“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
When Dr. Preethi Prakash went on a medical mission trip to India it appealed to her sense of service and a longing to go back to her roots. What she didn’t expect was the profound spiritual reflection it brought and the change it made to the lens through which she looks at daily life.
Dr. Prakash, an internal medicine hospitalist at Salem Health, served at a remote village called Puttaparthi with a team of 104 volunteers from 13 countries/regions: USA, UK, Australia, Netherlands, India, Malaysia, Singapore, UAE, Canada, West Indies, South Africa, Italy and Russia. There were 38 physicians at the camp from various specialties including internal medicine, pediatrics, dermatology, cardiology, infectious disease, hematology/oncology, gastroenterology, nephrology, psychiatry, otorhinolaryngology and orthopedics. They set up a 10-day camp in an old building, worked 12 hours a day, and treated 11,800 patients.
Everything was primitive at the camp. “We had no warm showers. It was cold water in a bucket or heating up water with an electric coil,” Dr. Prakash said.
Many people came to the village for an annual pilgrimage and knew about the medical camp.
“People were so poor that they couldn’t afford to buy footwear,” she said. “We treated people who do labor-intensive work (manual farming, construction) on a regular basis to survive, and yet they take time for the pilgrimage to get blessings and volunteer doing food service, dishes, cleaning, etc. while at the pilgrimage.”
“I was touched to see that people who were so much in need and barely making ends meet took time to volunteer and help make life better for others,” Dr. Prakash said. “I reflected on that and realized selfless service gives strength and courage and awakens our heart to a fuller sense of what it means to be human. What a gift! I am blessed in so many ways, but I have not made it a point in my life to consistently serve in this way.”
“I was brought up to understand that by serving mankind we serve God,” she said. “That is one of the reasons why I chose to go into medicine. I know I could do more to honor this teaching.”
Dr. Prakash has volunteered at Salem Free Clinic for the past two years and is currently working on a plan to create a team to help more patients there.
“If people who hardly have anything find a way to serve, why can’t I carve out that time?” she said.
On a mission — what to expect
If you are wondering what it may be like to go on a medical mission to another country, Dr. Prakash shares these insights:
There is so much need for basic health care. “We treated patients for asthma, flu, women’s wellness, anemia, vitamin deficiency, hypertension, diabetes, pneumonia, etc.,” she said. “We referred many to tertiary care centers for subspecialty consultation in orthopedics, gastroenterology and other care.”
Medical care is often out of reach. “There is limited access to health care in rural India. Unless you can afford medical care out of pocket, you often go without.” The mission team provided common medications, eye glasses, and walking sticks/canes for free.
Your clinical skills are tested. “Doctors are trained to treat with the help of diagnostic studies such as blood tests and imaging,” Dr. Prakash said. “On a mission, you don’t have those things. You have lines of people waiting in the heat as you carefully listen to the patient to understand their history, do a physical exam and look at their vitals. Your clinical skills are really tested.”
Communication can be difficult. While the team had interpreters and Dr. Prakash speaks six different languages, it was no match for India’s 122 different dialects. “Communication was a challenge,” she said.
You will make a difference. “A woman came in with asthma exacerbation. She was wheezing and short of breath. We usually admit such patients for treatment and referred her to a nearby hospital. She could not afford to get hospitalized and was distressed, so I had to be creative to get her the needed care. We had her stay at the pilgrimage and come to the makeshift acute care we set up at the camp to do the nebulizer, antibiotic, oxygen and inhaler treatments. I made house calls to check on her, and in four days she turned around. The gratefulness and happiness in her eyes and the satisfaction it brought in me was so precious,” Dr. Prakash said.
Bringing it home
There are also opportunities to make a difference closer to home. Dr. Prakash encourages physicians to volunteer locally at Salem Free Clinic. “It is important to serve your own community because the need is there,” she said. “When I started volunteering at the clinic, I realized there is need for basic health care such as annual physicals, prescription refill, hospital discharge follow up care, and maintaining chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes. Every time I volunteer, I come out really happy and satisfied.”
“As physicians, we can make a lot of difference and change people’s lives,” Dr. Prakash said.