What’s going on?
We have officially been accepted to go with INMED (Institute for International Medicine, http://inmed.us) to go to Soddo Christian Hospital (http://www.soddo.org) in Ethiopia from 12/16/10 to 1/22/11 as part of INMED’s International Medicine Certificate program. Matthew will be participating in medical education at the hospital with Ethiopian students and doctors as part of my 4th year clinical medicine curriculum and we see this as a tremendous opportunity to prepare for a life of serving in medical missions. Maggie will be doing a public health internship and possibly some nursing practicum.
Soddo Christian Hospital is a 120-bed hospital located in Soddo, population 50,000. There patients in the city and the surrounding region receive various kinds of medical, surgical, dental, pediatric, and maternity care—there are four operating rooms and six wards, including an orthopedic ward and an intensive care unit. Diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, physical therapy, and a pharmacy are all available on site, along with an optometry clinic and a dental clinic. Numerous inpatients and outpatients are seen every day, and the hospital is involved in education on every level, most notably as part of the Pan-African Christian College of Surgeons wherein residents from all over Africa are trained. Ethiopian doctors and staff work side-by-side with specialists from all over the world, some of whom are full-time staff and some of whom visit to teach and practice.
Matthew will be academically attached to Dr. Ruth Droppers (http://www.soddo.org/ruthdroppers.asp), a Netherlands-trained internist who has some additional training in geriatrics but usually serves as a general practitioner in both inpatient and outpatient settings. He will be working direct supervision of her and the other physicians there (American, British, and Ethiopian.) His expected clinical responsibilities will be 45% inpatient hospital care, 45% outpatient visits, and 10% operating room. Portions of the inpatient time will most likely involve being on the obstetrical ward. There will be call responsibilities, as well as an online course in international medicine to complete before we start the rotation and several presentations on various medical topics to the house staff while there.
We are very excited about this opportunity to learn and prepare for a lifetime providing medical care in underserved areas, as we feel called to long-term medical missions among unreached peoples. We are also looking forward to being mentored by strong leaders in the faith from many different national backgrounds who have been serving in cross-cultural medical ministry for a long time. We have spent time in some clinical settings overseas before, but never as a distinct member of a health care team. The approximate cost of the project will be $3500 per person, meaning that it will be $7500 total for use to participate. We are thrilled to have this opportunity for cross-cultural ministry, intense mentoring, and challenging medical education and feel as though it is the best opportunity that God has given us during the years of medical training to learn, serve, and grow in the work that we believe He has called us to do.