PWOB Student Scholarship • SpecialtyCare Medical Mission Fund
Charitable Organizations • Vendors • Available Mission Trips
AmSECT believes that students provide a great strength for the future of our profession. We hope for well-rounded professionals who will be able to provide a broad range of experience to their developing careers. Exposure to missions work is an exciting way to begin that development. Perfusion Without Borders, in conjunction with the AmSECT Foundation, offers one annual scholarship (up to $3,000) to a perfusion student. The scholarship covers travel and hotel expenses for a mission of their choice. The student will give a presentation of their trip at the next AmSECT's International Conference. Our scholarship winners have found their experiences to be very significant events in the development of their professional careers.
Congratulations to our 2022 recipient Cody Adams!
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"I’m truly honored to have been selected for this award and look forward to working with such a great organization in PWOB. I cannot wait to join a cardiac mission trip dedicated to providing hope to a community of people in need across the globe. The act of helping those less fortunate leaves a mark on your heart that will last you a lifetime," -Cody Adams |
The 2023 application period will open on June 26, 2023.
2023 Application update:
- An applicant can choose a mission and travel anytime occurring between Oct 1, 2023 and the date of the 2024 AmSECT International Conference.
- The applicant will require a letter of acceptance from a charity to join that charity on an upcoming mission however the specific mission date does not need to be included in order to fill out the scholarship application.
- The recipient will be required to present at the 2024 AmSECT International Conference pursuant to the date of the mission attended.
The 2023 application period opens on June 26, 2023. If you are currently a perfusion student in the clinical stages of your education with an interest in witnessing and participating in a global effort to share the inspiration and insight of our profession throughout the world, an experience you will never forget, please consider applying. The applicant must be currently attending a U.S accredited or candidate-status perfusion program and an AmSECT student member in good standing.
Application Requirements:
- Perfusion Without Borders Student Application & Letter of Agreement
- Supporting Documentation (Submitted directly to pwob@amsect.org.)
- CV
- Biographical Statement (including the reason you would like to complete mission work)
- Letter of reference from your Perfusion Program Director
- Letter of acceptance from a charity to join that charity on an upcoming mission
Applicant Resources:
Letter for Charities
Students applying for mission trips can attach a copy of this letter to the charities' application forms.
Scholarship Testimonials
Congratulations to this year's recipient of the PWOB Scholarship Frances Lewis! Read about all about Frances's medical mission trip here.
“These mission trips have made me understand that if you have a good heart, your hands will be put to work one way or another,” she says. “One of my favorite things about mission trips is that it is a small team with a big goal and many opportunities to learn something new from a lot of different facets of the mission. I have always sought out new experiences and knowledge, and I believe that this opportunity will help me become a better perfusionist.” Read more about Frances here.
Pack your scrubs. Make four flight connections in four countries. Download WhatsApp. That was me, late one evening in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, on a cold night in December 2016. The next morning, I met my team at breakfast and the journey began. Over the next two weeks we conducted a dozen pediatric heart surgeries, partnered with our Macedonian counterparts. Inside the operating room I saw the practice of perfusion distilled down to the basics. Outside the operating room I listened to cardiologists in clinic, helped pediatric critical care nurses in the ICU and shared dinners with the team. It was an incredible experience to be able to learn through human connection. In the words of John F. Kennedy, “We choose these things… not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
To the all the perfusion students reading this: apply for the PWOB scholarship. Do it!
- Erin Friesenborg
I won a scholarship sponsored by AmSECT and Perfusion Without Borders to attend a cardiac surgery mission trip in order to shadow an experienced perfusionist. My two weeks in Guayaquil, Ecuador may have been the most beneficial of my entire clinical experience as a perfusion student. I would recommend participation with a mission trip to any student who might be interested. Not only does it provide innumerable learning opportunities related to the practice of perfusion, but it also presents a unique avenue of contributing to a very worthy and important cause. I am not only certain that my time has helped me to be a better perfusionist, but I also know it will forever be an experience that I keep close to my own heart.
- Margaret Harrington
I especially thank AmSECT and the PWOB Committee for supporting student involvement and their efforts of global assistance. The PWOB student scholarship provided me the opportunity to volunteer with a cardiac team in Hanoi, Vietnam. I was able to witness firsthand the necessary efforts in providing life saving operations, as well as aid in the education of a developing cardiac surgical program abroad. The amazing accomplishments a handful of people can make and the impact on an entire community is truly humbling. It further speaks to the direct role, that we as members in established heart programs, play in global aid and education.
- Lian Toyoji
There is no greater feeling than putting a smile on a child’s face. Sometimes we tend to take a lot of blessings for granted, but when you travel to other countries, you will see firsthand how truly blessed you are and obtain a greater appreciation for what you have at home. We should come together as one and help people who are in need; not only for those suffering at home but also for those people abroad. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Especially for my fellow students, I am strongly encouraging you to attend a mission trip and apply for the PWOB scholarship. Medical mission trips present an excellent opportunity to learn and enrich your work experience in the field. There are some skills that can only be attained outside the home environment and it will also help you to adapt to the different cultures and customs that you come across in your field or in society. It will help us all become better perfusionists and better people.
- Samuel Pierre
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