Wounds from war: Inside the Medecins Sans Frontieres' medical facility in Jordan

Sally

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Mar 22, 2012
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There must be thousands and thousands of innocent people who have been wounded in the conflicts so it is nice to see a group helping some of them.

Wounds from war: Inside the Medecins Sans Frontieres' medical facility in Jordan
Updated 21 December 2015, 8:10 AEDT
By Middle East Correspondent Sophie McNeill

A patient undergoing a physio treatment has set up a rehabilitation hospital in Jordan that is providing hope to hundreds of war wounded from across the Middle East.


At the Medecins Sans Frontieres medical facility in Jordan, 13-year-old Salim from Syria, is being treated for injuries he received when a missile from a Syrian Government warplane struck his house while he was watching television. (Credit: ABC)

Image: MSF doctors performing a surgery in Jordon
In an unremarkable building on the outskirts of the Jordanian capital Amman, is one of the world's most incredible hospitals.

Run by the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the corridors of the facility overflow with men, women and children all horrifically wounded in the numerous conflicts plaguing this region.

From Syria to Iraq and Yemen — every patient here has a heartbreaking story.

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Wounds from war: Inside the Medecins Sans Frontieres' medical facility in Jordan
 
Some things to think about Before You Jump Into Poor Countries...
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Advice To Parachuting Docs: Think Before You Jump Into Poor Countries
April 4, 2018 - Don't mess with other civilizations.
That's the "prime directive" in Star Trek and countless other sci-fi works. Of course, visitors to other planets get it wrong — a lot. Sometimes, they meddle in inappropriate ways and disaster ensues. So what does this have to do with global health? Well, here on Earth, doctors and medical students are flocking to programs where they spend a couple of weeks to months volunteering in what's called a "low-resource" country. In these places, medical expertise and technology may lag behind richer nations. And sometimes their eagerness to help can have unintended negative consequences.

Now the American College of Physicians has issued a position paper on "ethical obligations" for these medical volunteers, both doctors and students. Published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the paper has been widely praised — but critics have also raised one major concern — no one from the developing world was part of the committee preparing the guidelines. Why do we need guidelines? There have been versions before. But the fact that a major American medical group has put forth a position paper is significant.

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And there are a lot of volunteers out there: Among medical students alone, about a quarter of them participate in a "global health experience," according to a survey by the Association of American Medical Colleges. They are motivated by a desire to improve health care for underserved populations — and perhaps to build a resume for a future career in global health. The official name of the program is the "short-term clinical experience in global health" — which goes by the clunky acronym of STEGH.

Only sometimes these overseas volunteers end up doing harm, says Dr. Omar Khan, physician leader for partnerships and academic programs at Christiana Care in Delaware. He's also the author or co-author of five books on global health. In an interview with NPR, Khan made the connection between sci-fi ethics and medical ethics. The similarity between space explorers and medical mission docs, he says, is a "sense that I have something you don't have and I can help you because of that." Only it doesn't always work out that way.

Perhaps a doctor performs a surgery, then goes home. The patient develops complications, and there's no local health-care worker who can help them. Or maybe the visiting medical professionals offer free care that takes business away from local docs. Medical students might want to try a surgery they wouldn't be able to do in the U.S. because they haven't had enough training. Medications that are provided for these docs may be past their expiration date. And students sometimes are oblivious to local customs — say, that women dress modestly or a physician should not touch a patient of the opposite sex.

More Advice To Parachuting Docs: Think Before You Jump Into Poor Countries
 

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