The Institute for Spirituality and Health and Rice University Medical Humanities Program present:
Medical Missions: Providers’ Perspectives After Returning from Abroad
Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Time: 6:00-7:30pm CST
Location: Hosted virtually via Zoom
Cost: Free of Charge
Hear from three physicians with diverse experiences about how their involvement in various faith-based medical missions has impacted the way they practice and view medicine in the United States. How are medical missionaries developing cultural competence from a practice once conflated with colonialism? Why are physicians motivated to offer their services overseas when underprivileged populations are often nearby and more readily accessible? What do medical missionaries personally stand to gain beyond improving the health outcomes of their target communities? These questions invite those interested in or involved with medical missions to reflect on how faith-based medical missions could be personally valuable in professional and spiritual aspects, and challenges attendees to envision healthcare in America from a missional perspective.
This 90-minute panel is the product of a collaboration between ISH and the Rice Medical Humanities Program, and will be moderated by Charles Lee, an undergraduate student at Rice University researching medical missionaries from the Houston area. The panel will begin with opening remarks about the research Charles has performed as well as panelist introductions. Panelists will then discuss a guided set of prompts before responding to questions from the audience.
Our Speakers:
Philip C. Johnson, M.D.
Philip C. Johnson, M.D., is a board certified physician specializing in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease. Dr. Johnson began his involvement with medical missions in high school, where he went to Honduras with Amigos de las Américas. Dr. Johnson now serves on the Amigos Board of Directors, as well as on the Governance Committee of Faith in Practice, which sends clinical and surgical teams to Guatemala. Dr. Johnson’s medical mission experiences allow him to connect to the patients he meets at the Thomas Street Health Center, many of whom had migrated from the countries where he had served.
Michael E. Berkeley, M.D.
Michael E. Berkeley, M.D. is an orthopedic surgeon who came to Chihuahua, Mexico in 1989 to establish a clinic for children with disabilities. Joined by other U.S. and Mexican health care workers, the clinic expanded into the Sierra Madre Mountains and developed into the comprehensive health care programs in operation today. Dr. Berkeley works primarily at the Samachique hospital where his wife Maci helps to administer the staff. They have two sons, Robert and Matthew. Dr. Berkeley serves as the CEO of Mexico Medical Missions, and first became interested in medical missions since the late eighties with part-time work on the MV Anastasis.
Claire Gahm, MD
Claire Gahm, M.D. is a pediatric emergency medicine physician affiliated with the Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Gahm first became interested in medical missions through the work of Mercy Ships, and shortly after participated in a medical and dental mission to Peru. Dr. Gahm went to medical school at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev. During that time, she spent three months working alongside physicians at the Soddo Christian Hospital in Ethiopia. Dr. Gahm has also participated in medical missions serving Ecuador and Malawi throughout her residency and pediatric fellowship, respectively.
Moderator:
Charles Lee
Charles Lee is a current undergraduate student at Rice University. Charles is pursuing a B.S. in Biosciences and a B.A. in English, as well as a minor in the Rice Medical Humanities Program. Charles’ research interest in medical missions stems from an upbringing in the Milal Mission church, which largely serves and empowers individuals with disabilities in the United States. On campus, Charles is also involved with the Rice University chapter of the Global Medical Missions Alliance, which connects students and medical professionals to global health opportunities worldwide.