MedicalMissions.com Podcast

Pus - Pyomyositis, Septic Arthritis, Osteomyelitis

Relatively uncommon
in N. America, tropical pyomyositis, acute and chronic osteomyelitis and septic arthritis are frequently encountered by medical missionaries in the developing world. Resources may be poor and specialists rare. This session is designed to give the nonspecialist medico a practical, case-oriented approach to these problems.

Refugee and Orphan/Vulnerable Children Health Issues

Refugees and OVCs (Orphan and Vulnerable Children) have common health problems
as extremely disadvantaged people, living through traumatic situations with limited resources. Using case presentations and
an interactive format, this workshop will explore Refugee and OVC care and treatment issues particularly from the speaker’s experience in Africa, Asia, and South America.

Counseling as Mission

To have an impact in a world of unprecedented suffering, Christian counseling approaches need to be holistic, systemic, indigenous, and collaborative according to the Cape Town Declaration crafted by an international team at the 2010 Lausanne Congress. In this session, these four dimensions of the Declaration will be explained and illustrated with case examples from around the world.

Compassion: Humanitarian or Biblical?

The New Testament gives
not one but several models for doing missions. New Testament models of missions are far more flexible and less narrowly defined than the way we typically think of missions. The usual conception of a missionary as one who follows a “call” to go abroad is just one facet of missions. In this session we will explore the biblical patterns and trajectories of what it means to do missions—at home and abroad—and discover what the Bible has to say to us about being “missional” ...

Community Health Education - Working from the Ground Up

Community Health Development: A realistic goal or a pipe dream

Health for All by the Year 2000 was the goal of the Alma Ata Declaration in 1978. The authors, many of them Christians, hoped to achieve access to basic healthcare for all people using a community health development approach. Yet more than 30 years later the concept languishes. What have we learned during the past 30 years that might restore the goal?

Community Health and Development in Urban America

This session will look at ways individual neighborhoods can be wholistically transformed— physically, spiritually, socially, and emotionally from the inside by the residents. It will present ideas of focusing on the assets that are found in people in the neighborhood and how those assets can transform their neighborhood.

Community Health and Development in Restricted Access Countries

Doing development work in
a restricted access country
is extra difficult due to
the conflict and security concerns that go hand in hand with the dire economic and political situation in the country. But the restrictions do not necessarily restrict a Christian from being the salt and light in these areas. In this session we will explore the foundations of community health and development that allow us to achieve sustainability regardless of the restrictions that surround the Kingdom developmen...

Community Health and Development from an Urban Clinic Base

Snakes, Bugs, Bites, and Stings

Tropical travel is frequently associated with concerns about being bitten or stung. Although most of these injuries are minor, some can be dangerous or even life threatening. The worst offenders are reviewed and practical strategies offered for bite/sting prevention and treatment.

Staying Healthy as Short-Termer

Planning and preparing for
a medical mission trip is an exciting process that should include a pre-trip visit with a health care provider that has a background in travel medicine. This session will discuss steps you can take to help ensure you stay healthy on your trip: receiving appropriate routine- and travel-specific vaccinations, general safety advice, following insect and food/beverage precautions, and taking malaria prophylaxis when indicated.

Surgical Response and Disaster Relief

In these days of numerous natural disasters we are blessed to be a blessing around the world but we must be well prepared for all contingencies. This session will take a look at the essential preparedness for disaster relief—specificities of surgery in time of natural disaster, health management after a disaster, appropriate surgical technology (what works on the field), lessons learned from the field, personal security, trip planning, and logistics. Crowds and mobs, hostile negotiations, ent...

Teaching a Technical Skill

This session will focus on how to teach a technical skill. The session will include a brief literature review on skill development, a discussion of teaching strategies including simulation for the low budget educator, and a brief outline of cognitive task analysis
as a tool in developing an educational program. An interactive format will be utilized.

Cataracts in Resource-Limited Areas

Eye care and blindness prevention in resource-limited areas of the world continues to present many challenges. Blindness from cataracts remains the number one cause of blindness in our world
and it can be easily treated. This session looks at ways
to deliver effective, safe,
and cost-effective cataract screening, surgery, and follow up to communities where reliable eye care is either lacking or nonexistent. The discussion will be based on the example and experience of the Tenwek Eye Unit in s...

