More harm than good? The questionable ethics of medical volunteering and international student placements

Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Bauer, Irmgard
Abstract

It has been argued that much of international medical volunteering is done for the wrong reasons, in that local people serve as a means to meet volunteers' needs, or for the right reasons but ignorance and ill-preparedness harm the intended beneficiaries, often without volunteers' grasp of the damage caused. The literature on ethical concerns in medical volunteering has grown tremendously over the last years highlighting the need for appropriate guidelines. These same concerns, however, and an appreciation of the reasons why current aid paradigms are flawed, can serve as indicators on how to change existing practices to ensure a better outcome for those who are in need of help. Such paradigm change envisages medical assistance in the spirit of solidarity, social justice, equality, and collegial collaboration.

Journal

Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines

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Volume

3

ISBN/ISSN

2055-0936

Edition

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Issue

5

Pages Count

12

Location

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Publisher

BioMed Central

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Publisher Location

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Publish Date

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Url

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Date

N/A

EISSN

N/A

DOI

10.1186/s40794-017-0048-y