When Dr. Scott Davis accepted Dr. Robert Flint’s invitation to serve with the Philippine American Group of Educators and Surgeons (PAGES) in early 2023, financing his travel was a big concern for the University of Louisville resident. “I would have tried to make it work somehow – maybe friends and family – but receiving a GIVE stipend from the OMS Foundation gave me the peace and reassurance to be able to focus on the mission.”
Dr. Flint, surgical director of PAGES, said, “We travel like a MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) unit, bringing everything we need with us. Each team member covers their own travel expenses and is expected to bring supplies.” Travel costs for Dr. Davis and fellow resident Dr. Pooyan Sadr Eshkevari were defrayed by $2,500 GIVE (Global Initiative for Volunteerism and Education) stipends from the OMS Foundation. Supplies presented their own challenges, and Drs. Davis and Eshkevari spent some frantic moments at the airport reorganizing their medical supplies to meet luggage weight requirements.
In Manila, the long days of triage and surgery were brightened by the team’s interactions with patients and families. “Our group was one of the first missions back after the pandemic,” he said, “and the community instantly embraced us, trusting us to operate on those they love most… their children.” Most of their cleft patients were young children, but one of Dr. Davis’ favorite memories was of an adolescent girl with a cleft palate. “When we told her we were going to be able to help, she broke down in tears,” he said, “Interactions like that really help to bind people and cultures together.”
Dr. Davis’ GIVE experience delivered career-advancing surgical experience and personal inspiration in equal measure. “This really opened my eyes to the challenges of serving populations overseas,” he said, “Initially you think ‘we’ll go in and do surgeries and all will be well,’ but it’s way more complicated than that.”
It also reminded him why he chose the OMS specialty. “In residency it’s so easy to burn out,” he said. “This trip reignited me. It was a life-changing experience to care for patients with developmental deformities and give them some normalcy after they had been struggling for years. I’ve wanted since high school to be an OMS; this is why. I’m grateful to the Alliance and the GIVE donors who made this trip possible. A lot of lives are changed through this program; thank you for the opportunity to be one of them.”
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