In these days of numerous natural disasters we are blessed to be a blessing around the world but we must be well prepared for all contingencies. This session will take a look at the essential preparedness for disaster relief—specificities of surgery in time of natural disaster, health management after a disaster, appropriate surgical technology (what works on the field), lessons learned from the field, personal security, trip planning, and logistics. Crowds and mobs, hostile negotiations, entry/travel/ vehicle checks, convoy driving and control, and field hospital set up and site assessment will be covered. I will save some time for questions and answers in this important area of disaster relief where we want to do it all with excellence for the glory of the Lord.
Oral lesions can present clues of a systemic disease—the appearance, the character
of the lesions, the size, the duration, and the location of the lesions can give some insight as to a possible systemic disease. On the mission field, without all the desired tests and studies, it is very helpful to have an idea what lesions may be part of a system disease and what lesions are most likely to respond to local measures. There will be time for questions and answers.
Dental emergency care with a basic overview of dental emergencies for non-dental health care practitioners in limited resource situations including a brief course in dental evaluation and treatment.
This session will focus on how to teach a technical skill. The session will include a brief literature review on skill development, a discussion of teaching strategies including simulation for the low budget educator, and a brief outline of cognitive task analysis
as a tool in developing an educational program. An interactive format will be utilized.
The objective of the session is to show how short-term missions can break the cycle of dependency by teaching basic medical and dental skills to the church community. This then empowers the church to provide a sustainable healthcare model to share the Gospel.