session summaries

8/14/2019 Session Summaries

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The First International Medical Volunteerism ConferenceHosted by Emory University School of Medicinewww.EmoryIMVC.org

www.IMVC.org

BREAK OUT SESSIONS SATURDAY & SUNDAY

ARRANGED BY TIME

SUMMARIES OF THE SESSIONS

SATURDAY APRIL 17TH

Sat. 8:30am 12:30pm / SOM 120Teaching and Developing Infrastructure for Programs in Developing Countries

A dedicated group of doctors share their experiences of reaching out around the world tocreate programs to teach the locals how to save lives. The challenges are many, whether

setting up pediatric emergency care in Honduras and the Republic of Georgia or building

new hospitals in Africa. A doctor couple from India makes trips home to establish care

for rural tribes, while another doctor teaches radiology in the Andes of Peru. Aneurosurgeon takes on the challenge of teaching brain surgery in developing regions,

while a US medical school helps teach cardiology at an Ethiopian medical school. The

son of the President of Liberia becomes a doctor in the US and returns to Liberia with aunique program to help rebuild the infrastructure by teaching local health care providers.

This is a global humanism summit focused on developing countries.

Sat. 8:30am noon / SOM 130

Surgery Programs

Theres a gap in surgical skills within global health, with major differences between low

and high income countries. Academic programs and mission hospitals are trying to fillthis gap. Theres a wide variety of surgical interventions required, for example

introducing new technology to treat fistulas of African women, providing a new

psychological lease on lifefrom social outcast to cultural inclusion. The surgical

challenges include treating injuries from natural disasters like the Haiti earthquake orperforming battlefield surgery in Sudan, Pakistan, and Congo. This session would not be

complete without the personal insight of an experienced academic surgeon who makes

trips to Egypt to perform difficult cardiothoracic surgical proceduresimprovingattitudes towards the U.S. in the Middle East.
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Sat. 8:30am 12:30pm / SOM 110Community Strength and Empowerment

Presenters offer a montage of experiences, from surgery to spiritual health, wheremedical volunteerism helps to strengthen communities around the world, including

Mayan Indians in Guatemala and Nicaragua or exiled Tibetan monks in India, nomadic

communities in Kenya, the riverbank people of the Amazon basin, orphans and streetchildren in East Africa, and collaborating researchers in Israel and Palestine.

Sat. 8:30am 11:30am / WH 208

Where to Begin: Tips on Getting Launched to Volunteer

This presentation acts as a springboard for future medical volunteers and social

entrepreneurs: The nuts and bolts of how to get involved, issues relating to malpractice,and preparing for missions around the corner or around the world. Learn how to prepare

yourself and your mission team, whether you are young or old, a student or a retiree, an

out-in-the-fielder or an organizer, a lay person or a health professional.

Sat. 9:00am 1:00pm / WH 205Health Education and Wellness:

The best way to keep people healthy is to teach them the basics of medicine and theimportance of a healthy lifestyle. This is an opportunity to hear about a wide array of

innovative approaches to community outreach. These include music for kids, athletic

programs, community gardens, and costumed comedic presentations. Learn about theunique missions of an alliance of nice guys/gals, a private practicing cardiologist, and a

health literacy program for the Hispanic community.

Sat. 8:30am 11:00am / WH 207

Homeless Programs:

This will be an opportunity to learn about and to get involved in street medicine and

house calls to the homeless in American cities, rural areas, and throughout the world.Also, there will be expert insights relating to treating mental illness in the homeless, and

teaching meditation and mindfulness to the homeless. Opportunities abound for anyone to

volunteer, whether you are trained medical personnel, a student, or a retiree.

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Sat. 10:00am 11:30am / WH 206Advocacy for the Health of Uninsured and Underinsured Patients

A reverend and a state senator share the challenges of their advocacy efforts for GradyHospital and Grady patients. A wide variety of other advocates share their experiences,

including an overview of a national effort to advocate for underserved patients and the

clinicians who attempt to serve them.

Sat. 11:30am 3:00pm / WH 208Community Clinics

Hear the stories, insights, and expertise of the health care warriors who tackle the

problems of access to care in their own communities. They have established and servedin clinics accessible to the underserved, not only providing services, but teaching future

healthcare professionals. Merging spiritual, academic, and community initiatives, theyshare the ultimate challenge: providing access to quality care for all Americans.

