Podcast

International short-term healthcare teams are challenging to develop and lead, due to the need for cultural intelligence, strong spiritual preparation of the team, and complex regulatory requirements in each country. Organizers must assure that they understand the myriad cultural complexities of working across cultural barriers, and how to educate their short-term team on the essentials. Spiritual formation of the team, and strong support of the disciple-making ministry of national partners must include strong, proactive preparation of team members and establishing a safe, ministry-focused environment for service. Careful planning with credible national partners is essential for both effective spiritual ministry, and for negotiating the many legal, regulatory, and customs requirements in developing country settings. This session will discuss mechanisms to plan for, prioritize, and measure desired actions and outcomes.

This seminar will examine the biblical call to make disciples and most importantly how
 to do this. You will learn the practical aspects of both having a discipler/mentor and serving as a discipler/mentor for someone else. If you ever have or have ever wanted to invest your life strategically into another person, then this seminar is for you!

Every aspect of Jesus’ ministry - - his prayers, teaching, healing and even his identity - - seems to have been shaped by his vision of the Kingdom of God. As we follow him in health care missions, the Kingdom should also define our goals, methodologies, and ways of relating with those we serve and with our co-workers. It should fuel our hope and our perseverance.
In this session, we will:
• Learn about the Kingdom of God and healing from several gospel stories
• Identify conflicting or paradoxical perspectives on the Kingdom that may fog or hinder our healthcare ministries
• Outline a vision of the Kingdom that can give focus and power to our healthcare missions
• Explore the relationship between evangelism and healthcare missions
• Collectively identify resources and networks that give ongoing help as we clarify our vision and strengthen our faithful practice.

Preventing and Managing Burnout
Cross-cultural medical workers are under multiple levels of stress peculiar to their professional roles.
They often serve as mental health resources to colleagues and other cross-cultural workers, have difficulty limiting the hours of work with minimal reprieve for rest and restoration.
This session will focus on cognitive and behavioral tools that can improve the mental self-care with attention to appropriate and assertive limit-setting, sleep preservation, stress management, and team development.
The session will also discuss strategies for managing burnout when it emerges including these tools as well as clinical tools of formal assessment and bio/psycho/social/spiritual interventions


Objectives:
1- Participants will be able to describe the main sources of challenge to mental health of cross-cultural medical workers and the signs of emerging burnout
2- Participants will be able to describe at least three cognitive-behavioral strategies that can be utilized to improve mental self-care and burnout management.

Goals of This Breakout Session Include:
1. Review the list of evidence-based, low-cost, mortality-reducing interventions for critically ill patients that are appropriate for use in resource limited settings.
2. Share practical lessons learned including successes and challenges from running an ICU in Sub-Saharan Africa.