New trends of short-term humanitarian medical volunteerism: professional and ethical considerations

• Published in: Journal of medical ethics Vol. 39; no. 10; pp. 625 - 631
• Main Authors: Asgary, Ramin, Junck, Emily
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics 01.10.2013; BMJ Publishing Group; BMJ Publishing Group Ltd; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: Altruism; Applied and Professional Ethics; Bioethics; Clinical Ethics; Collaboration; Community; Company business management; Disasters; Earthquakes; Education for Health Care Professionals; Epidemiology; Ethical aspects; Ethical instruction; Ethics; Ethics, Medical; Foreign aid; Global Health; Global medical ethics; Health care industry; Health education; Humans; Management; Medical education; Medical practice; Medical students; Medical technology; Medicine; Organization and Administration - standards; Patient care; Patient Care - ethics; Patient Care - standards; Patient Harm; Patients; Physician and patient; Physician-patient relations; Practice; Public health; Public Health Ethics; Risk Factors; Short term; Social ethics; Social Justice; Volunteer training; Volunteerism; Volunteers; Workload - psychology; Haiti; Education for Health Care Professionals; Public Health Ethics; Applied and Professional Ethics; Clinical Ethics
• ISSN: 0306-6800; 1473-4257
• DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2011-100488

Short-term humanitarian medical volunteerism has grown significantly among both clinicians and trainees over the past several years. Increasingly, both volunteers and their respective institutions have faced important challenges in regard to medical ethics and professional codes that should not be overlooked. We explore these potential concerns and their risk factors in three categories: ethical responsibilities in patient care, professional responsibility to communities and populations, and institutional responsibilities towards trainees. We discuss factors increasing the risk of harm to patients and communities, including inadequate preparation, the use of advanced technology and the translation of Western medicine, issues with clinical epidemiology and test utility, difficulties with the principles of justice and clinical justice, the lack of population-based medicine, sociopolitical effects of foreign aid, volunteer stress management, and need for sufficient trainee supervision. We review existing resources and offer suggestions for future skill-based training, organisational responsibilities, and ethical preparation.