health and human rights

i've always entertained the idea of going overseas either as a nursing student or when i become an RN.
and it's not so much the ideology of "saving the world" so much anymore, as it was when i was 16...i'd like to think i'm much smarter than that now
but i did still have a small hope that maybe i could help out in some way...put my skills to use, even if it just helped one person.
two weekends ago i attended UofT's Health and Human Rights Conference....some really great speakers--among them Dr. Gerald Caplan, senior advisor to Stephen Lewis...he was fascinating and entertaining
much of the talks related to war zones and/or africa's hiv/aids epidemic.
a couple of the speakers brought up the notion of humanitarian tourism, as opposed to humanitarian aid.
it really made me re-think my ideas.
to sum up, they pretty much said that humanitarian aid shouldn't be just a band-aid. it can only be that way for so long, until you have to start advocating for reform in the country's own health care system. as an HCP going overseas, you should be going with a plan...the plan being how to make it so that you're actually not needed there.
with about 25% of med school students taking electives overseas, some countries have become saturated with students who are there as band-aids...and many times not knowing what to expect once there...potentially not being of much help at all.
and the money spent on airfare by students could actually be of more help if donated to trained professionals on the ground.

i can definitely see the point there for countries in conflict. however in order to find somebody who is willing to commit themselves to helping make those changes, that person has to see and experience first hand what they will eventually commit to.
so if out of those 25% of students go, 24% are of no help, perhaps there will be that 1% that will be the ones to have a plan and make those changes.

aside from war-torn countries, i think i'd still like to go to a country that could use help with education and or clinical rotations. maybe somewhere in south america, or parts of africa that aren't necessarily in conflict, but need bodies to help with hiv/aids education and clinic set up.
and yes, i'd have to pay for it. and yes, i realize that the money i spend could go to potentially stock a whole clinic full of medical supplies. but i know this, and still wish to experience it myself. and i don't look at it as anything other than humanitarian tourism on my part.