Thanks @Gavin Bishop đš and @Joseph Pusey those are really tricky questions thatâs for sure, no easy answer but here are a few reflections.
First Iâll say that once youâve worked somewhere in a low/âmiddle income country for at least a 3 month stint, future opportunities can often pop-up. But pathways to get there initially are tricky yes!
When am I useful? I would say you are likely âusefulâ working anywhere in the world from the moment you qualify as a doctor even more so in lower income countries where there are less trained medical professionals. From there on its a sliding scale of usefulness, so if we ask the different question âwhen might be a good time to consider volunteering or work long term in a low income settingâ I would say after 2-4 years experience working, and Ideally having done a Tropical medicine diploma or at least a short course before. By this stage you have likely moved from being a bit useful to having the clinical experience to manage most things without needing constant supervision. Obviously the more experienced you are the better, but if you wait too long you might never do it..⌠In saying that we had a 65 year old GP volunteer at our medical center for a couple of 6 months stints, and the guy was incredible, many levels better than Iâll ever be as a doctor.
Pathways to working in Global Health/âMedicine In the past, there were more options and ways to get into global health pathways, whether its research, entrepreneurship or clinical. I came out here funded by the Anglican Church in New Zealand, to work initially as a regular medical officer at a Catholic Hospital (go figure). Here are a few options. I think once you visit somewhere for the first time.
1. University or Hospital partnerships can be a great onrampâfor example Manchester University has a partnership with Gulu here. America have loads of these bilateral partnerships, often research-based. 2. Self-fund. Sadly more and more people are self-funding their first foray. This is easy but has obvious downsidesânot only financial but also people worry how it looks on their CV 3. Government schemes. Weâve had doctors here in Uganda from the USA, England and Estonia supported with small pots of government money. New Zealand and Australia have few options, but I know a couple of people who were funded by the government to work in Pacific islands 4. PHDs. A number of friends have used funded PHDs as an onramp to spend 4-5 years living and working in low-income countries. I could never manage a PHD lol, but a good option for some.
Often the barrier is money. Me getting a small salary makes it much easier for me. There arenât too many pathways to earn High income salaries in Low income settings.
Again when you actually start living and working in low-income settings, fresh opportunities and ideas often present themselves. My advice is generally to block out 3 months to a year and just go and work somewhere where you are needed more, and which is more interestingâeven if youâre self-funding. Even if you decide Global Health isnât your jam, I doubt youâll regret it.
Second this- as a PGY3 the path from here to there is not super clear! And lots of questions about at what point we become useful to anyone.
Thanks @Gavin Bishop đš and @Joseph Pusey those are really tricky questions thatâs for sure, no easy answer but here are a few reflections.
First Iâll say that once youâve worked somewhere in a low/âmiddle income country for at least a 3 month stint, future opportunities can often pop-up. But pathways to get there initially are tricky yes!
When am I useful?
I would say you are likely âusefulâ working anywhere in the world from the moment you qualify as a doctor even more so in lower income countries where there are less trained medical professionals. From there on its a sliding scale of usefulness, so if we ask the different question âwhen might be a good time to consider volunteering or work long term in a low income settingâ I would say after 2-4 years experience working, and Ideally having done a Tropical medicine diploma or at least a short course before. By this stage you have likely moved from being a bit useful to having the clinical experience to manage most things without needing constant supervision. Obviously the more experienced you are the better, but if you wait too long you might never do it..⌠In saying that we had a 65 year old GP volunteer at our medical center for a couple of 6 months stints, and the guy was incredible, many levels better than Iâll ever be as a doctor.
Pathways to working in Global Health/âMedicine
In the past, there were more options and ways to get into global health pathways, whether its research, entrepreneurship or clinical. I came out here funded by the Anglican Church in New Zealand, to work initially as a regular medical officer at a Catholic Hospital (go figure). Here are a few options. I think once you visit somewhere for the first time.
1. University or Hospital partnerships can be a great onrampâfor example Manchester University has a partnership with Gulu here. America have loads of these bilateral partnerships, often research-based.
2. Self-fund. Sadly more and more people are self-funding their first foray. This is easy but has obvious downsidesânot only financial but also people worry how it looks on their CV
3. Government schemes. Weâve had doctors here in Uganda from the USA, England and Estonia supported with small pots of government money. New Zealand and Australia have few options, but I know a couple of people who were funded by the government to work in Pacific islands
4. PHDs. A number of friends have used funded PHDs as an onramp to spend 4-5 years living and working in low-income countries. I could never manage a PHD lol, but a good option for some.
Often the barrier is money. Me getting a small salary makes it much easier for me. There arenât too many pathways to earn High income salaries in Low income settings.
Again when you actually start living and working in low-income settings, fresh opportunities and ideas often present themselves. My advice is generally to block out 3 months to a year and just go and work somewhere where you are needed more, and which is more interestingâeven if youâre self-funding. Even if you decide Global Health isnât your jam, I doubt youâll regret it.