Lessons Learned from Global Travel By Mark Wardle, DO, FAAFP After a two-year hiatus on international travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 was a big year for me in Global Medicine: traveling to four countries, navigating several foreign languages, and partnering with seven different international medical organizations. I am lucky to be in a position that allows me to travel internationally for global health outreach, although typically not this often! Because of the greater-than-usual experience this year, UAFP reached out to ask if I had any lessons learned from these experiences to share. As in most aspects of life, lessons are abundant, but I have narrowed it down to just three. People are People I love this quote from Brené Brown, “People, people, people are just people, people, people.” While each culture and subculture has its own nuances and unique characteristics, at our core, people are people. We have hopes and dreams, challenges and disappointments, and we experience love and loss. The laughter of the Maasai children in Kenya matched that of the children of Haitian refugees in the bateyes of the Dominican Republic and that of my own kids. The loving concern of mothers in Honduras, wondering how best to care for their sick babies, mirrors that of the moms I see right here in St. George. While circumstances, environments, and accessible care varies from place to place, the emotions, concerns, and core needs are remarkably similar. Remembering this principle can help foster a closer connection between you and your patient when interacting with others with cultures, beliefs, or practices different from yours. Flexibility is King Anyone who travels, whether for personal or professional purposes, knows flexibility is critical. Flight delays and cancellations, lost luggage, bad directions, etc., are all possible. Planning and preparation help, but you come to expect the unexpected and roll with it. In Kenya, our team lost 11 pieces of luggage and had to push our bus out of a mud hole in the rain. Our flight from Miami to Honduras was delayed, delayed again, and then canceled, costing us two days. Roll with it! But in global medicine, flexibility goes beyond just adjusting travel plans and adapting positively to mishaps; it extends right into the clinic and patient care. Family physicians know all about flexibility – we adjust clinic schedules on the fly when we have a critical patient, a baby to catch, or a colleague to cover. We adjust treatment plans to meet our individual patient needs, and we wear many hats, both in the clinic and in the community. This quality is just as essential in lowPhysician volunteers like Dr. Wardle helped with triage, procedures, teaching, stocking the pharmacy, supervising students, transportation, loading and unloading trucks and vans, and more. UtahAFP.org | 24
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