ICMDA / Pacific Islands
The International Christian Medical Dental Association (ICMDA) is the parent organisation of CMFnz. It is interdenominational and connects Christians in medicine and dentistry in over 80 countries all around the world, equipping them to live out their faith at work. As well as providing access to courses and resources (like the Doctor’s Life Support), ICMDA hosts a World Congress every four years.
The most recent World Congress was held in Hyderabad, India, at the end of August 2018 and brought together over 1000+ Christian doctors and dentists from more than 84 countries. The theme was “In the Footsteps of the Great Servant Healer.” Keynote speakers Dr Daniel Ho, Dr Helen Sigua, Raj Kumar and Reverend Charles Price challenged and inspired delegates to be “a light to the nations.” Seminar speakers addressed topics including bioethics, understanding world views, mission, Christ-centered leadership, starting up community projects, mentoring, compassion fatigue and burnout, a Christian response to mental health issues and palliative care. Regional groups (including Oceania) met together to discuss the unique challenges in their particular area of the world and form collaborations for God’s glory.
Thoughts from ‘kiwi’ delegates of the biggest impacts from the ICMDA World Congress:
“However, what stood out most for me was connecting with, learning from and encouraging other brothers and sisters in Christ. Hearing their stories about how God had been, still was and would continue to be with them was humbling and encouraging as I was reminded that our God is real and is faithful (even when one’s life is at risk or one is disowned by their family because of their faith).” – PGY delegate
“For me this was my first time attending any sort of international event, I found it amazing how healthcare professionals and students from around the world can be united around this common theme. It has always been inspiring for me to think of medical work as participating in the healing work of Jesus, but this gathering from all the corners of the earth gave a great picture of how he is at work bringing healing throughout the world - including in many different contexts where it is sorely needed. I met countless health professionals who had left their home countries to bring healing to those who need it, ranging from mission hospitals in the Congo, to temple prostitutes in India and refugees in Bangladesh.
I would highly recommend attending a world congress if you ever get the chance. I particularly valued seeing some of the students from Papua New Guinea being able to attend, and look forward to seeing that movement continue to grow with the support from the rest of our region. Aside from the great opportunity to build relationships, the six days were filled from start to end with amazing teaching to both feed spiritual our growth and inspire our work. The teaching at the student pre-conference was very encouraging and inspirational, definitely provoking me to think about how I can invest more into my fellow students in Dunedin, and how we as CMF can continue to develop leaders who will be able to shape healthcare and our organisation into the future.” – medical student delegate, assisted by CMFnz to attend Our Oceania brothers from Papua New Guinea were incredibly grateful for the financial assistance they received to attend the conference. “It was such a great honour and privilege to be part of ICMDA World Congress. I really enjoyed my stay in India - Hyderabad. Everybody I came across at the Congress was really friendly and open. It was really wonderful to meet and talk with Senior Health Professionals (Doctors, Dentists and Nurses and other Allied Health Workers) and fellow medical and dental students and to learn from them. Having the common understanding on how to share the love of Jesus Christ in our professional life’s and career and most importantly to share the Gospel of Jesus to others.” “[Indeed], thank you to the organisations and people who donated assisted towards my trip to attend the ICMDA World Congress – India.” PNG Doctor delegate, assisted by CMFnz to attend.
To continue supporting our attendance at world conferences, CMFnz needs financial support. If you would like to support CMFnz as a regular giver or to offer a one-off donation please follow this link: www.cmf.nz/donations or email [email protected]