Sat. 11:00am 2:30pm / WH 207

What Can Institutional Leadership do to Encourage Volunteerism?

Many academic institutions are dedicated to fostering a spirit of volunteerism in their

training of future doctors, physician assistants, nurses, or chiropractors. Whether the

programs they offer provide care for the underserved in Tanzania or for migrant farmworkers in the state of Georgia, the purpose and the challenge is to plant the seeds and

encourage students to appreciate the joy of making a difference by saving the lives or

preventing the suffering of people who otherwise would be without care.

Sat. 11:30am 2:30pm / WH 206Communications and Media Efforts

From the cutting edge technology of telemedicine to the cultural sensitivity issues inverbal communication, learn how to communicate and make a difference. This session is

a communing of artists and techies. A wide spectrum of innovators share their efforts to

make an impact, from public health presentations in a foreign language to websites andcollaborative books on health issues An author draws from his own experiences to

write books inspiring others to thrive despite physical challenges, a doctor produces CDs

to sensitize health care providers communicating with Latinos, and a photographer

captures the work of medical volunteers in Tibet.

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Sat. noon 3:00pm / SOM 130Expanding Volunteer Efforts

Presenters offer innovative approaches to expanding mission opportunities in faith-basedand secular situations, whether by ship, on land, or in cyberspace. Gain insights into

mobilizing faith groups, students, professionals, and even using the talents of the African

Diaspora as a strategy to give back, especially in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Addthe skill of social entrepreneurialism, and theres always room to expand. This session is

moderated by the development associate of the nonprofit website

www.medicalmissions.org, which connects medical volunteers with volunteer

opportunities around the world.

Sat. 12:30pm 3:00pm / SOM 110Nursing & Pharmacy Programs

A unique perspective on volunteer nursing and pharmaceutical activities in developing

countries, from challenges with the pharmaceutical supply chains to nurses who empower

the poor, thus creating lasting change. Learn how to contribute in these challenging

situations and avoid nurse burn out while making a positive impact.

Sat. 12:30 3:00pm / SOM 120

Emergency, Trauma, & ER programs

Whether providing emergency care in Nigeria or India, teaching basic and advanced

resuscitation techniques on the streets of India, or setting up intensive care units in third

world countries, this team of presenters has one objectiveto save lives and decreasemorbidity during an emergency.

Sat. 2:00pm 3:00pm / SOM P190

Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities and their Issues

Members of the Commission on Disability Affairs in Fulton County address the

challenges and innovative accomplishments resulting from advocacy for those who are

disabled.

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SUNDAY, APRIL 18TH, 2010

Sun. 9:00am noon / SOM 110Sustaining Volunteer Efforts

Whether establishing surgical missions or delivering disaster relief, volunteering as astudent emergency tech in Nigeria or doing mission work in Haiti or Peru to help with

medical, social, and dental needsthe aim is to make this humanitarian work sustainable.

Here is an opportunity to gain insights into innovation that helps volunteers have a lastingimpact on the health of the community they serve.

Sun. 9:00am 2:00pm / SOM 120Pediatric Programs

This group of doctors, nurses, and dentists give insights into the challenges and triumphs

of volunteering pediatric services in the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and

Mongolia. Their efforts include screening for prevention intervention, providing primarycare services, and treating children who require complicated surgical intervention (birth

defects, plastic and reconstructive surgery, neurologic defects, congenital heart defects, or

urologic surgery),

Sun. 11:00am 2:30pm / Harland CinemaThe Haiti Challenge & Response

A global perspective on medical volunteering in Haiti, including helping the needy inrural areas who were indirectly affected by the earthquake, dealing with the

psychological aftermath among Haitians, rebuilding hospitals, and working at the

forefront of disaster relief. These health professionals and organizers have learned lessonswhich could help to develop new strategies for dealing with similar situations in the

future. Heres a real opportunity to learn from the past and move forward.

