Breakout #3: Saturday, 11 am

Full-time missionary dental service is relatively uncommon compared to our counterparts in Medicine. In this talk we will examine the difficulties and road-blocks to this career opportunity. We will also look at the resources available to pursue this career path. Finally, through relating personal experiences, we will learn lessons that can be applied towards long-term dental service in an underserved context. 

Objectives:

1. Describe several road-blocks in place for those considering a career in overseas cross-cultural dentistry
2. Identify and describe available resources to help overcome obstacles to a majority world dental practice
3. Describe lessons from Dr. Rich’s personal experience that highlight the advantages and opportunities of a majority world, missional dental practice. 

Citations:

1. Adu-Gyamfi, Samuel, Marciana Kuusaana, Mariama, Dompreh Darkwa, Benjamin, Tomdi Lucky; The changing landscape of mission medicine and hospitals in Sub-Saharan Africa. CJGH. 2020 V 7, Issue 5: 65-81. DOI: 10.15566/cjgh.v7i5.417
2. Adu-Gyamfi S. Spiritual and indigenous healing practices among the Asante people of Ghana: a testimonial from twenty-first century practitioners and recipients in Kumasi. J Basic Applied Res Int. 2016 Sep;12(1):39-50.
3. Green A, Shaw J, Dimmock F, Conn C. A shared mission? changing relationships between government and church health services in Africa. Int J Health Plan Mgt. 2002 Nov;(17):333–53. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.685
4. Loewenberg S. Medical missionaries deliver faith and health care in Africa. Lancet. 2009 Jun;373(9666):795-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60462-1

Warren is a private practice dentist in Hampstead, NC.  Dr. Rich received his BA from Duke University (1978) and his DDS from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Dentistry (1982).  Dr. Rich practiced as a missionary dentist for 25 years in Kenya, East Africa.  He has spoken to multiple organizations through the years on all aspects of missionary dentistry.

With 35 years of experience in disaster management and response, in this presentation, Ken Isaacs will examine the complexities of global disaster response and the international frameworks that guide it. Highlighting the evolution of international coordination, the roles of key institutions, and the challenges of aligning diverse stakeholders in emergent and complex environments. Drawing on decades of firsthand experience, the presentation will explore how humanitarian principles and International law, resource mobilization, and advancements in emergency medicine shape current crisis response. With emphasis being placed on access negotiations in crisis zones, fostering global partnerships, and improving the provision of medical services in disasters, this presentation aims to provide valuable insights into enhancing the effectiveness of international disaster response.

Objectives:

1. Understand how humanitarian access can be used as a tool for evangelism
2. The ability to articulate the difference between the major global disaster response bodies and their relationship to each other
3. Understand the laws and frameworks that guide humanitarian work

Citations:

1. Red Cross (2011). ‘Summary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Their Additional Protocols” https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/atg/PDF_s/International_Services/International_Humanitarian_Law/IHL_SummaryGenevaConv.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOooxHJxvQR64FFfPPLvwnEXSeH4HIl_VvQ5IC9WwLxzHBRuT5qPY
2. Fleck, Dieter (2021). ‘The handbook of International Humanitarian Law’
3. Dunant, Henry (1862). ‘A memory of Sulferino’

Ken serves as Vice President of Programs and Government Relations for Samaritan’s Purse. He has over 35 years of experience working in relief and development and has traveled to more than 150 countries, responding to dire emergencies and working in complex environments to assist millions afflicted by disaster, disease, famine, poverty, and war. In 2004, Isaacs was appointed by President George Bush to serve as director of the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) under the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where he led American responses to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2005 Pakistan earthquake. Isaacs has been called as an expert witness before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, House International Relations Committee, the Senate Subcommittee on Africa, the Global Human Rights Commission, and the Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights. Isaacs has a proven track record in leading complex disaster responses and brings decades of experience and first-hand knowledge to the field of International Relief.

The field of healthcare missions is in a state of continuous transformation, largely propelled by the growing significance of research. This presentation will focus on the critical role of research in healthcare missions. Participants will learn how evidence-based practices enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of mission work, explore key research methodologies used in addressing global health challenges, and understand the importance of culturally sensitive research to engage diverse populations effectively. Additionally, the session will address common research challenges in healthcare missions and discuss strategies to overcome these obstacles, aiming to optimize resources and improve patient outcomes.

Objectives:

1. Analyze the role of research in enhancing effective and sustainable healthcare missions.
2. Examine key research methodologies relevant to healthcare missions and their application in addressing global health challenges.
3. Identify the importance of culturally sensitive research practices in healthcare missions.
4. Evaluate common research challenges in healthcare missions and strategies for overcoming them.

Citations:

Lasker JN, Aldrink M, Balasubramaniam R, Caldron P, Compton B, Evert J, Loh LC, Prasad S, Siegel S. Guidelines for responsible short-term global health activities: developing common principles. Global Health. 2018 Feb 7;14(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s12992-018-0330-4.

Merson, M. H. (2020). Global health (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

World Health Organization. (2015). Global health ethics: Key issues. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/global-health-ethics-key-issues

Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods: Integrating Theory and Practice. SAGE Publications.

Olubukola is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Lynchburg, Virginia. She is a member of the Christian Medical and Dental Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Pediatricians. Dr. Ojuola received her medical degree from University of Ilorin in Nigeria and her MPH degree from Harvard University. Dr. Ojuola has practiced pediatrics for over two decades, conducted clinical research at the UK Medical Research Council Laboratories in pediatric viral illness with several publications, and served as the technical adviser for USAID-funded maternal and child health programs across Southern Africa and Southeast Asia.  

Sensing a call to missions is exciting, but what does it mean to serve a culture different than your own?  Expertise developed in the U.S. may have considerably less impact when the world view of the people you serve differs from yours.  Discover four ways in which the culture of the majority world is different than the U.S. Learn how to adjust to those differences. 

Rev. Doug Christgau, with his wife Christine, served as outreach pastor in three churches from 1985-2019. During his tenure these churches sent 40 long-term missionaries all over the world.  Doug has led over 100 short-term mission trips in various U.S. cities and 40+ countries.  “Making disciples” has been a key part of Doug’s impact in the context of sending long-term missionaries and leading short-term teams.  The churches Doug has served have also doubled or tripled their missions giving during his period of service.
Doug is now the Global Ambassador for MedSend (MedSend.org), an agency that gets long-term health care missionaries to the field by paying their educational debt and keeps them on the field through member care specific to health care professionals. Doug has spoken to student groups to present the unique Gospel opportunity of health care missions in 50 different schools.  Many have invited him to return after hearing him once.  Doug is supported by donors and visits campuses as a service of MedSend to students and health care professionals.