{"id":6805,"date":"2017-12-28T07:00:40","date_gmt":"2017-12-28T12:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feminem.org\/?p=6805"},"modified":"2018-01-26T09:57:52","modified_gmt":"2018-01-26T14:57:52","slug":"global-emergency-medicine-home-think-global-act-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feminem.org\/2017\/12\/28\/global-emergency-medicine-home-think-global-act-local\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Emergency Medicine from Home \u2013 Think Global, Act Local"},"content":{"rendered":"

Picturing a career in global health, many people envision constant world travel, a jet setting lifestyle that is not amenable to having young children or other ties to a certain home location. \u00a0Many physicians have told me they have \u201cgiven up\u201d global health work during a certain period of time, despite having a continued passion for the field. Some have never even pursued their dream of working in global health in the first place because they felt they did not have extended time to dedicate to traveling. All too often, these physicians are women who set aside their dreams to care for family members such as children or parents. And between the demands of medical school, residency, and attending life, it might seem challenging to imagine how people metaphorically \u201cstay in the game\u201d with global health work, outside the ivory towers of academics.<\/p>\n

There are so many ways to be involved in meaningful global health work that don\u2019t necessitate spending months or years of your life abroad. Take it from a physician mom who has only spent 3 months \u201cin the field\u201d over my fifteen years working in global health. I\u2019ve never practiced emergency medicine outside the United States. I wasn\u2019t part of the response to the earthquake in Haiti, nor have I ever responded to any natural disaster. I wasn\u2019t on the front lines saving lives during the most recent Ebola epidemic. I wish I could have done those things. I have the utmost respect for those who did and continue to do things like that, but that hasn\u2019t been my role yet in life, for a number of personal reasons. And yet, I\u2019ve spent time almost every single day of those past fifteen years doing global health work, and I believe it has made a true impact. I will attempt to detail a number of ways in which you could continue to push forward a career in global health and never have to set your dreams aside. Those ways fall into the following three categories: time, knowledge, and money.<\/p>\n

Time<\/strong><\/p>\n