Build A Medical Career By Serving Abroad

A Trip To Kenya Reframed What Nursing Means (Original Release 3/23)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2534345/fan_mail/new] You can be clinically prepared and still feel unprepared the moment you meet the need face to face. I’m Dr. Patrick “Dr. H” Hickey, and I sit down with Camila, an ICU nurse and case manager in Texas who took a faith-based medical mission trip to Kenya and came home with a completely reframed view of what nursing means. Camila shares how she entered nursing later in life after a personal patient experience, then added an MBA that unexpectedly sharpened her ability to advocate for families during transition of care. That blend of bedside nursing and systems thinking comes alive in Kenya, where her team sets up clinics across villages, partners with local healthcare professionals, and leans heavily on education: hydration, hygiene, wound care, oral care, and recognizing urgent illness when resources are limited. You’ll hear what conditions showed up most often, what surprised her, and why “doing something small” can still be the most meaningful care you give. We also talk about the parts people don’t always name: the emotional weight of seeing preventable suffering, the challenge of diagnosing issues like vision loss when specialty care is out of reach, and the culture shock that follows you home. Camila describes the guilt of returning to abundance, and how the trip makes her see healthcare waste in the United States with new clarity, sparking practical questions about saving resources and sharing supplies responsibly. If you’re a nurse, nursing student, or anyone drawn to international service learning, global health, and patient advocacy for underserved communities, this conversation offers a steady, honest starting point. Subscribe, share this with someone who’s on the fence about serving, and leave a review with the moment that stuck with you most. I also want to thank our listeners for joining us as it is our goal to not only share with you our guest’s introduction to international healthcare, but also to share with you how that exposure to international healthcare has shaped their future path in healthcare. As true patient advocates, we should all aspire to be as well rounded as possible in order to meet the needs of our diverse patient populations.  As a 50+ year nurse that has worked in quite a variety of clinical roles in our healthcare system, taught healthcare courses for the past 20 years at the university level, and has traveled extensively with my students on international service-learning trips, I can easily attest to the fact that healthcare focused students need, and greatly benefit from the opportunity to have hands-on experiential healthcare experiences in an international setting! I have seen the growth of students post travel as their self-confidence in their newly acquired skillsets, both clinical and cultural, facilitates their ability to take advantage of opportunities that previously may not have been available to them. By rendering care internationally, and stepping outside one's comfort zone, many more doors of opportunity will be opened. Feel free to check out our website at www.islonline.org, follow us on Instagram @ islmedical, and reach out to me @ DrH@islonline.org [DrH@islonline.org]

Build a Medical Career by Serving Abroad (Original Release 5/26)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2534345/fan_mail/new] One week abroad can do what years of “checking the boxes” can’t: it can make medicine feel real. We sit down with Bryce, a University of South Carolina grad and paid cardiology medical scribe, to talk about the moment international service learning turned his curiosity about healthcare into a concrete vision for becoming a physician. Along the way, we unpack why scribing can be a high-value clinical experience for pre-med students, from learning Epic and medical documentation to seeing how trust is built over long-term follow-ups. Bryce walks us through two global health service trips, starting with Costa Rica and then a gap year trip to Belize that adds hospital rotations on top of community clinics. He shares the patient encounters that stay with him, including what it feels like to see cerebral palsy managed far from major hospitals and how much low-resource teams can accomplish with limited equipment. We also get into mentorship as the real engine of growth: physicians who teach, medical students who guide, and the “pay it forward” mindset that can shape an entire medical career. Then we look ahead. Bryce is now leading a two-week Tanzania experience built for gap year students who want meaningful hospital exposure in specialties like surgery, orthopedics, emergency medicine, pediatrics, and general medicine, plus cultural activities and optional excursions. If you care about global health, medical mission trips, underserved communities, or building clinical confidence before med school, this conversation offers a clear, honest roadmap. Subscribe, share this with a friend considering a gap year, and leave a review with one question you want answered about serving abroad. I also want to thank our listeners for joining us as it is our goal to not only share with you our guest’s introduction to international healthcare, but also to share with you how that exposure to international healthcare has shaped their future path in healthcare. As true patient advocates, we should all aspire to be as well rounded as possible in order to meet the needs of our diverse patient populations.  As a 50+ year nurse that has worked in quite a variety of clinical roles in our healthcare system, taught healthcare courses for the past 20 years at the university level, and has traveled extensively with my students on international service-learning trips, I can easily attest to the fact that healthcare focused students need, and greatly benefit from the opportunity to have hands-on experiential healthcare experiences in an international setting! I have seen the growth of students post travel as their self-confidence in their newly acquired skillsets, both clinical and cultural, facilitates their ability to take advantage of opportunities that previously may not have been available to them. By rendering care internationally, and stepping outside one's comfort zone, many more doors of opportunity will be opened. Feel free to check out our website at www.islonline.org, follow us on Instagram @ islmedical, and reach out to me @ DrH@islonline.org [DrH@islonline.org]

