Becoming Involved

Vast inequalities of medical care worldwide, the portability of medical knowledge, and our duty as physicians all lend themselves to humanitarian work domestically and abroad. Such service is often a refreshing change from the frustrations of US clinical practice and can be intensely rewarding – it can help to remind us of our motivation for chosing medicine as a profession. Working in underserved areas and in countries with limited resources also encourages creative problem-solving and helps to address the issues of cost-effectiveness which we face in the US.

A Wide Range of Occasions to Help

Humanitarian work is not only disaster relief, but constitutes a wide range of service opportunities to improve medical care or education to benefit underserved populations. Domestically it may include: volunteer work through a local free clinic, head and neck cancer screenings at a health fair, regular visits to an Native American reservation, financial and moral support of residents or other otolaryngologists who do humanitarian work. See the American College of Surgeons website for other ideas.

Find a Personal Opportunity

Huge contributions can also be made abroad: surgical missions, visits to other departments for teaching and instruction in the use of newer surgical technologies (i.e. endoscopic sinus surgery), engaging in research efforts to understand the scope of ENT diseases in developing countries. Some Academy members have found retirement as a time to shift their focus wholly to volunteer work, starting foundations,moving to a developing country to be the only otolaryngologist in their region, or joining a department abroad to help in training new otolaryngologists. Residency is also an optimal time to participate. Information specific to residents can be found here.

Make a Difference in the World

Consider other opportunities: is there a local hospital or religious organization who takes such trips to which you could add an otolaryngology component? Do you have language or other personal ties to some area of the world? Contact the International Otolaryngology Society or any local contacts to create your own opportunity. Visit What to Expect from a Medical Mission to get a better idea of what humanitarian work abroad is like.

At the Annual Meeting

To find out more at the Academy meetings, check the agenda for our instructional courses on worldwide service in otolaryngology, or stop by the Open Forum sponsored by the Humanitarian Efforts committee to hear reports from other Academy members’ mission trips. Also, the meetings have a large portion of international participants, so introduce yourself to some of them and see if you can offer them some sort of service. Learn more about what the Annual Meeting has to offer here.