Health sciences degree opens doors to world travel
By Diane Luckow
Medical imaging technologist Lauren Shandley loves to travel. That鈥檚 why she pursued a BA in health sciences with a focus on global health. She figured combining the degree with her technical expertise would lead to jobs that would pay her to travel.
She was right.
She convocates in June, and is just completing training as a new member of the Red Cross鈥� Emergency Response Unit, which deploys highly trained professionals within 48 hours of a disaster.
鈥淚鈥檒l be taking x-rays in a field hospital in a disaster zone,鈥� she says.
Doctors Without Borders has also hired her, and will send her on four-to-six-week missions in Africa and the Middle East, where she鈥檒l work alongside local medical staff to deliver training in medical imaging.
And while a career in the humanitarian sector doesn鈥檛 pay well, that鈥檚 not an issue for Lauren, whose previous travels took her to many disadvantaged countries.
鈥淚 have a strong passion for social justice and breaking down barriers to access,鈥� she says. 鈥淏asic healthcare is a need; it鈥檚 a human rights issue.鈥�
Acceptance into international aid organizations isn鈥檛 easy. Lauren credits some of her success to a four-month SFU international co-op term in India, where she helped deliver English literacy and numeracy classes to human- and sex-trafficking victims at Destiny Foundation.
鈥淚t definitely helped me gain the experience of living and working abroad in a difficult situation.鈥�
In October, she will head to Arusha, Tanzania on a paid, two-month fellowship with RAD-AID and the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists to train local technologists to use a new CT scanner.
After that? A four-month trip across the continent on her own, and with friends鈥攗nless she鈥檚 mobilized by the Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders.
鈥淭here aren鈥檛 a lot of x-ray technicians who have a global public health degree,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檝e found a good platform and feel I鈥檝e been able to position myself quite well. Hopefully, one day I鈥檒l be full-time dedicated in the field.鈥