Volunteering Internationally Via Telehealth: A learning experience for doctors

Dr. Clemente can be seen beaming in to conduct a consultation with Bangladeshi physician Dr. Trisha at HOPE Hospital in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

We had the chance to chat with Dr. Clemente, one of our volunteer doctors based in New Jersey, to discuss his experience with WTI. Dr. Clemente provides internal medicine expertise to the community of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh through our program at HOPE Hospital.

When asked how he got started volunteering, Dr. Clemente says he enjoys working with people from other cultures and has always loved caring for communities in need. He also shares that one of the biggest differences between volunteering as a doctor in the United States and internationally is that there is so much to learn about medicine in other countries.

While he provides internal medicine expertise to the doctors at HOPE Hospital, he is simultaneously learning from the Bangladeshi doctors. "I've been a doctor for 30 years and still have so much to learn. The doctors in Bangladesh are teaching me so much, so our tele-sessions go both ways. For example, I don't see a whole lot of active Tuberculosis here in the US, and they see it all the time."

Volunteering internationally is a great opportunity for doctors to learn from each other and share the different perspectives they have developed while practicing medicine in such vastly different parts of the world. Thank you so much, Dr. Clemente, for your dedication and passion for bringing healthcare to those in need.