"The Doctor's Art" is a weekly podcast that explores what makes medicine meaningful, featuring profiles and stories from clinicians, patients, educators, leaders, and others working in healthcare. Listen and subscribe on , , Amazon, , , and .
When it comes to medical humanitarianism, there is no bigger name than (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders in English. MSF is renowned for its work in regions affected by armed conflict, endemic diseases, and natural disasters.
In this episode, we are joined by Christos Christou, MD, a Greek surgeon who has served as the international president of MSF since 2019. As a field doctor, he has worked in South Sudan, Iraq, Cameroon, and various other conflict zones.
Over the course of the conversation, Christou takes Henry Bair and Tyler Johnson, MD, into the trenches of his medical work in caring for some of the most vulnerable people in the world, shares how he finds meaning and hope amid the depths of human suffering, and discusses the challenges to global health today.
In this episode, you will hear about:
- 2:28 How the values of Christou's self-described "rustic" childhood led him into medicine
- 3:27 How Christou's time in university shaped his life philosophy
- 5:59 The history and mission of MSF/Doctors Without Borders
- 8:13 What it is like to practice medicine in regions affected by armed conflict and natural disasters
- 10:42 Christou's journey in MSF, from when he first heard of it to how he became its leader
- 13:41 Lessons learned on finding meaning in medicine in some of the most resource-limited settings
- 16:19 Christou's stories of inspiring hope in patients even during incredibly challenging times
- 19:54 A discussion of the dangers faced by clinicians who work with MSF
- 23:11 The significance of bearing witness to suffering in giving a voice to vulnerable patients
- 26:25 A discussion of the major threats to global health today: climate change, epidemics, and war
- 30:00 Advice for new clinicians who wish to tackle issues in global health
Following is a partial transcript (note errors are possible):
Bair: Christos, thank you so much for taking the time to join us, and welcome to the show.
Christou: Thank you for having me.
Bair: We are so excited to have you with us as our first clinician not based in the United States. And whom better to speak with about international medicine than yourself? I have heard of MSF since I was a child, and growing up in Taiwan, I always had this idea of MSF as this ultimate symbol of a great love for humanity and of personal sacrifice. Before we get into what MSF does and how you got involved, can you tell us what first drew you to a medical career?
Christou: Well, I always wanted to become a doctor. I always wanted to become someone who could help others. And if I look back at my family's history, my father was a mathematician, my mother was a seamstress. But they both came from very poor families. And to them, what mattered more than money or success was to come out of this poverty by helping others and also by gaining knowledge, by studying. And that's what they also taught to me. I have to say now that it was one way for me to move out of this, and medicine was a very good option. And that's how I started. I tried hard and I joined the university back in the late 90s.
Bair: As you look back, what were some of the most impactful life decisions and experiences that have shaped the arc of your work?
Christou: It was those years in the university and especially those years in the amphitheaters, trying to understand my decision to get more familiar with medical ethics, but also to look at the societies outside, how we can better make use of what we are studying here, how we can help others, how we can help the whole society to thrive. Because it's more than just helping people and fixing their own problems, their health problems. So these were quite impactful moments for me.
The interaction I had with other colleagues of mine, the medical students, students from other faculty schools, that it was a big, big university there. And we could see that we all one day will come out in our society. We want to contribute and we want to do it by complementing each other. And these are memories that always help remind me what we are here for. Of course, in the late years of my medical studies, we were doing the practices in our hospitals and even just taking the blood pressure of a patient was such a feeling. The very early days of my career. I will never forget how people always look at you when you're there to hold their hand and make them feel better, that, yes, we are here to help you. And I think that this was always a moment that can never fail in your life and in your memories.
For the full transcript, visit .
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