crist�bal de las Casas, in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. Dedicated to providing…
Read more →Honduras: November, 2010
I departed early Thursday morning on November 4th from Washington, DC. In the morning, we drove into the mountains of Honduras. By the time we passed La Esperanza and arrived in Pinares, we had…
Read more →Cameroon: October, 2010
I was assigned to work as an attending on the women's ward for my month at the Mbingo Baptist Hospital in Mbingo, in the Northwest Provence of Cameroon. The ward consisted of 28 beds all in a…
Read more →Uganda: September, 2010
During the period of 9/21-10/8, I traveled to rural Uganda to train community health workers called VHTs and to spend many days in meetings in Kampala and Mukono shoring up our program. The…
Read more →Bangladesh: August, 2010
With help from the Benjamin Josephson Fund, I spent the month of August 2010 living and working on a small ship which houses a floating hospital that provides medical care to the people of…
Read more →Honduras: July, 2010
I was hoping that the trip to Honduras would open my eyes to the reality of medicine and to the potential I have to give back to communities as a physician. I don't think I could have been more…
Read more →Honduras: July, 2010
I had the opportunity of being part of a group of medical doctors, pharmacists, nurses and medical students who went on a mission trip to Honduras to provide medical care to individuals in…
Read more →Honduras: July, 2010
The arrival happened at San Pedro Sula's airport, in the northern section of Honduras. The flights took place without delay. Once on Honduran soil, we started approaching each other to know…
Read more →Argentina: July, 2010
The goal of Palliative Medicine is to ease the suffering physically, emotionally, and spiritually of patients with life-limiting illness. At FEMEBA's developing Palliative Care program in…
Read more →Haiti: June, 2010
On June 7-12, 2010, I accompanied a surgical team to Haiti through the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation. Our team traveled to Fond-des-Blancs, Haiti, an area in rural Haiti approximately 60 miles…
Read more →Ecuador: May, 2010
During the week of May 14-21, 2010, I had the distinct privilege of traveling with colleagues from different medical specialties to give free health care to communities in Ecuador. It was the…
Read more →Mexico: April, 2010
With the help of a grant from the BJF, I spent a week in a small community in Chiapas, Mexico working with Grounds for Health, a non-profit organization that provides sustainable cancer…
Read more →Haiti: March, 2010
On March 3rd, I departed the United States for Haiti as part of an ongoing relief effort. I was recruited by a grass-roots organization of doctors, nurses, paramedics, medical technicians,…
Read more →Haiti: March, 2010
I am a licensed physician assistant in Orthopaedic spine surgery who recently returned from a medical, dental and developmental response to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. What I discovered in Haiti was…
Read more →Honduras: March, 2010
I had the good fortune to find a unique opportunity working with Global Healing International in their pediatric clinic on the island of Roatan, Honduras for the month of March 2010. My primary…
Read more →Cambodia: February, 2010
After twenty hours of airplane and three hours of bus ride, we finally arrived in Kampong Thom. Kampong Thom is a province located at the central point of the Kingdom of Cambodia. We were there…
Read more →Honduras: February, 2010
We were off to a rocky start because as soon as we landed we found out that one-third of our team had their flight delayed due to the winter storms in the northeast. With our team and supplies…
Read more →Ecuador: February, 2010
I traveled with the Ecuadent Foundation on their February 2010 medical mission to Ecuador. Our mission took place in the public hospital, San Vicente de Pa�l, of the town of Pasaje. Our medical…
Read more →Haiti: February, 2010
I spent the week of February 7th in the Dominican Republic and Haiti helping with the earthquake relief effort. I joined the Foundation for Peace in one of their weekly trips to Jimeni, a small…
Read more →Uganda: February, 2010
Arriving in Uganda for the second time I felt even more anxious compared to my first trip in 2009. I had a new role this time working with six amazing medical students and my mentor Dr Elguero.…
Read more →Lesotho: February, 2010
