If you’re like me, you have scads of unused cosmetic samples, travel-sized soaps, toiletries, and shampoos that clutter up precious space. Why not get rid of that unused, new, failed beauty product, or “hotel fruit” and help a worthy cause?
Medical Students in Action has placed a brightly colored, lime green bin at the entrance to the library, and will be collecting new toiletries and hygiene products for their next mission to the Dominican Republic.
Medical Students in Action was founded in 2003 by Miller School students and their physician advisers. During mission visits to the people of the community of Hoyos de Nizas, the organization operates a rotating clinic, using local sites to host educational sessions on topics like nutrition, women’s health, and safe sex, and to administer EKGs, echocardiograms, dental checkups, and Pap smears.
For the medical students, the experience provides a unique opportunity to step out of the classroom and practice their clinical skills in a real-world setting. For patients, these screenings often lead to lifesaving follow-up care. Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., wants to harness this enthusiasm for global outreach and provide opportunities for it to grow. “It is my vision to make this type of service to resource-poor areas a mandatory part of our curriculum,” he says.
Medical Students in Action has dug wells, built latrines and cisterns, and constructed a fence around a local school. They are working with the local government to provide access to clean water for each town, and they continue to build the local clinic’s capacities by providing medical equipment, a laptop computer with a growing 1,500-patient database, and medications year-round.
For more information or to donate to this worthy outreach visit the Medical Students in Action homepage.