title: Saving the Starfish: Physicians' Roles in Responding to Human Rights Abuses in Global Health Practice.
abstract: This paper examines how an overseas medical student can improve the life of a kamlari, an indentured servant girl in Nepal. I argue that physicians and students should not only provide care for the health and well-being of patients but also act to ameliorate the suffering of their patients, particularly when patients' social, cultural, economic, and political vulnerabilities overshadow their immediate clinical needs. I also address the point that medical schools need to offer courses on health advocacy and activism in order to promote health equity and social justice for all.
authors.affiliation: Assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences at Michigan State University in East Lansing.
authors.forename: Monir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moniruzzaman
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003479:Curriculum; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D000069576:Health Equity; D006806:Human Rights; D045809:Human Rights Abuses; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D009390:Nepal; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D010819:Physician's Role; D010820:Physicians / Q000941:ethics*; D012577:Schools, Medical; D012935:Social Justice; D012941:Social Responsibility; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control; D013337:Students, Medical