The Acute Abdomen

Abdominal pain in the tropics includes many of the same diseases as elsewhere but there are conditions that are unique. Using a case-based approach, some of the more common of the conditions that cause acute abdominal pain will be discussed. Approaches to diagnosis and treatment, especially those that are not obvious to the practitioner from N. America, will be discussed in an interactive style.

The Globalization of Medical Education: Can we use it as an evangelistic opportunity?

This session will discuss
how globalization is affecting medical education worldwide. We will discuss some of the requirements for, barriers,
to, and problems for the globalization of medical education to make a difference in developing countries. We will then discuss why there
is such a desperate need for medical education to build healthcare capacity, and will present examples of groups and individuals who have
used medical education to make a difference and as
an evangelistic opportunity. ...

Tropical Disease Cases

Approximately 25% of the world’s population is infected with intestinal helminths. These neglected tropical diseases greatly impact the world’s least privileged and most vulnerable populations, especially children and those living in extreme poverty. We will review the global burden of these individual parasites, their life cycles, clinical presentations, and treatment.

Tropical Medicine Training Options in the U.S. and Abroad

Most healthcare providers from the US or Europe that are planning to work in
the developing world lack knowledge and experience with even the most common tropical diseases. A variety of excellent courses have sprung up to meet this need but the choice of which course to take can be daunting. This session will help you choose which option is best for you.

Tuberculosis: Global Perspective

TB remains a global public health threat. This session will explore the epidemiology, challenges, and global context of current TB control and prevention. Selected field-based solutions from developing countries will be shared, along with updates on innovative practices in public health from around the world.

Tuberculosis in Resource-Limited Areas

TB remains a global public health threat. This session will explore the epidemiology, challenges, and global context of current TB control and prevention. Selected field-based solutions from developing countries will be shared, along with updates on innovative practices in public health from around the world.

Ask a Medical Missionary: Panel Two Doctors, Two Nurses

This session will provide answers to your questions through interactive discussion and personal stories from a panel of experienced medical professionals who have served on the mission field. Each person who attends will receive a 3X5 card when they enter the room to post questions to the panel. The moderator, Scott Reichenbach, will group and select questions and direct them to the appropriate panelists as he guides a dynamic discussion on medical missions. Typical topics discussed range fro...

Vaccination Update

Modern travelers are very fortunate in having an array of very effective vaccinations to prevent many travel-related diseases. The judicious use of these vaccines is now an essential part of travel preparation. New vaccines in particular will be emphasized.

Women in Missions

Women in the Window outlines key opportunities to bridge the gap between the incredible need and timely opportunity for women to extend influence and impact as they discover their unique purpose in the global community. During this session we unlock treasures from God’s Word as we explore the value of women through the stories of biblical women like Ruth, Lydia, Deborah, or Priscilla. We also focus on life stories and impact of women living in the developing world, often known as the 10/40 Wi...

Women in Missions

Women in the Window outlines key opportunities to bridge the gap between the incredible need and timely opportunity for women to extend influence and impact as they discover their unique purpose in the global community. During this session we unlock treasures from God’s Word as we explore the value of women through the stories of biblical women like Ruth, Lydia, Deborah, or Priscilla. We also focus on life stories and impact of women living in the developing world, often known as the 10/40 Wi...

20 Year Community Health Empowerment Case Study - Multiplication with Minimal Funding in Central DRC

Community Health Evangelism (CHE) has been continuously in process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for 20 years. It started very small with one village, but has multiplied dramatically and now is being used by over 500 villages in the Central DRC. The unique effectiveness of this program has been evaluated carefully by outside respected experts. This evaluation has suggested that CHE has reduced both infant mortality and malnutrition by 50%. In addition its effect on villages’ self ...

Work Training African Doctors in Pan African Surgical Training

The Pan-African Academy
of Christian Surgeons is a general surgery residency for African national physicians. Founded in 1997, it presently is training 35 residents and has graduated 20 fully trained surgeons. The lessons learned and applicability to similar programs in Africa will be discussed.

