“In the absence of clearly articulated intentions and approaches, how can we be sure that short-term medical missions won’t have unintended long- or short-term consequences?”

Garrett Matlick

That’s the central question posed by Garrett Matlick’s Viewpoint essay, “Short-Term Medical Missions: Toward an Ethical Approach,” in the April issue of AJN. Matlick, currently enrolled in the Family Nurse Practitioner/Master of Public Health Program at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, had an opportunity to observe short-term medical missions (STMMs) that succeeded as well as some that failed.

What works and what doesn’t?

Having considered the current paucity of quality research on STMMs and their effects, Matlick both calls for more rigorous future research and offers a few basic considerations that he believes should be applied to all STMMs that offer direct care to local communities. His case is immensely strengthened by the use of multiple real world examples he observed or participated in while in Cambodia.

AJN sometimes receives Reflections essay submissions from nursing students and others about their experiences in STMMs in various countries. (Unlike the Viewpoint column discussed in this post, Reflections essays tend to focus more on personal reflections and story than on making an argument.) Some submissions reflect a nuanced awareness of limitations and benefits of the projects participated in and the particular needs and cultural realities of communities visited. But some, even if full of vivid local details, reflect almost no such contextual awareness. Some differences in submissions have to do with the authors themselves; some may have to do with the different approaches of the STMMs the students participated in.

In any case, Garrett Matlick seems to be onto something, and his short and compelling Viewpoint (which is free to read) offers a basic framework that readers should hereafter find helpful in understanding such projects in a new way.

Let us know your own thoughts and experiences related to short-term medical missions.