Why did you become a medical professional?
After qualifying from medical school and years in a medical chair I bet you have forgotten why you became a medical professional. Now it’s about Medicare rebates, codes, how full your calendar is or if you can pay the children’s school fees.
But I do ask this question a lot because I have found that the reason medical professionals got into the medicine trade is not what they are doing in practice.
Yes, you are helping patients. Yes, you have saved lives. And yes, many of your patients are grateful you are their doctor. But here is the truth. If you did not treat them there is a chance, they will find another medical professional who will help them.
And there is also a chance that many of your patients take their health for granted and take healthcare for granted too. Some do not even appreciate what you have done for them.
You see after 3 years (damn Covid!) we are re-starting our medical mission visits to the Philippines. We will treat patients who rarely get the chance to visit a doctor, an optometrist or a dentist. We do this without charge and if they need medication, we prescribe them too.
Here are some of the patients we have seen on prior missions:
• A four-year-old child who a week earlier fell and had fragments of bamboo stuck on their legs. His parents could not afford to go to a doctor to remove these numerous fragments so waited a week to see us. We treated the child successfully and he left with a massive smile on his face with a soccer ball which we gave him.
• A 93-year-old blind lady who walked 3 kms to see us to see if we could assist with her sight. We could not but I cannot remember the number of times she told each one of us how grateful she was for being treated and prayed that we and our families would live happy lives.
• We have provided several hundred patients with spectacles so that they can see and read – an act we all take lightly in Australia.
• In 2018 we visited a rural part of the Philippines where several young children initially ran away from our doctors because they had never seen a doctor in a white coat. Think about that for a second. 4- and 5-year-old children who had never seen a doctor before. This would be unthinkable or unimaginable for many of us.
I am calling out for any medical professional who want to make a difference. A real difference. This is a chance to treat grateful patients and have some R&R time too.
If interested, click the link below and register.
https://community.tripsplus.org/
