There are countless opportunities for pre-meds to boost their medical school applications and demonstrate a passion for helping others. One such opportunity includes mission trips. While many may believe mission trips do a lot of good for the communities they’re directly impacting, some of them actually do a lot more harm than most people realize or intend. For many years, marginalized communities have spoken up about the exploitation of their respective communities through “voluntourism.”
People often come and go to these communities with romanticized aspirations to change the whole community in one or two weeks. This is unrealistic considering the community itself may have endured these disparities for years (if not decades), and it will take a lot more than two weeks of painting houses and building wells to reverse their hardships. The instant gratification and feel-good moments these trips provide are made at the expense of the dignity, esteem, agency and self-efficacy of that individual or community. It actually leaves context and dismisses the factors that led to that disparity in the first place. It is important to look into these mission trips and figure out how lasting their contributions are. To help these communities, they will need the proper resources and training so that they may grow in their own communities. Coming in for a week or two may be nice, but you will essentially leave them with nothing once you depart for home.
The Western viewpoint of non-Western cultures, especially third-world cultures, tend to be fraught with misconceptions. These mission trips are often driven by the feeling that we have something to offer that they lack. We stand in the point of privilege as we interpret what we see from third-world countries is their lack. There is a point in which this feeling can unintentionally come across as subtle paternalism, maybe even a God or savior complex. We are rescuers. We are coming to provide what they lack. However, this reality may be completely opposite. While we go to give, do they need or want what we offer? Will our offers do them good, or cause them harm? Do we instead need to learn from them? For short-term missions to be truly valuable to both parties, the missionaries should take the stance of learners, not saviors.
To make medical mission trips more impactful and effective, consider doing extensive research into the organization that organized the trip. Are they legitimate and well-reputed? Are licensed physicians going to be a part of your group? Will you be participating in procedures that you are otherwise unqualified for? The latter is an especially important question to ask yourself (and the organizer of the mission trip) because there are ethical concerns with untrained students giving medical care in a foreign country, and this does more harm to your chances than good if you attempt any procedures you are not trained and qualified for. Consider finding other opportunities to help those in need within your communities, which can be more long-lasting. Some programs may not provide lasting benefit to the communities they reach, so if you truly wish to embark on a medical mission trip, look for organizations that have a plan to empower the native population or create sustainable systems.
After all that’s been said, medical mission trips are not all bad. The efficacy of a mission trip depends on the intent of the trip and if they plan to make their impacts on their targeted community long term.
Medical mission trips do have its pros: it allows you to leave your comfort zone and expand your horizons; provides an amazing opportunity to nurture your passion for medicine and helping those in need; exposes you to global health (if done with the right organization); and allows you to network and build lasting relationships with peers and potentially natives of the country you visit. Your trip will only benefit you if you are selective with the organizations that offer mission trips and if you are sufficiently culturally competent.
Cultural competence emphasizes the idea of effectively operating in different cultural contexts, and altering practices to reach different cultural groups, according to NPIN. This differs from cultural knowledge, sensitivity, and awareness, which all imply an understanding of cultural similarities and differences, but they do not include action or structural change. Cultural competence comprises of four components: awareness of one’s own cultural worldview, attitude towards cultural differences, knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews, and cross-cultural skills. It is a major part of public health and medicine. While it is a relatively new concept in the world of medicine, it is an incredibly important one and should have greater emphasis in the medical school curriculum for our future physicians. By being culturally competent, physicians can improve the quality of healthcare and their relationships with their patients while reducing, if not eliminating, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare. Race, ethnicity, culture, or language proficiency should not be a factor in how a physician delivers their care. A research study found several key perspectives and trends in cultural competence focusing on healthcare policy, practice and education, which you can find here.
All in all, it is important to learn cultural competence in the medical field, especially if you’re attending medical mission trips and are interacting with communities that are very different from the ones you’re familiar with. Additionally, you’ll be interacting with all kinds of people from all walks of life as a physician. If you are a pre-medical or medical student, take the time and effort to learn about cultural competence and how you can take effective action in eradicating racial and ethnic health disparities — the field of medicine and your future patients will only benefit from it.