Continuing medical and dental education on the global stage: The nexus of supporting international Christian healthcare workers and developing educators

Authors

  • Lyubov D Slashcheva Resident/Fellow, University of Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, Iowa City, IA
  • Mark A Strand rofessor, College of Pharmacy and Department of Public Health, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
  • Ruth E VanReken Co-Founder, Families in Global Transition
  • Collin Sanford Professor Emeritus, University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, Farmington, CT
  • J Dwight Phillips Professor of Pediatrics, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN
  • Gloria Halverson Professor Emeritus, Medical College of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15566/cjgh.v3i2.131

Keywords:

Continuing healthcare education, International healthcare education, Medical missionary support

Abstract

One of the challenges facing international healthcare missionaries is that of maintaining up-to-date knowledge and staying current with professional certification. Since 1978, annual programs by the Christian Medical and Dental Associations have offered professional continuing education to thousands of US healthcare professionals serving as missionaries in the regions of Africa, Asia, and, in more recent years, globally. In addition, conference programming is designed to prepare, train, and support healthcare missionaries to, in turn, serve as educators in their places of ministry. The program is designed for both professional education and personal encouragement. Utilizing historical documents from program facilitation and interviews from those involved with its implementation, this paper describes the history, vision, and favorable quantitative growth and qualitative impact on participants.  The program continues to grow as healthcare missionaries are educated near their places of service, while reinforcing their own roles as educators.

Author Biographies

Lyubov D Slashcheva, Resident/Fellow, University of Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, Iowa City, IA

Lyubov Slashcheva is a Geriatric & Special Needs Dentistry Fellow and Dental Public Health Resident at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. A Christian Medical and Dental Associations member, she has served as Academic Assistant for the CMDE program. She serves as Vice President on the board for the Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship and Secretary for the board of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry. As a National Health Service Corps Dental Scholar, Slashcheva is committed to establishing a career in meeting the primary oral health needs of underserved communities.

Mark A Strand, rofessor, College of Pharmacy and Department of Public Health, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND

Mark Strand is a professor and public health researcher who is devoted to contributing to the knowledge and literature on healthcare professionals serving in cross-cultural settings.

Ruth E VanReken, Co-Founder, Families in Global Transition

Ruth VanReken has substantial cross-cultural ministry experience and has co-authored the book "Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds" and advocates for the children and families of missionaries through Families in Global Transition, an organization she co-founded.

Collin Sanford, Professor Emeritus, University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, Farmington, CT

Collin Sanford is a dental professional and professor emeritus of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine.

J Dwight Phillips, Professor of Pediatrics, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN

J Dwight Phillips is a professor in the Pediatrics Department at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN who has collaborated extensively with healthcare professionals serving in cross-cultural settings.

Gloria Halverson, Professor Emeritus, Medical College of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Gloria Halverson is professor emeritus of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Gynecology and Obstetrics. She is committed to supporting healthcare professionals serving in cross-cultural settings.

References

Campbell E. Medical Mission Work. Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic 2000.

Price FW, March AW. Protestant Medical Missions Today. Occasional Bulletin. 1959;10(03):1-10.

Loewenberg S. Medical missionaries deliver faith and health care in Africa. The Lancet.

;373(9666):795 - 796.

Grundmann CH. The Contribution of Medical Missions: The intercultural transfer of standards and

values. Academic Medicine. 1991;66(12):731-733.

Easterly W. The White Man’s Burden: How the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill

and So Little Good. NY: Penguin Books 2006.

Maurice J.Faith-based organisations bolster health care in Rwanda. The Lancet.386(9989):123-124.

Koteskey R. Attrition. CMDA Epistle. 2015.

Taylor WD. Revisiting a Provocative Theme: The Attrition of Longer-Term Missionaries. Missiology: An

International Review. 2002;30(1):67-80.

Grundmann CH. Sent to heal! Emergence and development of medical missions. Lanham, MD:

University Press of America 2005.

Bikos L, Lewis Hall E. Psychological functioning of international missionaries: introducion to the special

issue. Mental Health, Religion & Culture. 2009;12(7):605–609.

Eriksson C, Bjorck J, Larson L, et al. Social support, organisational support, and religious support in

relation to burnout in expatriate humanitarian aid workers. Mental Health, Religion & Culture.

;12(7):671-686.

Grundmann C. The contribution of medical missions to medical education overseas. Mission Studies.

;9(17):79-99.

Foyle M, Watson J. Expatriate mental health. Acta Psychiatrica Scandanavia. 1998;97:278-283. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1998.tb10000.x.

Koteskey R. Psychology for missionaries. Wilmore, KY: GO International 2011.

Hawley D. Research on missionary kids and families: A critical review. Missions Resource Network

:1-13.

Strand MA, Pinkston L, Chen A, et al. Mental health of cross-cultural healthcare missionaries. Journal of

Psychology and Theology. 2015;43(4):283–293.

Strand MA, Cole A. Framing the Role of the Faith Community in Global Health. Christian Journal for

Global Health. 2014;1(2):7-15.

Strand MA, Chen AI, Pinkston LM. Developing cross-cultural healthcare workers: content, process and

mentoring. Christian Journal for Global Health. 2016;3(1):57-72.

Strand MA, et al. Re-imaging Medical Missions: Results of hte PRISM Survey. Evangelical issions

Quarterly. 2013;49(4):430-439.

Strand MA, et al. Report of the PRISM Survey: Patterns and Responses in Intercultural Service in

Medicine. 2011.

Strand MA, Paulson E, Myrick T. Characterizing the global context for cross-cultural healthcare work by

regions of the world. Christian Journal for Global Health. 2015;2(2):23-38.

Santmyire A. The Effectiveness of a multifocal training to improve the treatment of

chromoblastomycosis in rural Madagascar. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. 2016;27:993-1010. DOI: 10.1353/hpu.2016.0146.

Downloads

Published

2016-11-08

How to Cite

Slashcheva, L. D., Strand, M. A., VanReken, R. E., Sanford, C., Phillips, J. D., & Halverson, G. (2016). Continuing medical and dental education on the global stage: The nexus of supporting international Christian healthcare workers and developing educators. Christian Journal for Global Health, 3(2), 27–37. https://doi.org/10.15566/cjgh.v3i2.131

Most read articles by the same author(s)