Advice To Parachuting Docs: Think Before You Jump Into Poor Countries

Don't mess with other civilizations.

That's the "prime directive" in Star Trek and countless other sci-fi works. Of course, visitors to other planets get it wrong — a lot. Sometimes, they meddle in inappropriate ways and disaster ensues.

So what does this have to do with global health?

Well, here on Earth, doctors and medical students are flocking to programs where they spend a couple of weeks to months volunteering in what's called a "low-resource" country. In these places, medical expertise and technology may lag behind richer nations.

And sometimes their eagerness to help can have unintended negative consequences.

Now the American College of Physicians has issued a position paper on "ethical obligations" for these medical volunteers, both doctors and students. has been widely praised — but critics have also raised one major concern — no one from the developing world was part of the committee preparing the guidelines.