Most of podiatry political advocacy covers domestic issues- but do these issues extend outside the US? Volunteering abroad is a rewarding experience. Physicians who love traveling and giving back seem to find it to be a perfect combination. As future podiatrists, it is important to understand what our current limitations are and fight for more opportunities on an international level.
By doing a quick google search or looking up blogs about physicians volunteering abroad, some of the well-known organizations such as the Peace Corps, Doctors Without Borders, and Projects-Abroad will pop up. These websites are full of inspirational experiences and influential projects from physicians first hand. As students or physicians, hearing about these opportunities seems to be the reason why many joined medicine in the first place. However with deeper research, it is apparent that these programs aren’t all they seem to be.
After 4 years of medical school, and 3 years of residency, it would only make sense that any country would graciously welcome a podiatrist as a volunteer for little or no pay, but this is wrong. When looking at the requirements on the Peace Corps website, it states Physician Educators must be MD or DO and the only other medial career they are accepting are nurses with at least a BSN. Even though the website says “we accept applications from physicians with all specialties,” a DPM is not listed as acceptable degree. 3
On another website, Doctors Without Borders, there is a wider variety of opportunities that include non-medical and medical professionals. On the first click in the physician application, it states the general requirement is a MD or DO degree. Since podiatry did not fit in this category, I decided to browse the website more to see if podiatry fits in another category but podiatry was nowhere to be found in surgeons or any other medical field. The website says they recruit “surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, registered nurses, midwives, mental health professionals, finance and human resources specialists, logisticians, and specialists in construction, electricity, mechanics, or water-and-sanitation,” but sadly podiatry does not fall in any of these categories according to their requirements.4 Doctors Without Borders has not returned my inquiry about the opportunities for podiatrists as volunteers in their program.
When visiting projects-abroad, the first thing that stands out is that professions are recruited such as dietitians, massage therapists, ophthalmologists. Since ‘podiatrist’ was not on the list, I decided to contact them to find out about podiatry opportunities. Their response was that they do not have projects specific to podiatrists, but podiatrists can still volunteer in General Medicine or with Physical Therapy. After not seeing opportunities on other websites, this seemed like a great step in the right direction. However, after some follow up questions they responded that a podiatrist’s role would be “mostly observational, as you are not a registered doctor in the country where you are volunteering.”1
After visiting these more well-known websites, the option to pursue medical volunteer work abroad as a podiatrist can seem disheartening. Even though these organizations are not up to date on the field of podiatric medicine, there are podiatry specific companies and some less advertised organizations that readily accept podiatrists. Podiatry targeted organizations include Podiatry Overseas2 and Foot Aid5. Two non- foot and ankle focused organizations that accepts podiatrists are Health Volunteers Overseas7 and Go Abroad6
With changing policies and improving public education about the field of podiatric medicine, hopefully more organizations will realize the benefit of having podiatrists on their team. When organizations are aware that podiatrists undergo 4 years of rigorous training for a medical degree, and 3 years of surgical training in residency, it is clear podiatrists are a great asset to the healthcare team. In the meantime, there are still great opportunities for podiatrists to volunteer abroad and make a difference in the lives of patients on a global scale.
Article by Bryanna Vesely, CPM Class of 2020
References:
1. Office, P. A. (n.d.). Volunteer Medicine & Healthcare Professional Abroad | Projects Abroad. Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://www.projects-abroad.org/volunteer-projects/projects-for-professionals/medicine-and-healthcare/
2. Get Involved with PODOA. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from http://www.podiatryoverseas.com/get-involved/
3. Peace Corps. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/is-peace-corps-right-for-me/global-health-service-partnership/#apply
4. Physicians. (2017, October 13). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/work-us/work-field/who-we-need/physicians
5. Volunteer. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from http://www.footaid.org/volunteer.html
6. Volunteer for the Nicaragua Healthcare Program. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://www.goabroad.com/providers/the-roberto-clemente-health-clinic-nicaragua/programs/volunteer-for-the-nicaragua-healthcare-program-82781
7. Wound & Lymphedema. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://hvousa.org/ourwork/programs/wound-lymphedema/