Rules of Engagement:The Principles of Underserved Global Health Volunteerism

The day begins at 7:00 am with a layer of mosquito repellent and boiled coffee in a tin cup. Our medical clinic in the small village of Rancho Pedro along the Dominican Republic-Haiti border is a small hut composed of dilapidated wooden planks fastened together under a thatched reed roof. Patients with a variety of ailments line up daily outside the clinic door in anticipation of seeing a physician,often for the first time. Most patients have been waiting for hours,usually after enduring an overnight mountainous trek from a neighboring Haitian or Dominican village. Many of the medical problems encountered can be treated effectively with simple measures of wound debridement,bandages,analgesics,or antibiotics;however,some are more complex with no referral options. The work is intense but inspiring,rewarding but often frustrating as the limitations of our abilities quickly become apparent.
The American Journal of Medicine

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