Staff Interview with Robin Young

What inspired you to work for Child Family Health International?

Aside from CFHI's focus on ethical, fair trade engagement with our global partners (which was a huge motivation and inspiration for me to join the team!), I think what I love about CFHI is that we are especially responsive about working with participants in the pre-departure stages of their trip to ensure that their questions are answered and they feel comfortable with their program.

Describe a typical day at work.

No two days are the same! I generally spend time responding to calls and emails from students, global partners, faculty, and administrators. I'm also usually working on a couple of proposals for new or existing academic partners looking to run new custom programs at one of our 11 program sites. We do a lot of work around constantly improving the quality of our global health education programming at all levels and stages, from pre-departure training to in-country curriculum and support, and post-return. I love working with all of our key stakeholders—students, global partners, academic partners. We're very lucky to have amazing partners around the world who let our students "let the world change them" in global health settings. 

Why do you do what you do?

To shine a spotlight on the amazing global health work that our partners do around the world, and to allow students the opportunity to appropriately learn from that work. I know that students who participate in our programs return home as more thoughtful and prepared future and current healthcare practitioners. I really believe that there are better and worse ways to engage in global health and development efforts, and I'm so proud to be a part of an organization that is helping to define ethical and safety standards in our field. 

How do you use your education and international background in your current role?

My educational background is in sociology/anthropology, intercultural communication, and business administration. All come into play regularly in my current role! I'm especially glad to have an MBA when I'm managing budgets and helping to support and manage our team, for example, and I notice the intercultural communication training coming into play whenever I'm helping to navigate a tricky cultural communication situation. 

What challenges do you often face and how do you overcome them?

Our daily work crosses vast cultural and geographical divides, so many of our challenges (or opportunities!) arise out of those differences. Our team frequently works with students, faculty, and global partners who are experiencing challenges that center around cultural values and communication styles. We try to help navigate these challenges in a way that leads to deeper understanding and learning. 

What are some current projects you are working on?

Right now, we're excited to have just launched a brand new pre-departure platform that is really engaging and interactive, and helps participants be as prepared as possible for their programs. We're also working on launching a new training series for our global partners, which will be amazing. 

Why should someone choose CFHI over competitors?

So many organizations offer students the opportunity to "volunteer" and "help" but they end up causing more harm by creating dependencies, undermining local leadership, channeling resources to ineffective projects, etc. At CFHI we immerse students in existing healthcare settings and offer them the opportunity to learn under appropriate local preceptorship. Your contributions are supervised and appropriate for the setting, and you therefore don't risk harming patients or community members in health settings.

What makes CFHI easy to market to potential participants?

We are recognized as the standard-setting organization for global health education. We have published much of the key literature in academic journals helping to define appropriate activities for students in global health settings. In order to ensure a deeply enriching experience, while also prioritizing their own safety and that of the host community, CFHI is the best program available. 

How do you help support participants?

We offer a wide variety of scholarships for students and we also regularly help students to obtain scholarships and funding through their schools and other external funding opportunities. We work closely with students throughout their entire pre-departure, in-country, and post-return program to ensure that they feel supported and have their questions answered. 

What advice do you have for individuals thinking about going abroad?

Absolutely go abroad—there is nothing else quite like a global experience to help you understand yourself and the world around you better. Be sure you're seeking out programs with a reputation for quality and safety to ensure that you have the best possible experience.

What issues do you see in the world of international education that don’t line up with your values and expectations for mutually beneficial & educational relationships between providers/programs and the communities in which they are located within?

One key issue is that of students practicing health care or medicine beyond the scope of their training, which is deeply unethical (though so often very well-intentioned!) and can be dangerous for patients and students alike. The literature now shows that the most meaningful role for students in global health settings is not to provide direct patient care, but rather to focus on learning from local experts and making appropriately supervised contributions, often to quality improvement of services and training/capacity building.

What does meaningful travel mean to you?

Aside from enjoying new food, music, dance, and other more "obvious" signs of travel, meaningful travel to me means getting outside of your comfort zone, letting go of stereotypes, and forming meaningful relationships.