Before my elective in Lesotho, I spoke to others who had been. I understood that Lesotho is one of the poorest African nations, has one of the highest rates of HIV and TB in the world, and that…
Read more →Phillipines: February, 2010
I was fortunate to take part in this year's mission sponsored by the University of the Philippines Medical Alumni Society in America (UPMASA), which took place in Siaton, Negros Oriental about…
Read more →Malawi: January, 2010
My initial plans had been to work in the operating room at Bwaila but most obstetrical surgery in Malawi is performed by clinical officers and medical officers and Bwaila is an important…
Read more →Uganda: January, 2010
I arrived in Uganda in a small airport in Entebbe. Our volunteer group was picked up in cabs and driven 3 hours into the country. The roads were treacherous and bumpy as we headed towards our…
Read more →India: January, 2010
As I walk to the local clinic I see a line outside of about 40 people waiting to be seen. There was no system of making appointments or an insurance plan that requires you to go to a certain…
Read more →Cameroon: December, 2009
With the help of a $750 grant from the Benjamin Josephson Fund, I spent four weeks as the supervising pediatrician at Mbingo Baptist Hospital, Cameroon. Mbingo Baptist Hospital is a small (180…
Read more →Dominican Republic: November, 2009
We completed seven busy days at the clinic set up in the local elementary school in the community of Paraiso, about a 45 minute chaotic drive from our hostel in Santo Domingo. We were 3…
Read more →Dominican Republic: November, 2009
Our trip began on November 5, 2009. Our group consisted of two attendings, two residents and four medical students from the VA/DC/MD area. Each day, we left our hostel at 8:00 am and headed in…
Read more →Taiwan: November, 2009
Between the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan and the Pacific Ocean, lies the beautiful Hualien County. Twenty-five percent of the population is of aboriginal descent, of which the majority live…
Read more →Ghana: July, 2009
I was called at 5:20am, "Please, Doctor, I cannot place the cannula." I rode my bike to the hospital through a freshly plowed field. In the distance I could see fog rising from the Oti river,…
Read more →Ghana: July, 2009
I spent three weeks this summer working with a team of five other physicians at the Baptist Medical Center in Nalerigu, Northern Ghana. I rounded on the pediatric, adult medicine, and…
Read more →Guatemala: June, 2009
As a family medicine resident, about 400 patients call me their doctor. During office visits, I can generally figure out what to do, whether it be searching Up-To-Date, consulting a textbook,…
Read more →Ecuador: May, 2009
Being my second trip to Ecuador with this medical brigade, I thought I was prepared and had an understanding of how it all worked and what the patients would need. However, I quickly realized,…
Read more →Taiwan: May, 2009
After twenty hours of airplane and seven hours of train-ride, I arrived at Taitung, a quiet city surrounded by mountain cliffs on the west and lined by the Pacific Ocean on the east. In many…
Read more →Peru: May, 2009
Cervical cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths in Peruvian women 15 to 64 years old. Peru's cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates are among the highest in the world, with an…
Read more →Honduras: February, 2009
After hiking one hour in the sweltering heat in the rural mountains of Honduras, our guide opened the gate and led us into a small mud-brick house. Our guide was the grandson of an…
Read more →India: January, 2009
During the month of January of 2009, I had the singular opportunity to visit a rehabilitation clinic in Kolkata, India. Before I go any further, I would like to introduce Kolkata as a city on…
Read more →Honduras: November, 2008
I wish to thank the Benjamin H. Josephson, MD Fund for support of my recent medical trip to Pinares, Honduras. I feel it was a very successful trip. I departed Washington, DC on Wednesday,…
Read more →Ecuador: August, 2008
I never imagined a trip to Ecuador would include a house visit to a 97 year old woman in a Tsachilas community. We traveled to provide clinical services to this community which is located…
Read more →Ecuador: August, 2008
Traveling to a developing nation is exciting, nerve raking, and can be dangerous. Forty-five members of the University of Kentucky set off to Ecuador. The brigade, led by Dr. Tom Young,…