Sun. 9:00am noon / WH 208

An Overview: Volunteering in Your Own Community Opportunities and Ideas forMedical & Lay People

A smorgasbord of individual stories and opportunities, from doctors who provide freeheart surgery and lung transplants to a lay retiree who visits sick kids with bedside

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reading. A wide spectrum of opportunities are out there right in your backyard: offering

charity care in your own private practice, joining the ranks of lay people and healthcare

professionals in the Medical Reserve Corp, offering your skills at health fairs, orexploiting your creativity like the doc who sings to help feed the hungry. The skys the

limit!

Sun. 9:00am 12:30am / WH 206Hospice Volunteer Programs:

This presentation provides insights into a variety of hospice volunteer opportunities for

lay people and healthcare professionals. Learn from the personal experiences of the priorhead of CNN Science News who mixed volunteering, family, and film-making to impact

volunteers via an end-of-life documentary. Get an inside perspective from volunteering

doctors and volunteer coordinators. Learn how to get involved with organizations like

Visiting Nurse / Hospice Atlanta and United Hospice Atlanta.

Sun. 9:00am 11:00 am / WH 207

Mental Health in Americas Youth:

Hear the experiences of a Chicago city police officer who teamed up with Michael Jordan

to educate inner city kids and prevent serious mishaps. Hell be joined by a colleague

Chicago police officer and a Dekalb County executive who runs a unique camp to inspireyouth to commit to healthy choices. In addition, youll learn from a Cleveland Clinic

phsysician who created an innovative program to teach medicine and boost the self-

esteem of inner city Cleveland kids.

Sun. 9:00pm 2:00pm / WH 205

Dental Health Programs:

A collection of unique perspectives on how to get dental care to those in need locally orinternationally, through mission trips to remote villages on the Amazon River, in Alaska,

and in Vietnam, or serving inner city Atlanta communities where model clinics have been

established. There are even insights from a dentists mission trips to teach non-dentists toperform certain dental treatments.

Sun. 10:00am 1:00pm / SOM 130

Cultural Sensitivity & Ethical Responsibility in Volunteer Efforts

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Volunteering can do more harm than good if it is not culturally sensitive. It can do a

tremendous amount of good for both the recipient and the donor when it is culturally

enriching. The presenters will give insights into cross-cultural issues including social,economic, ethnic, religious, educational, or language. Organizers, surgeons, obstetricians,

and ER doctors will present an array of perspectives.

Sun. 11:00am 1:30pm / WH 206Family Involvement: Getting the Family on Board

How to create a meaningful family experience through helping those in need:

Perspectives from a teen who started going on medical missions at age eight, insightsfrom families who have gone together on missions, and stories from those who have

adopted children as another positive spin off of their medical missions.

Sun. 11:00am 2:00pm / WH 207Mental Health Programs:

Learn about a wide array of volunteer opportunities, such as a unique program that

connect faith communities with mental health advocates, or a national program usingstreet-based and radio outreach to positively impact mental health issues. The spectrum

of disorders addressed will include substance abuse, dementia, and Tourrette Syndrome

(with special emphasis on a camp experience for kids). The approaches are ofteninnovative, such as a therapeutic garden in an Alzheimers day facility. Another highlight

is a psychiatrists perspective on how to sensitize the brain towards environmental

concerns.

Sun. noon 2:00pm / SOM 110

Public Health Programs

Public health volunteers from Cambodia to South Africa, from Uganda to Nicaragua giveinsights into making a difference in public health around the world. Their efforts result in

clean water, sanitation, screening for and educating about health problems like

hypertension & pulmonary ailments, and teaming to wipe out communicable diseases.

Sun. noon 2pm / WH 208

Hospital Volunteer Programs:

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Hospital volunteers from Atlanta and beyond join together to celebrate the work they do.

Unique insights from teens, retired folks, and volunteer coordinators. These opportunities

are available for anybody interested in the medical field and anyone who wants to usetheir experience and expertise to make a difference.

Sun. 12:30pm 2pm / WH 206

Advocacy for Patients during a Crisis of Care

Its difficult for patients to advocate for themselves when they are suffering and/or

without resources. The volunteer advocate can make all the difference in the world,

especially at a time of a crisis of care.

Sun. 1:00pm 2:00pm / SOM 130The Nuts & Bolts of Fundraising: An Introduction

This is a crash course on how to gain access to financial resources. You will have an

opportunity to learn the inside scoop on how to present your plan to potential funders,

how to plan fundraising events, and the dos and donts of grant writing.

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