Home  Publications Working Abroad
 Contents
Previous Article (1.2 The Global context)
Next Article (1.4 Cultural and social concerns)
1.3 The Professional impact
The Department of Health published a document in 2003, entitled - International Humanitarian and Health Work – A toolkit to support good practice. It can be found at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4050937
It lists the benefits to NHS employees who take part in short term work overseas.
Professionally they become practised in prioritising scarce resources, managing change, developing human resources, thinking on their feet, making things happen and working in multidisciplinary teams. They will become aware of global health and disease needs, adaptable and resourceful, self assured, strategic in their thinking and will develop leadership and problem solving skills. They will inevitably reassess how they use resources in healthcare when they return to the UK. The result of these effects on their staff is making many senior managers realise how valuable working overseas can be
The NHS benefits because its staff bring their enlarged skills and enlivened motivation back to their jobs. The changes accrued from a career break or a regular overseas partnership visit will revitalise and refresh staff, enabling them to withstand the onslaught of mid-career burn out.
Working abroad will:
Make you see UK health problems from a totally different perspective. You will gain a first hand experience of non-western world views of health and disease. Resource poor countries have had long experience in deciding health care priorities in the face of stringent budgetary constraints and we have much to learn. It may well be that you will use resources more responsibly when you return!
Give you practical medical, surgical and management skills that we won't gain at home. These will include: facing the challenge of being a 'Generalist' and working outside the confines of the rigid specialisations of the Western world and taking on strategic responsibilities such as handling hospital budgets, designing new buildings and the hiring and disciplining of staff.
Open you eyes to life in another culture. So that even if you end up practising in the UK, you will have gained valuable insights into the lifestyles and way of thinking of patients of differing ethnic backgrounds and have developed a deeper empathy with them.
|
Contents
Previous Article (1.2 The Global context)
Next Article (1.4 Cultural and social concerns)
Acknowledgements
My thanks to Chris Lavy, Eldryd Parry, Ian Spillman and Nick Wooding, all of whom have worked overseas and have a continuing involvement, for their helpful comments and advice.
First edition 1994 - Entitled ‘A Medical Missions Handbook’ by Peter Saunders.
Second Edition 1998 (updated April 2000)
Third Edition September 2003 - by Peter Armon
Fourth Edition 2007 – renamed ‘Working Abroad’ - totally revised & rewritten by Peter Armon
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the CMF.
Christian Medical Fellowship
6 Marshalsea Road
London SE1 1HL
Tel. 020 7234 9660
Fax 020 7234 9661
Websites:www.cmf.org.uk and www.healthserve.org
Christian Medical Fellowship is a registered charity No. 1039823
DISCLAIMER
While seeking to be accurate in all the details contained in this document, CMF cannot be held responsible for the information contained in this booklet. The reader should double check the information for him/herself
|
|
