Podcast

Cross cultural health care service calls for a spectrum of specialized knowledge, skills and attitudes. How does a potential worker equipped him/herself to serve effectively and thrive in such a demanding role as medical missionaries?

We will focus on the key role of mentoring in cross cultural training, and discuss how to find mentors who can facilitate one's development. The selection of an organization with an ethos that supports mentoring will also be discussed.

This interactive session will be of particular relevance to those preparing to serve as cross cultural health care workers, while also being useful to those who are preparing such workers.
 

Burnout among healthcare workers is at record levels, and working in an underserved area is a significant risk factor. So how do we prevent missionary burnout? While there is increasing awareness of the problem, effective solutions have been elusive. The development of resilience is a key factor in the prevention and management of burnout. This session will help participants deepen their understanding of burnout and take steps to prevent it.

 

About the author: Dr. Steve Sartori (Director at CMDA - Center for Well-being)

Dr. Steve Sartori is Director of the Center for Well-being at CMDA. A physician well-being coach and consultant, he helps doctors and other healthcare professionals align with God, optimize well-being and maximize influence. He has served as CEO of a private group practice, chief of staff at two hospitals, faculty member for a family medicine residency program and chief medical officer for a community health center. He has served as a board member and treasurer of CMDA, and has participated in mission trips to Romania, Jamaica, Thailand, Kenya and Swaziland. He is married, with two adult children, and enjoys traveling and sports.

The harvest in plentiful in middle east missions. More than 90 million adolescents and youth live in the Middle East today. Adolescents are a key population group representing a triple return of investment, yet they are uniquely neglected in the regional challenges they face. Today, adolescents in the Middle East confront significant health, development, education, employment and socio-economic challenges especially related to the protracted crisis. Region-specific factors greatly influence their health, development, choices, and provision of public health and clinical services.
Over the past two decades, adolescent health issues increasingly made their way to national agendas in many regions of the world, yet it’s only a drop in a bucket. Adolescents are the population that benefited least from the epidemiologic transition. Why does the Middle East lag behind? What are United Nations Health Organizations doing to improve the health of a billion adolescents who live in the world and in particular in the Middle East? Why are we failing adolescents? Why do countries in the region have to care for adolescents, their potential backbone for a vibrant future? How can governments and leading medical institutions ensure gender sensitive comprehensive health and development agenda for adolescents living in the Middle East?
What can a GMHC participant do to help?

Christianity and culture have had a complex and adversarial relationship since the beginning. Early Christians were counter-cultural—and had an immense impact on the peoples around them. Likewise, medical missionaries have deeply influenced the lives of the peoples where they served over the past two centuries. How? At the same time, they were sensitive to the culture around them, learning language and culture and adapting to religious, social and economic constraints. How have they done this? What does this look like in reality? To answer these questions, I will share survey results and moving stories of medical missionaries serving diverse cultures and religions in culturally intelligent ways in over ten countries on two continents.

This will be a practical application of principles for the treatment of common neck and back pain for the non-Physical Therpist medical professional.