Reflections on medical volunteerism: free medical days for refugees.

Abstract

The Lebanese Medical Students’ International Committee organised a free medical day under the slogan of ‘Your Health, Your Right’. This activity was sponsored by the Ministry of Public Health and involved several partners. Classes in a public school in Beirut were turned into clinics for the purpose of this day. Medical encounters and blood tests were offered free of charge. A young woman presented complaining of body and headaches. She reported an old fracture in her skull, which she attributed to a fall from a roof. An initial exam revealed a poorly groomed woman with an obvious nystagmus suggestive of central nervous system pathology. As the examining doctor discussed with her the need for brain imagining, she broke into tears explaining her financial difficulties. Money was not the only problem; her husband has been physically abusing her for years. This was the cause of the skull fracture and consequent nystagmus. A referral to an ophthalmologist was arranged and the patient encouraged to consult a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that deals with domestic violence and another to cover the …