BUIES CREEK – On Saturday, September 10th Cure 2016 welcomed over 125 attendees and exhibitors to CUSOM’s first medical missions conference.
Dr. John M. Kauffman, Jr., dean of the medical school, and Dr. Ron Halbrooks, Duke Health System Internal Medicine and Duke Global Health staff, shared the vision for a regional missions conference for healthcare students for over two years with several sponsoring international medical mission organizations who came together to make Cure 2016 a reality.
“The Global Missions Health Conference hosted annually in Louisville, Kentucky was our inspiration,” said Dr. Kauffman. “We believe it is important to offer opportunities for students regionally on college campuses to learn more about missions and healthcare to compliment GMHC. MedicalMissions.com, the organization that hosts GMHC, shares this vision.”
MedicalMissions.com, Samaritan’s Purse World Medical Mission, SIM, Christian Medical and Dental Associations, and the North Carolina Baptists on Mission were presenting sponsors for Cure 2016.
“Throughout the conference, sponsors, exhibitors, and speakers all repeatedly stated how there was a need for the conference and how delighted they were to be part of the inaugural conference at Campbell,” said Oscar Aylor, director of community and global health at Campbell.
The conference attendees were students from colleges and universities across the region as well as Campbell University students ranging from undergraduate pre-health science students to current health professional students.
“This conference changed my life,” said Laura Barney, a Campbell University pre-med student. “I bought three books from CMDA and have already started reading one! I don’t know yet how medical missions will fit into my future, but I know serving in this way will be part of my career and I feel like attending Cure was the first step in getting ready.”
The conference included opening and closing sessions with Dr. Joshua Bogunjoko, international director of SIM, 15 breakout sessions with a variety of healthcare professional missionaries, and a panel discussion with Campbell health professional students who are veteran medical missionaries.
“As we planned Cure, we were committed to the conference being an interprofessional experience, so students at any phase of their career and in any healthcare profession could attend and leave equipped with an understanding of how missions can fit into their career,” said Sarah Bowman, director of marketing and communications for CUSOM and Cure conference planning chair. “It was exciting to see the vision for Cure become a reality and touch so many students’ and current professionals’ lives.”
“Not only was the conference helpful for medical missions, but also my relationship with God,” shared Rachel Barts, third year Campbell pharmacy student. “I most certainly needed that time with fellow believers, to refocus my heart and learn more about how to spread God’s Word – both in Buies Creek and across the world. I will definitely be recommending the conference to students in the pharmacy program for next year!”
Cure 2017 is planned for Saturday, September 16, 2017 and registration will open in Spring 2017.