A Gap Year Service Learning Trip To Belize Confirms a Future as an MD (Original Release 4/20)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2534345/fan_mail/new] A blood pressure reading of 200/100. A patient who listens, nods, and still chooses not to go to the hospital because of faith. That single moment in Belize forces a bigger question than “What’s the right treatment?” It asks, “How do we care for people when culture, belief, and autonomy are part of the diagnosis?”  We sit down with Ava, a University of South Carolina grad in her gap year, to talk about the international service learning trip that clarified her future as an MD. She shares the practical side of a strong pre-med path too: graduating a semester early, creating a focused MCAT study window, and finding the right communities through Alpha Epsilon Delta and Women in Healthcare. If you’re weighing a gap year, looking for experiential medical education, or trying to build authentic clinical experience, her reflections are grounded and specific.  Then we head to the Belize hospital and community clinic days. Ava breaks down what it’s like to rotate through specialties, learn from fourth-year medical student mentors, and work with Belizean healthcare teams who practice in resource-limited settings without routine CT or MRI access. The big takeaway is simple and powerful: better medicine often starts with listening harder, examining carefully, and educating patients in ways that actually land.  Ava also shares details on the upcoming gap year student trip to Belize in August. Subscribe for more global health and service learning stories, share this with a friend on the pre-med track, and leave a review with the biggest lesson you want to carry into your future practice. I also want to thank our listeners for joining us as it is our goal to not only share with you our guest’s introduction to international healthcare, but also to share with you how that exposure to international healthcare has shaped their future path in healthcare. As true patient advocates, we should all aspire to be as well rounded as possible in order to meet the needs of our diverse patient populations.  As a 50+ year nurse that has worked in quite a variety of clinical roles in our healthcare system, taught healthcare courses for the past 20 years at the university level, and has traveled extensively with my students on international service-learning trips, I can easily attest to the fact that healthcare focused students need, and greatly benefit from the opportunity to have hands-on experiential healthcare experiences in an international setting! I have seen the growth of students post travel as their self-confidence in their newly acquired skillsets, both clinical and cultural, facilitates their ability to take advantage of opportunities that previously may not have been available to them. By rendering care internationally, and stepping outside one's comfort zone, many more doors of opportunity will be opened. Feel free to check out our website at www.islonline.org, follow us on Instagram @ islmedical, and reach out to me @ DrH@islonline.org [DrH@islonline.org]

