Across the world, conflict abounds with issues between some nations going back centuries. The roots of such conflicts may stem from many complicated and overlapping reasons: politics, economics and religion to name a few. The extreme passion that surrounds these reasons likely contributes to the difficulty in finding solutions. It may well be that health care can serve as a bridge to conflict resolution.
One commonality between people regardless of their country of origin is the desire to care for their families. The lengths that parents and caregivers will go to help their ailing children is remarkable, often traveling long distances, braving peril and potential political fallout to reach care. The desire to treat and protect is mirrored in the health care personnel as well. Doctors, nurses, allied personnel and volunteers often travel around the world to provide levels of care that would otherwise not be available due to training or technology. The motivation for this work is confounding to some of us, but it persists and in fact, in some arenas, continues to grow. We measure success in terms of the numbers of patients treated. We question whether those successes can be more than a mere drop in the bucket in resource limited countries where the needs are so great. But are we missing some of the successes that are less concrete but may actually be huge?
Truly, the greatest impact of medical outreach may be in its use as a conduit for peace. Frequently, mission teams partner with local medical personnel to share techniques and knowledge as well as introduce each other to their respective cultures. Customs are shared, experiences lived together and enlightenment occurs. Health care personnel are often welcomed into areas that are somewhat off limits to others due to the nature of the work they do and the need everyone has to care for their loved ones, especially during times of illness. Common ground is immediately found among health care professionals, with the natural quest for knowledge and achievement of best outcomes being the basic tenets of the medical profession. The first bridge is rapidly formed, and the potential for a deep and long lasting relationship is suddenly realized.
In addition, the patients and families themselves become the teachers and the learners, making wider the network of understanding of the cultures they know and share. As these relationships continue to develop, a web is formed and people that live worlds apart, both literally and figuratively, are suddenly connected. What may take years in the dance of modern-day diplomacy may happen over the course of even one medical or surgical outreach mission. Health care moves quickly at the bedside and can cross the chasm of centuries of wariness and distrust in a heartbeat.
Stories from team members who have been on mission trips are ripe with examples of the purity of the experience. In one such story, a team made several trips to the same area of the world, one that requires women to cover themselves around people they do not know. For the first trip, a mother’s covering stayed in place. On the second trip, she showed her face to a female on the mission trip. On the third trip, the final surgery for her child, she faced the team. It was a brief moment, a monumental gesture of trust and understanding.
In another, a group of local medics took their last papaya and made sure their visiting physician from America had an equal share despite the fact that such treats are incredibly rare for this area. Again, what might seem like a small gesture in the developed world is truly an amazing example of generosity and kindness.
Many who experience these trips find in them the ideal they’d hoped for when they began their journey into medicine. Most will recognize the basic traits of humanity and realize that they transcend the politics that are omnipresent in our media and can be only partially understood when sitting in front of a television hemispheres away. Many will keep in touch via repeated, long-term efforts in one geographic location. Even if the trips cannot or do not continue at some point, the correspondence often persists, allowing the collaboration and the respect to endure regardless of the number of interposed time zones.
As a nation, we need to recognize the potential that medical outreach has to knock down barriers between different countries. There needs to be support for teams to enter countries and make inroads and relationships, thereby building a better understanding for all of us on the perspectives of every culture. We need to be assured of these professionals’ safety so that this work, especially that which goes deeper than surgical procedures or prescriptions, can continue and reap untold benefits. We need to write about these experiences and share the human element that joins us all. We need more stories about the amazing bonds that occur between people at the bedside; sharing knowledge, working toward a common goal, feeling joy at the successes and pain at the losses. Hand in hand. One goal. One team. Perhaps this is the path to a true global society.
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Health Care as a Bridge to World Peace originally appeared on usnews.com