Oversees work: Five Irish doctors who worked as volunteers in developing countries have joined forces and set up a new group, Doctors For Development - the first of its kind in the Republic.
The group's inaugural meeting took place in the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, last week with some 60 doctors in attendance.
The group's main aim is to improve the volunteering process to the benefit of the clinics and hospitals in which they have worked abroad, but also to get their time there recognised as part of their training.
"The authorities do not recognise time outside of a training scheme as part of our overall training, yet the experience there is extremely valuable," says Dr John Fitzsimon, a founding members of the group.
"Choosing a time to work abroad presents a dilemma. Often those most available to do any significant overseas stints are doctors who have no families and can afford to spend a year somewhere. But the reality is they are often in the middle of specialist training," he explains.
Another founding member, Dr Cathy Burke, who worked for the humanitarian medical aid agency, Médicins Sans Frontiéres (MSF), in the Central African Republic, agrees. "If you are on the training route, you don't want to leave it, yet you can't be too inexperienced for the job you're going to."
Dr Burke, a specialist registrar obstetrician in the Coombe, says: "Often the only option is finding an opportunity between training schemes, which is what most of us do."
Dr Fitzsimon, a specialist registrar paediatrician in Tallaght Hospital, returned from Mongolia a year and a half ago - he worked for the Christina Noble Foundation. While working in Limerick he met Burke who had returned from her stint in CAR. They lamented the fact that there was no forum for returned volunteers and no support from a medical point of view prior to and during their time abroad.
Three other doctors with similar experiences - specialist paediatricians Dr Niamh Lynch, Dr Trish Scanlon and Dr Carol Goulding - joined in the discussions and they set up the informal Doctors for Development with an email address as a platform for discussion - see doctors4development@hotmail.com
The response to the email has been positive and the group hopes to develop a website with links to important resources for those working in the field. The group's first meeting proved to be a success with the number of people attending exceeding expectations, according to Dr Fitzsimon.
"The main aim was to connect people who've worked overseas, share experiences and apply what we've learned for the benefit of the clinics and hospitals we've worked in. At some stage, we hope to approach medical colleges about having our work abroad recognised to some degree in our training: as a volunteer we learned valuable skills in teamwork, problem-solving and diplomacy among others," he says.
The group hopes to set up a text or online information request service whereby doctors can get access to documents and research when in the field. They also want to develop a one-day hygiene course that could be delivered to a number of clinics during a short-term volunteering period. A doctor could volunteer a few weeks of his or her holiday time, for example, to tour eight or nine clinics and give the course.
Delegates at the conference heard from several people who have worked in various fields including Dr Máirin Ryan (Realta Foundation, a HIV/AIDS charity in the sub Sahara), Mr David Orr, consultant plastic surgeon with the charity "Operation Smile" (repairs cleft lip palates to patients in developing countries such as Kenya and Jordan); and Prof Anthony Costello, professor of international child health, Institute of Child Health London.
Doctors for Development can be contacted at: doctors4development@hotmail.com