The Institute for International Medicine is built on the truth that one generation can profoundly motivate and equip the next. INMED itself is the result of model individuals whose self-sacrificing lifestyle inspired INMED’s leaders to create this organization. Today, INMED is casting a vision the next generation of healthcare professionals to serve the most neglected citizens of our planet. |
Mission & ValuesMission & ValuesWithin our communities exist extraordinary numbers of individuals and families who are forgotten. Often these are the poor, unemployed, minorities, immigrants, disabled, elderly, and non-English speakers. Overlooked in the dash for progress, these often silent persons succumb to the physical and mental repercussions of neglect. Some two billion of them still lack basic nutrition, housing, safe water, education, and health care. As a result, their infants may only have a three in four chance of surviving beyond childhood, and those who do survive may live only into their thirties or forties. This should not be so! CRITICAL DEFICIENCIESHealthcare professionals who serve forgotten people often discover that their education and training poorly prepared them to work effectively, primarily because: • Health is largely determined by multiple factors beyond healthcare that must also be addressed, like education, housing, and economic development. • Diseases and injuries may be unfamiliar. Malnutrition, orthopedic trauma, and certain infectious diseases are common in low-resource communities, but rare in wealthier ones. • Resources to manage health concerns are usually minimal, whether laboratory, imaging, medications, supplies, consultants, or health information. • Cultural context, language, and social behavior are frequently challenging, while success in promoting health requires an intimate understanding of each. • Leadership skills are underdeveloped. Effective health intervention requires attention to community-wide needs and resources, team building, and strategic planning – concepts rarely addressed in the education of healthcare professionals. • Living and working in low-resource communities demands unique personal adeptness. Attention to physical health, emotional well-being, financial strength, and family relationships is essential for long-term success. INSPIRING ASSISTANCEThe Good Samaritan is a moving account told by the Great Physician of a compassionate outsider coming to the aid of a common man who was robbed, beaten, and left for dead. He urged, “Go and do likewise.” Many healthcare professionals today follow this model of kindness toward those who are most disadvantaged, making service to the poor an intentional career decision. Countless lives are preserved through their ongoing commitment, whether in their home communities or in distant locales. MISSION OF INMEDThe mission of the Institute for International Medicine is to equip healthcare professionals and students with the unique skills to serve forgotten people. INMED is a Missouri-registered, federally recognized 501c3 non-profit educational corporation established in 2003. VALUES OF INMED• We value all human life. We regard individuals as created and adored by God. We respect the dignity, uniqueness, and intrinsic worth of all – regardless of their wealth, culture, or social status. We encourage these virtues in all of our working relationships with staff, students, volunteers, donors, and communities served.• We are committed to the world’s most forgotten. We are called to serve the most marginalized people on earth, to relieve suffering, to facilitate sustainable improvements, and to respect those in need as active participants in their own wellbeing.• We are stewards. We are managers, not owners, of the resources made available to us. We are efficient, effective, and transparent in our communications and relationships with our learners, partners, communities, and governments.• We are partners. We actively seek association and cooperation with other people and organizations that share similar values and mission.PARTNERSHIP FOR COMPASSIONINMED’s Executive Officers and Board of Directors are pleased to partner with an ever growing number of students, healthcare professionals, universities, residency programs, healthcare facilities, and national health leaders – all intent on inspiring and equipping healthcare professionals to “Go and do likewise” in service of our world’s most forgotten.
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