Participation in an international medical practice in West Africa

The author reflects on his personal experiences in West Africa to express the benefits of participation in international medical practice in developing countries. Health care systems, medical emphases, and surgical techniques useful in the United States may be inspired by attempts to manage the extreme problems seen in developing countries. Attitudinal changes that result from international work may be helpful to US physicians and their patients, in the current era of health care. These include the qualities of humility, gratitude, pragmatism, and simplicity. A refined consciousness of the needs of underserved women is unavoidable.