Overview of Community Health Evangelism

Community Health Evangelism (CHE) is a breakthrough mission strategy that seamlessly integrates evangelism and discipleship with disease prevention and community-based development. Through these ministries people become followers of Jesus, churches are planted, and entire communities are lifted out
of cycles of poverty and disease. Terry Dalrymple
 has been instrumental in guiding the expansion of a worldwide CHE movement that now involves more than 400 organizations in 105 countries. In this...

Community Health and Development in Urban Africa

The course will deal with poverty in the urban slum. Attention will be given
to a biblical framework
for development and a strategy for doing “Kingdom Development.” Illustrations will come from lessons being learned in Nairobi, Kenya; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Bangkok, Thailand.

Global Child Health

Research provides a means of helping many people in many places over many years. And, it is possible to do useful research “on the field” in the midst of a busy clinical practice. This session will review possibilities and principles that lead to science-advancing, patient- helping, resource-affordable clinical research.

The Physical Health Consequences of Human Trafficking

There is an increase in morbidity and mortality for trafficked victims based upon circumstances while being trafficked and preexisting conditions that led to
their vulnerability to being trafficked. It is known that most healthcare professionals do not know how to identify and help trafficked victims. This session will discuss the health problems that may present, the reasons for these conditions, and the clues
that may lead to recognizing these victims as trafficked and ultimately to help fr...

Health Promotion in Disaster Relief Missions

How can we use health promotion to more effectively prepare for disasters and to respond when they occur? During this session, participants will examine ways to use health promotion to deal with disasters. How can we be better prepared for disasters, reducing the risks, and, after a disaster, move on from relief to recovery and rebuilding? How can the local community be involved?

Mental Health of Expatriates

Resilient, balanced, resourceful, and culturally sensitive expatriates galvanize cross-cultural ventures. Mental health is the bedrock; yet, a surfeit of narrative disparages global enterprise because of misfortune provoked by psychological maladies. Expectations
are realigned when the epidemiology of mental health disorders are considered
in the context of complex cross-cultural transitions. Predisposing attributes, demands and awareness of risk foster a resolve to care. Evidence-based pract...

Transforming Short Term Team Effectiveness with an Evidence Based Approach to Community Health

Community Health Screening & Education aims to assist communities, both urban and rural, in the US as well as developing countries, in their efforts to resolve their most important healthcare problems. It is based on national and international evidence-based standards and guidelines which were often developed and/or strongly influenced by our Christian missionary mentors. Although primarily focused on the 70% of the disease burden that is preventable, it enables high quality assistance in c...

Management of Malnutrition

This session will give a brief overview of the problem of macronutrient malnutrition (protein-energy malnutrition), its pathophysiology as a “metabolic disorder,” its diagnosis, and best practices to ensure optimum outcomes highlighting the WHOs ten step approach.

Malaria in Children

The practice of pediatrics
in much of the developing world involves the care of children with malaria, often presenting in critical condition where prompt diagnosis and treatment can be life-saving and minimize morbidity. This session will discuss malaria in terms of presentation, diagnosis, treatment, complications, and prevention, in the context of the often less-than-optimal medical setting of the developing world. Recent changes and controversies will be included in the discussion. Althou...

Nursing Care of Cardiac Patients

In this session we will discuss case presentations demonstrating effective diagnosis and care of cardiac conditions with limited resources.

Physical Therapy of Child with CP, SB

This session will explore goals of intervention for children with cerebral palsy or spina bifida and how to accomplish this in a setting with limited resources. We will look at the basics of treatment, equipment options, seating and positioning, and bracing.

Domestic Trafficking: Introduction and Update

This session provides an introduction to the topic of domestic minor sex trafficking by addressing the legal definition of domestic minor sex trafficking, prevalence, typical scenarios, recruiting techniques, and current methods to sell the girls online. The information will include recent numbers from the Department of Justice on prosecutions around the country. Finally, tips on identifying victims within the healthcare system will be discussed as well as definite steps to take in preparatio...

