Medical Students Without Borders:
Aiming to Increase Benefits of Short Term Experiences in Global Health (STEGHs) “In fact, we never saw any of our patients for a second time. Not one of the 1,427 patients was ever seen for follow-up of their diagnoses. I worry that they did not consider it important to finish the full course of their antibiotic, that their children ate too many sweet gummy vitamins, or that they simply did not see their transient dizziness as the serious medical concern diabetes is…We hold up our stethoscopes to their skinny bodies in excitement, our unsophisticated ears hear something (anything!), and we call it normal. We are afraid to touch the patient, we cannot even hold a conversation with them, and yet we truly feel …show more content…
For Dalwadi, the biggest issues with her medical outreach program were the lack of sustainability, insufficient education about the language and culture, and the inadequacy of clinical skills. Medical outreach programs, like the one Dalwadi participated in, as a result of their short duration have been termed, “Short Term Experiences in Global Health” programs or STEGHs. STEGH programs occur abroad, providing impoverished countries with clinical care, in addition to providing pre-med students with hands-on training. Regardless of the program good-hearted intentions, they have been plagued with critiques that claim the programs inflict more harm than aid. It has been argued that the practices implemented …show more content…
Lack of cultural education prevents the students from working effectively with community members. It can lead to the overstepping of boundaries, creating a divide between participants and community members (Crump 2008). In order for STEGHs to be beneficial, participants must implement “cultural humility, cross-cultural communication methods, and a holistic approach to health care (Melby, et al. 2015)”. The use of these skills can allow a healthy, long-lasting relationship and an open channel of communication to develop between participants and community
Aiming to Increase Benefits of Short Term Experiences in Global Health (STEGHs) “In fact, we never saw any of our patients for a second time. Not one of the 1,427 patients was ever seen for follow-up of their diagnoses. I worry that they did not consider it important to finish the full course of their antibiotic, that their children ate too many sweet gummy vitamins, or that they simply did not see their transient dizziness as the serious medical concern diabetes is…We hold up our stethoscopes to their skinny bodies in excitement, our unsophisticated ears hear something (anything!), and we call it normal. We are afraid to touch the patient, we cannot even hold a conversation with them, and yet we truly feel …show more content…
For Dalwadi, the biggest issues with her medical outreach program were the lack of sustainability, insufficient education about the language and culture, and the inadequacy of clinical skills. Medical outreach programs, like the one Dalwadi participated in, as a result of their short duration have been termed, “Short Term Experiences in Global Health” programs or STEGHs. STEGH programs occur abroad, providing impoverished countries with clinical care, in addition to providing pre-med students with hands-on training. Regardless of the program good-hearted intentions, they have been plagued with critiques that claim the programs inflict more harm than aid. It has been argued that the practices implemented …show more content…
Lack of cultural education prevents the students from working effectively with community members. It can lead to the overstepping of boundaries, creating a divide between participants and community members (Crump 2008). In order for STEGHs to be beneficial, participants must implement “cultural humility, cross-cultural communication methods, and a holistic approach to health care (Melby, et al. 2015)”. The use of these skills can allow a healthy, long-lasting relationship and an open channel of communication to develop between participants and community