The issues surrounding humanitarian medicine are both complicated and intriguing. At first thought, you would think that a doctor should offer any help he can give; however, by looking deeper into the issues, often times “less is more.” While a doctor may be able to perform surgery, he or she cannot guarantee the patient’s sutures will not come apart the day after he or she leaves; a humanitarian group may educate local doctors in Nicaragua on new techniques for curing deafness, but if the doctors do not have the proper equipment their time has been wasted. Humanitarian medicine is not as simple as sending a group of doctors with the best equipment to a developing country with the expectation that everything they do will result in positive change; serious thought must go into how the group will act, and what the implications of their actions are.

On November 5th, our class met with Dr. Saunders, an otolaryngologist who has traveled to Nicaragua several times, and discussed these complex issues. During his lecture, Dr. Saunders emphasized the importance of the “Seven Sins of Humanitarian Medicine:”

1. Leaving a mess behind

2. Failing to match technology to local needs and abilities

3. Failing of non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) to cooperate and help each other, and and accept help from military organizations

4. Failing to have a follow-up plan

5. Allowing politics, training, or other distracting goals to trump service, while representing the mission as “service”

6. Going where we are not wanted, or needed and/or being poor guests

7. Doing the right thing for the wrong reason.

By paying careful attention to these sins and understanding the environment in which you are entering, doctors can make a significant, lasting impact on a community.

For more information on the “Seven Sins of Humanitarian Medicine,” visit:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20063094