BMDF: Outfitting for international and US Christian medical dental missions and healthcare projects

- What problems did you encounter? How would you correct them?
One of the biggest problems I encountered was communication with local people due to my inability to speak their language, Bengali. One of the ways I sought to address this was to actively engage in learning the language by employing the help of a language tutor. Despite my efforts, language acquisition was still difficult and slow in coming. In the future, I hope I can do more language preparation before I get to the country, whether Bangladesh or somewhere else. If I were to return to Bangladesh, I would hope to continue in learning Bengali with a tutor and put extra energy into it so that I could be a more effective overseas worker. Another big issue was not me not having enough medical and surgical knowledge and skills to help patients independent of another doctor. Granted, I have yet my years of residency training ahead, which will in due time equip me to treat patients effectively and on my own, but I did recognize the need for me to read, learn, and study continuously and diligently.

- What are needs/issues that could be addressed?
One major issue at the hospital in Bangladesh is the need for more surgeons. Currently, there is only one general surgeon who is full time on staff. Having additional surgeons on staff would not only spread the surgical work burden to others, but also help in times when a surgeon needs to leave the hospital for an extended period of time. For example, the current general surgeon will be gone this upcoming summer and back in the US from June 20 to September 10, and they are still in the process of finding someone to fill in such a gap.

- What did you learn?
I learned many things on this trip, but I will highlight a couple of them here. One of the things I learned was the value and effectiveness of a team versus a single individual. It was not that I was planning on working alone at a mission hospital in the future, but rather I had the opportunity to work with other non-surgical physicians, nurses, and other health professionals in Bangladesh, which has given me a deeper appreciation of working with others towards a common goal and vision. Another thing I learned was the necessity of flexibility in missions. There were many instances where we had to adapt to the circumstances, like when the electricity would turn off in the operating room in the middle of a surgery or when the phone/internet communication would function poorly on days of cloudy weather. These and many other events taught me to be more flexible and patient, despite the frustrating conditions.

- How do you see this experience affecting/changing your personal and professional life?
Before going on my trip to Bangladesh, I knew that God was calling me to overseas service as a general surgeon missionary. This experience helped to strengthen this conviction, and it is still my desire and hope to pursue a long-term career in missions after residency training. The trip also helped me to see the value of having an experienced surgeon mentor, and while I have always aspired to start a new hospital in a an unreached area, I now plan on going to an established mission hospital initially to be mentored by a veteran surgeon missionary for a few years before taking on a hospital startup.

- What have you learned that can be transferred to the U.S.?
I learned a great deal about flexibility in the context of things not going my way or events not turning out as planned. In these times of frustration and/or helplessness, when there was nothing that could be done, I saw that my trust in God had to be greater, and he used these situations to stretch my faith and challenge me to trust in Him more. For example, while I was there in Bangladesh, the hospital was facing the possibility of a government railroad being built right through the middle of its property. The team of missionaries felt that this was going to be disruptive and concerning for security and safety reasons, and were praying for the government to consider building the railroad one mile east, in front of the hospital instead of straight through it. The issue was certainly out of their hands and required a great deal of trust in God and his sovereignty. Learning to trust in God more is certainly a lesson that I need to apply more in my American life on a regular basis. I find that I depend on myself or my abilities and not enough on God too many times. I know that this trip helped me to trust in God more, and will continue to help me to trust Him more in the context of the US as well.

- What is the significance and probable impact of the project?
My role in Bangladesh as a medical student was primarily to help the general surgeon in the operating rooms to provide surgical treatment to patients as well as in the hospital and clinic. I recognize that building deep relationships with patients and local people was limited by the language barrier and my short stay, and I would say that I was probably the one who was changed the most by the trip. In addition to patient care, I was able to bring out 2 full suitcases of surgical supplies and equipment, many of which were taken directly to the cleaning/sterilizing room for processing and immediate use. Outside of the hospital world, I developed friendships with my language tutor (who was not a believer) and one of the adolescent missionary kids (whom I mentored and even gave some guitar lessons).

- How has this experience expanded your world awareness?
I would say that this trip significantly expanded my world awareness about southeast Asia. Prior to this trip, I did not consider Bangladesh and other southeast Asian countries to be as poor as they actually were. I also did not realize that there were so many unreached Muslims in Bangladesh. I have always had a heart for reaching out to Muslims, and God used this trip to show me that there is a great need for more workers in this part of the world. I am certainly more open to the idea of being in southeast Asia to work with Muslims now, and trying to discern his will for my life regarding where he wants me to be after residency.