c. 1998 Religion News Service

(Dale Hanson Bourke is publisher of RNS and a member of the board of World Vision International.)

UNDATED _ The conversation was new, but the topic was becoming old. Yet another doctor friend of mine was discouraged. He talked about the pressures of managed health care and growing government regulations.

He was fearful of lawsuits and frustrated by how little time he could spend with patients. He wondered aloud if he should change careers.

Because he was a friend, I offered him no sympathy. Instead I gave him a challenge: I know a place where there are no government regulations, little chance of lawsuits and no insurance companies.

I know a place where a doctor can spend as much time as he wants with patients, although he will worry about the many others waiting for a chance to meet with him. I know a place where not a day goes by that a doctor doesn’t save a life. And hardly a day passes when he sees someone who can’t be helped.

And I know a place where a doctor is the most valued person in society and where people bring gifts and express gratitude through tears, just for the chance to have an appointment.

My friend looked at me with surprise and suspicion, and I confessed I might not be stating things exactly right. In fact, I told him, I know of dozens of places like that; the problem was he had spent too much time in the United States.

And then I told my Armani-clad friend that if he was really serious about being a doctor, he should go to almost any developing country in the world. There he would soon remember why he had gone to medical school.

In my own trips overseas, I am often struck by my uselessness. My skills are in business and communication, not lifesaving. I have taken first aid courses just so I would have something to offer the many people I encounter.

I am amazed by the dearth of doctors in countries as close as Guatemala and as far away as Mauritania. I am horrified by the infant mortality rate and overwhelmed by the telltale signs of tuberculosis so commonplace in children and adults. I am saddened to realize that a bout of traveler’s diarrhea that can be easily treated with medication would be a death sentence to a frail child who receives no medical attention.

When there is war _ in places like Bosnia _ the most minor wounds are life-threatening and the educated, like doctors, are often the first to leave.

Then I told my friend about an organization called Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres), a group I had encountered in my travels to various parts of the world. Using doctors, nurses and midwives as volunteers, the organization arrives on the scene of an emergency or in a remote part of the world, freely treating all who need help.

Medical personnel volunteer for a six-month to one-year stint and are paid $750 per month, plus room and board. It is not enough to support an Armani wardrobe, but fortunately the dress code is much more humble in the countries they visit.

Doctors Without Borders is a tough group. They don’t take just anyone who applies, they don’t allow families to accompany doctors, and they won’t guarantee you can serve where you want.

A spokesperson for the organization told me they aren’t really looking for”burned out doctors”but rather people who are motivated to serve the needy.

And if they scare you off, Doctors Without Borders thoughtfully provides a list of other organizations where you may feel more comfortable.

There are many organizations looking for doctors to serve in short- and long-term medical missions. Some are affiliated with religious groups; many are secular. Most of them are anxious to have more volunteers.

So if you are the friend of a doctor _ or a doctor yourself _ do your friend a favor. The next time you hear him or her express frustration about practicing medicine, tell them about the real health care crisis _ the one going on in the rest of the world.

DEA END BOURKE