Nutritional Research in Resource-Limited Areas

Nutritional deficiencies continue to plague many children in resource-limited areas. Current knowledge in the “developed” world is not always adequate in determining how to care
for affected children in “developing” countries,
and fresh research can be useful in helping children
all over the world. Using examples of studies of generalized malnutrition and of deficiencies of calcium, vitamin D, and thiamine, participants will gain an understanding of how low-cost investigations carried out in ...

Keys to Mobilizing Volunteers and Leveraging Community Health Impacts

Christian Community Health and Development organizers need to be thinking beyond the implementation of projects scattered here and there in targeted communities, to movements that sweep the whole country. To achieve this, greater attention must be given to mobilizing volunteers who participate in their own development and work together to sustain and build on their successes. In this workshop we will learn keys to mobilizing community volunteers who transfer what they have experienced and lea...

Using Stories for Health Education and Holistic Impact

Storying is a powerful way
to learn new ideas and pass them along to others. Stories impact lives and change behavior. Stories can be used for wholistic teaching, building physical and emotional health, and sharing biblical truths. Stories work effectively with people from all ages and all educational levels, and are a key strategy to work with oral learners. This session will illustrate the use of health stories and Bible storying, and will teach how to do storying. Participants will learn t...

Keys to Mobilizing Medical Volunteers and Leveraging Community Health Impacts

Christian Community Health and Development organizers need to be thinking beyond the implementation of projects scattered here and there in targeted communities, to movements that sweep the whole country. There are keys to mobilizing medical volunteers and leveraging community. To achieve this, greater attention must be given to mobilizing volunteers who participate in their own development and work together to sustain and build on their successes. In this workshop we will learn keys to mobi...

Teaching HIV/AIDS

When people in the developing world want someone to teach about health issues like
HIV, they look to medical people. Thus, whether you are going for a short- or long-term trip, you may well be asked, “Are you ready?” Unless you specialize in infectious disease, how much do you really know about the disease? What is your goal
in teaching? What do people really need to know? Perhaps the most important question is how do you communicate the facts about disease to
an audience that has very little...

Guidance: How to Find God's Will

The Global Missions Health Conference attracts students and medical professionals from all over the United States who want to live out their faith through medicine but are not sure what that means for their lives. This session will provide a biblical framework for understanding our calling in light of God’s redemptive work in the world today.

Family Medicine Residency Training in Creative Access Countries

Many creative access countries are among the poorest and most needy in the world, yet Christian witness is limited. Effective primary care is an essential component of all health systems. Locally trained Family Medicine specialists can provide excellent primary care in limited resource settings. With some constraints doctors from “the West” are welcome in creative access countries to develop residency training in Family Medicine. The lessons learned from eight years of Family Medicine trainin...

Worldview Analysis as a tool for Wholistic Community Health and Development

The session focuses on the use of the Holistic Worldview Analysis (HWVA) tool and explains how it is used to understand a community’s worldview, analyze it, identify gaps in their current survival strategy, and engage the community actively in addressing health and development issues. If you are looking for a way to empower a community to be able to solve most of its own problems, then this is a session for you!

Creating a Culture of Missions in Your Church

Tropical travel is frequently associated with concerns about being bitten or stung. Although most of these injuries are minor, some can be dangerous or even life threatening. The worst offenders are reviewed and practical strategies offered for bite/sting prevention and treatment.

Panel: Effective Use of Pharmaceuticals on Med Missions Trips

Spirituality and Community Health

The session outlines resources of the biblical worldview and how they transformed the culture of Europe and the Near East in the first centuries after Christ, the culture of Great Britain in the 18th Century, and of South Korea in the 20th Century. The session describes what we, as Christian healthcare providers, must do to bring transformation to the peoples and cultures of Africa, Haiti, Latin America, and other non-developing areas of the world.

Recent Developments in HIV/AIDS

The recent research on HIV reported in the past year
has been characterized by leaders in the field as ‘game changing.’ There are new approaches to prevention
and treatment that have the potential for major changes
in the way the disease is approached. This breakout session will not only discuss these developments, but it will also be an opportunity for you to be involved in discussions about how the developments can best be utilized and the complex issues surrounding implementation, funding,...