| | [Seeing as the majority of people that read this blog are personal friends of mine -- who merely come to the website to artificially boost my hit counter and make me feel good about my intermittent capacity for writing -- this announcement may be old news for many of them. But for the rest of my grand readership (all six of you), and because many of my future posts will related to this topic at large, I will record this bulletin for posterity's sake.]
I've been intrigued by the idea, if not always the practice, of medical missions ever since I spent a week working in itinerant medical clinics in the Dominican Republic as a second-year med student. About a year-and-a-half ago, I decided to take time off from my surgical residency and dedicate myself more fully to the exploration of medical missions and, by extension, its role in my life and future career.
In a very pragmatic way, this is unique season in my life: I'm single, healthy, and relatively young. I don't have a mortgage to pay, my family is in good shape, and my program director gave his assent. I planned to take a one-year break after my three years of general surgery training, when most of my colleagues would be heading into the lab. I had talked to other surgeons who had done similar things during their training; they encouraged me, saying they would do it again if given the choice.
On July 9, I'll be traveling to Nairobi, Kenya. From there, it's an eight-hour drive (I'm told) to Kapsowar Hospital in the Marakwet district of the Rift Valley Province. I'll live and work there until June 2010, at which point I'll return to the US to complete two more years of my surgery residency.
I've been in email contact with the American surgeon who works at Kapsowar full-time. I understand a Kenyan national surgeon will be joining the hospital about the same time I come. Other than this, however, I don't know a whole lot. I don't know what my living quarters are like, what the common surgical cases will be, how the call schedule is figured out, how travel and transport are arranged...I don't know a lot.
Suddenly, the time draws frighteningly near. I've never been away from home for so long. I've never gone more than six months without seeing my parents and family. Nevertheless, the anticipation for the year off is exciting. It'll be an adventure.
(My time in Kenya, while approved by my program, is unsupported and unpaid. Thus, I'm raising support to help with room, board, airfare, and daily living expenses. If you would like more information on how to make a tax-deductible donation, email or PM me.) |
| | Posted 6/9/2009 8:17 PM - 127 Views - 10 eProps - 8 comments
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