Medical Program
Access to Medical Care Patient Perspectives Medical Perspectives Medical Facility Relations
After two years of University, Keith took a leave of absence and worked the 1996/1997 academic year as a volunteer in the medical field of Ghana. Although the majority of his service in northern Ghana was intended to center around the eradication of a water-borne disease called Guinea Worm, ultimately, the outbreak of various diseases determined his work. It was here that he began to gain an appreciation for the stark, global inequalities that exist in gaining access to medical care.
As is the case in many rural communities of the world, patients fortunate enough to have financial and transportation means, often travel great distances to reach a health center. Upon arrival, the journey is often not over, as patients can wait days or even weeks for appropriate medical care.
Many people, ourselves included, had never heard of Guinea Worm, let alone the true extent of the health challenges a great number of people endure. Beginning to understand these realities was the foundation of our Medical Program.
We intend to travel to rural and urban areas of the world, learning more about local access to medicine. Our goal is to catalog these findings to allow interested persons the possibility to learn, along with us, about the medical circumstances in which people live. We hope our research will provide a valuable starting point for medical personnel/volunteers, as well as allow all of us the opportunity to act if compelled to do so.
Our approach to realizing this goal consists of the following four projects:
Medical Survey Project
The first project of our medical program is to create and implement a medical survey, detailing access to medical care in various parts of the world. Access to medicine often varies considerably with respect to patients’ locations and financial circumstances. In remote, rural parts of the world, medical facilities can be hours or even days away. The cost of receiving basic medical treatment can be overwhelming for many families worldwide. In this project, we intend to explore access to medical care through personal experiences. These experiences will be quantified and cataloged through both a verbal and written survey.
Patient Perspectives Project
The second project of our medical program is to establish an oral history project describing an individual’s personal experience in gaining access to health care. As described in our educational program, history has relied on the spoken word for thousand of years as a vehicle for retaining knowledge. Although today oral history is less common, we believe it to be a valuable and unique method of explaining the experiences people face. Through the voice of an individual, emotions are expressed in a manner that is unmistakably authentic. We intend to capture and record this anecdotal authenticity through personal narrative to emphasize variations that exist in gaining access to health care.
Visit a country to hear one's story.
Medical Perspectives Project
The third project of our medical program is to highlight the life of medical personnel working in rural areas through interviews and surveys. Having worked in the medical field in a rural, developing community, we believe there is great encouragement and inspiration in sharing experiences. Our intent is to establish a record of these experiences, allowing us all to better grasp and understand the different successes and challenges health care workers face around the world. We hope this learning will lead to further knowledge and efficiency that may be incorporated in medical communities, enriching health care cooperation and awareness.
Medical Facility Relationships Project
The fourth goal of our medical program is to compile contact information of local hospitals and clinics in different regions, with the objective of establishing working relationships between willing medical facilities. Medical facilities worldwide are unique in the talents and resources they possess. Partnerships would allow each medical institution the opportunity to share their knowledge and bring to light the vast challenges they face. We hope that once a platform is established both short and long-term, cooperative relationships will begin to develop.