Read more →Nigeria: August, 2008
In August I joined a team of approximately 50 volunteers to Taraba State, Nigeria. Ten of us were from a program called Global Health Outreach, and the others were native Nigerians working with…
Read more →Honduras: August, 2008
I have been working as a volunteer nurse in a mission with the Missioners of Christ and Light of the World Charities in Comayagua, Honduras for the past 5 months. What an amazing 5 months it…
Read more →Honduras: June, 2008
In June 2008 a group of healthcare professionals from Virginia Commonwealth University, in association with the non-profit group HOMBRE (Honduras Outreach Medical Brigada Relief Effort)…
Read more →Ecuador: May, 2008
The mission trip to Ecuador this last May was awesome. The country side and people are beautiful. It was a joy to spend time learning about their culture and providing medical care to the needy…
Read more →Honduras: May, 2008
Since I was a medical student, I sought opportunities to travel to underdeveloped countries in hopes of making a difference in the health care there. I didn't have much to offer in terms of…
Read more →El Salvador: May, 2008
I recently participated in a short term medical mission trip to El Salvador. Our team is one of 52 mission teams that go all over the world and is organized by Global Health Outreach, the…
Read more →Belize: May, 2008
My BHJ funded trip to Belize had two major goals: (1) to see for myself the field work which the Global Mental Health Fellows (Mount Sinai School of Medicine psychiatry residents who apply to…
Read more →Honduras: May, 2008
A meaningful adventure filled with a multiplicity of endearing people, beautiful vistas, healthcare, dramas, and even intrigues. It started with a striking night entry by our family, met by…
Read more →Peru: May, 2008
My trip to Peru in May, 2008 with the International Cervical Cancer Foundation was the most inspirational travel of my life. The purpose of the mission was to screen for and treat cervical…
Read more →Dominican Republic: April, 2008
The following is a synopsis of my surgical mission, week of 4/7/2008, in the Dominican Republic.…
Read more →Peru: April, 2008
I have known Dr. Alan Waxman for about 6 years (since my third year of medical school), and this year, as a fourth year OB/GYN resident, I was invited to accompany him to Peru with the…
Read more →Lesotho: April, 2008
I learned that barely a month in the country of Lesotho can envelope a traveler into the arms of the land and people. The Basotho are kind, warm & grateful (and often speak so very loudly!).…
Read more →Dominican Republic: April, 2008
The medical mission in Santo Domingo was an opportunity not only to treat the needy patients but touch the hearts of an underserved community which requires not only medical help but health and…
Read more →Honduras: February, 2008
While I understand very little about what these people are saying to me, one thing is quite obvious...they are grateful. We saw 209 indigents on our first day. One man didn't want to take his…
Read more →Guatemala: February, 2008
On February 9th I traveled to Guatemala City as a physician/resident, with a surgical team from Healing the Children, Northeast- a Connecticut based, non-profit, non-partisan, volunteer…
Read more →Honduras: January, 2008
In June of 2007, 24 silver impregnated, ceramic water filters were sold to rural Hondurans for 20 Lempiras (approximately $1 US). House visits were performed and water samples were obtained…
Read more →Honduras: January, 2008
As part of our January 2008 Fairfax-VCU Brigade trip to Pinares, Honduras, we screened women for cervical cancer. The process involves using vinegar to stain the cervix and visually inspecting…
Read more →India: January, 2008
This is a brief chronological account of my trip offering volunteer medical services to the children in poor and un-reached communities in India between January 04, 2008 and March 28 2008.…
Read more →Honduras: October, 2007
Hospital Mario Catarino Rivas, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, is a large public hospital and trauma center in the country's second largest city and primary industrial center. Serving a population…
Read more →Vietnam: October, 2007
I returned to the country where I left shortly after I was born, yet everything felt foreign to me. Prior to my departure for the medical mission trip in October 2007, I read books about…
Read more →Honduras: September, 2007
