Comments on: New Ground For Peace Corps–The Peace Corps on NPR http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/2013/01/15/new-ground/ John Coyne Babbles is a collection of comments, opinions, musings, and outrages from this RPCV who served with the first group (1962-64) in Ethiopia. Sun, 19 May 2013 13:50:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Joanne Roll http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/2013/01/15/new-ground/comment-page-1/#comment-2797 Joanne Roll Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:48:42 +0000 http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/?p=6719#comment-2797 This may be the new Peace Corps. I have to support any effort that results in better medical infrastructure in the Developing World. But, I have many questions. This new Peace Corps creates a two tier system of Volunteer. The Global Health Volunteer will be part of the Peace Corps Response program that is no longer limited to RPCVs. The Global Health Volunteer will not receive 8 to 12 weeks of language and cultural training. The Global Health Volunteer only commits for one year and will receive a stipend of up to $30,000 a year to pay for educational loans and other personal financial obligations. Because the impetus for this program came from Dr. Kerry and not from within the experiences of the Peace Corps doctors and nurses who have served for over fifty years, it is not clear how all the problems those doctors and nurses encountered will be solved in this new program. Chief among the problems faced by nurses and doctors was the lack of adequate medical infrastructure to support the safe delivery of medical services. This caused ethical concerns for those nurses and doctors who were delivering medical services. Now, of course, the "traditional" Volunteer is prohibited from providing direct patient services in order to avoid contact with bodily fluids that may increase the risk of HIV/AIDs to the provider. When Dr. Kerry described the school room with 2000 students, a black board and one teacher, she is describing a educational environment that needs more that just another teacher or so. The kind of resources that have to be brought to bare to make the effective the teaching of board certified medical educators will cost far more that a Peace Corps mini-grant. Absent those resources, can this program work? I have many questions. As a RPCV, and a traditional one at that, I am not entitled to answers unless I can format them into a FOIA request. Not so easy to do. This may be the new Peace Corps. I have to support any effort that results in better medical infrastructure in the Developing World. But, I have many questions. This new Peace Corps creates a two tier system of Volunteer. The Global Health Volunteer will be part of the Peace Corps Response program that is no longer limited to RPCVs.
The Global Health Volunteer will not receive 8 to 12 weeks of language and cultural training. The Global Health Volunteer only commits for one year and will receive a stipend of up to $30,000 a year to pay for educational loans and other personal financial obligations.

Because the impetus for this program came from Dr. Kerry and not from within the experiences of the Peace Corps doctors and nurses who have served for over fifty years, it is not clear how all the problems those doctors and nurses encountered will be solved in this new program. Chief among the problems faced by nurses and doctors was the lack of adequate medical infrastructure to support the safe delivery of medical services. This caused ethical concerns for those nurses and doctors who were delivering medical services.
Now, of course, the “traditional” Volunteer is prohibited from providing direct patient services in order to avoid contact with bodily fluids that may increase the risk of HIV/AIDs to the provider.

When Dr. Kerry described the school room with 2000 students, a black board and one teacher, she is describing a educational environment that needs more that just another teacher or so. The kind of resources that have to be brought to bare to make the effective the teaching of board certified medical educators will cost far more that a Peace Corps mini-grant. Absent those resources, can this program work?

I have many questions. As a RPCV, and a traditional one at that,
I am not entitled to answers unless I can format them into a FOIA request. Not so easy to do.

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