GO!

Today, I was on a panel as part of a conference. The topic was "global experiences in healthcare" and focused on informing students (via our experiences) on some of the challenges and misconceptions of international health work and travel as well as providing advice on how to get the most out of their trips. We also tried to encourage students going abroad or starting new work in other countries to get out of the mind set of "I'm going to change the world and the lives of the community I go to," because that's not really how it works. Often, how it works is that you learn more and do less than you thought you would, but perhaps that is for the better, because just as much as we need hard workers out there is developing and rural and urban areas around the world, we need improved cultural awareness, ties of friendship and love, and mutual respect to make any of the change we are all focused on happen.