Six Months Of Global Service Voices

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2534345/fan_mail/new] Photos of service trips are everywhere. What’s missing is the part that changes you: the voice, the hesitation, the courage, and the why. At our six-month mark, I’m stepping back to reflect on what International Service Learning with Experiential Medical Education is really trying to do and what I’m hearing across dozens of global health stories. I share a bit about my own background, more than 50 years in nursing, over 20 years involved in international service, and a lifetime of travel that keeps reminding me how much you can learn when you’re not intimidated by language or culture. Then I walk through the guests who have shaped the first phase of the show: former students now practicing as physicians, pharmacists, and nurses, plus healthcare executives, Peace Corps voices, medical students, undergrads from all majors, and gap year students. The goal stays simple: get to know the person behind the work and how their path actually unfolded. A few themes keep showing up with surprising clarity. Guests describe stepping out of their comfort zone as a leap of faith, especially when it’s their first time traveling or their first time working inside a different healthcare system. Over and over, they tell students who are on the fence the same thing: “just do it.” And beneath everything is the most important global health lesson of all, advocacy for people who don’t have a voice, whether that service happens abroad or right in your local community. If these conversations help you reflect on how you can pay it forward, share the show with a healthcare-focused student or friend, subscribe, and leave a review so more people can find the stories. I also want to thank our listeners for joining us as it is our goal to not only share with you our guest’s introduction to international healthcare, but also to share with you how that exposure to international healthcare has shaped their future path in healthcare. As true patient advocates, we should all aspire to be as well rounded as possible in order to meet the needs of our diverse patient populations.  As a 50+ year nurse that has worked in quite a variety of clinical roles in our healthcare system, taught healthcare courses for the past 20 years at the university level, and has traveled extensively with my students on international service-learning trips, I can easily attest to the fact that healthcare focused students need, and greatly benefit from the opportunity to have hands-on experiential healthcare experiences in an international setting! I have seen the growth of students post travel as their self-confidence in their newly acquired skillsets, both clinical and cultural, facilitates their ability to take advantage of opportunities that previously may not have been available to them. By rendering care internationally, and stepping outside one's comfort zone, many more doors of opportunity will be opened. Feel free to check out our website at www.islonline.org, follow us on Instagram @ islmedical, and reach out to me @ DrH@islonline.org [DrH@islonline.org]

Build A Medical Career By Serving Abroad

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2534345/fan_mail/new] Watching medicine up close can change your plans fast, especially when you see it practiced in places that don’t have the safety net of big hospitals, endless imaging, and overflowing supplies. We sit down with Brice, a University of South Carolina grad and cardiology medical scribe, to unpack how mentorship and service learning turned his interest in medicine into a clear direction and a bigger mission. We start with the nuts and bolts of being a paid clinical scribe: learning Epic, sharpening documentation, understanding diagnostic tests, and building the kind of long-term physician mentorship most pre-med students struggle to find. Then we go abroad. Brice shares what it felt like to leave the country for the first time on a Costa Rica service learning trip, why the happiness he saw in underserved communities surprised him, and the patient moments that made healthcare disparities impossible to ignore. From there, Belize takes it further with a rare mix of free clinics and hospital rotations. Brice describes what resource-limited wards look like, what he learns from physicians who can do “so much with so little,” and a standout OR experience where an orthopedic surgeon teaches fracture care and imaging like a personal masterclass. We close with Brice’s advice for students worried about cost or fear of the unknown, plus details on the upcoming Tanzania gap-year trip built around hospital time, clinics, and cultural experiences. If you’re thinking about global health, gap year plans, medical Spanish, or finding real mentorship before med school, hit play, share this with a friend who needs the push, and subscribe and leave a review so more future clinicians can find the show. I also want to thank our listeners for joining us as it is our goal to not only share with you our guest’s introduction to international healthcare, but also to share with you how that exposure to international healthcare has shaped their future path in healthcare. As true patient advocates, we should all aspire to be as well rounded as possible in order to meet the needs of our diverse patient populations.  As a 50+ year nurse that has worked in quite a variety of clinical roles in our healthcare system, taught healthcare courses for the past 20 years at the university level, and has traveled extensively with my students on international service-learning trips, I can easily attest to the fact that healthcare focused students need, and greatly benefit from the opportunity to have hands-on experiential healthcare experiences in an international setting! I have seen the growth of students post travel as their self-confidence in their newly acquired skillsets, both clinical and cultural, facilitates their ability to take advantage of opportunities that previously may not have been available to them. By rendering care internationally, and stepping outside one's comfort zone, many more doors of opportunity will be opened. Feel free to check out our website at www.islonline.org, follow us on Instagram @ islmedical, and reach out to me @ DrH@islonline.org [DrH@islonline.org]