My trip to Honduras consisted of a wide variety of work ranging from direct patient care to public health assessments. The first stop was a 4-day stay with the community of Colomarigua,…
Read more →Guatemala: September, 2007
The health care system for people in the communities I visited is very precarious. There is total scarcity of resources (equipment, medicines, health care workers) which makes providing quality…
Read more →Malawi: July, 2007
During the entire month of July, 2007, my family and I traveled to, and resided in, Embangweni, Malawi while I volunteered as a physician in clinic and hospital for the Church of Central Africa…
Read more →Medical Service Trip to Tanzania for AIDS Prevention and Services: June, 2007
Dr. Tosiello's trip to Tanzania focused on assessment and delivery of HIV education and services. The trip began with a visit with officials from the Elizabeth Glaser Foundation and the…
Read more →Honduras: June, 2007
Thank you again for supporting my medical volunteering in Honduras. The week was definitely a significant experience, much more so than I had bargained!…
Read more →Honduras: June, 2007
I went on a medical mission with the HOMBRE brigade affiliated with the Virginia Commonwealth University College of Medicine. This is part of an ongoing venture where physicians and medical…
Read more →Peru: May, 2007
As our plane landed into the city lights of Lima Peru, images of the women we saw last year appeared. Excitement, fear, hope and faith consumed me. I prayed I would see the women who sometimes…
Read more →Peru: May, 2007
My international experience to Peru with the International Cervical Cancer Foundation, "CerviCusco", provided me with one of the most eye-opening and educational experiences of my life. The…
Read more →Honduras: April, 2007
John Allegra, an emergency medicine physician in Morristown Memorial and his brother Don Allegra, an infectious disease physician in Morris County, recently returned from a 10 day medical…
Read more →Mexico: March, 2007
Through Acts Community Church, I participated in the Oaxaca, Mexico Dental Service Trip from March 17 to March 24, 2007.…
Read more →Cameroon: July, 2006
Through the grant I received from the Benjamin Josephson fund, I was able to travel to Cameroon to work at the Mbingo Baptist Hospital as a pediatrician for 3 weeks. The hospital is situated in…
Read more →Oklahoma: May, 2006
I had the opportunity to spend one month at Choctaw Nation Health Service Authority. The Choctaws are one of the well known Five Civilized Tribes, so designated because of their advanced…
Read more →Vietnam: May, 2006
In May 2006 I traveled to Vietnam as part of The Vietnam Medical Project, a small group of doctors who help serve the indigent population at The Danang Orthopaedic Center, Danang, Vietnam. I…
Read more →Mississippi: February, 2006
I spent February 6-10 as a volunteer doctor in clinics along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. I was given a temporary emergency medical license to do so. The sponsoring organization was the…
Read more →Dominican Republic: February, 2006
"Bienvenidos a la Dominicana!" I was welcomed with the warm greeting and a kiss on each cheek by the man holding up the sign that said Doctora Vir. I would later find out that he was the…
Read more →Guatemala: October, 2005
Anne Marie's trip to Guatemala followed a two week experience she had had as a fourth year medical student working with local health promoters. This trip took her to the Las Cruces and San…
Read more →India: February, 2005
Dr. Rhona Magaril, a OB/GYN in private practice in Springfield, New Jersey, spent 10 days in Cusco, Peru on a medial trip sponsored by ASCCP (American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical…
Read more →Addis Ababba, Ethiopia: February, 2005
Dr. Menkin traveled to Ethiopia to work with Ethiopian refugees at one site and then onto an orphanage to care for HIV infected children. The sponsoring organization, AHope for Children,…
Read more →Honduras: January, 2005
The January 2005 Honduras Brigade of Shoulder to Shoulder was filled with a large variety of projects, numerous day trip clinics to remote communities, a four day stay in the community of Los…
Read more →Honduras: March, 2004
In March 2004, Dr. Richard Paris, a 1996 of the Overlook Family Practice Residency, joined a mission team to La Entrada, Honduras, where he and several other physicians and nurses spent two…
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