ICMDA Recordings ICMDA

Recorded on 13 June 2024 for ICMDA Webinars.

Dr Alex Bolek chairs a webinar with Dr Chris Jenkins

The idea of unanswered prayer being a blessing may seem like a contradiction of terms. We feel we are blessed when our requests are answered, when we receive what we ask for and think we need.

The truth is, however, that there are needs in our lives we don’t know about and a lack of understanding of important truths that God wants to address and the only way to do it is through unanswered prayer. Actually, delayed answer to prayer is more accurate even though at the time it feels like unanswered prayer. Today we will look at one reason why our prayers may be “unanswered.”


Chris has been a Christian for five decades. Before going into family medicine, he worked with a missionary organization starting adult literacy ministries in Africa and Asia in order to help Christians read the Bible for themselves and to also give them a tool to reach their non-Christian illiterate neighbors by teaching them to read while sharing the gospel with them.

He now works in medical education in the US as well as parts of the 10-40 window including the Middle East, Central, South and East Asia and elsewhere. He has been learning spiritual resilience throughout his Christian journey and finds that in every stage of life he must lean harder on the Lord, dig deeper into his Word, and pray for the spiritual resources needed to make it through trials with faith, integrity, love, and obedience intact.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To listen live to future ICMDA webinars visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icmda.net/resources/webinars/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Recorded on 15 October 2020 for ICMDA Webinars.

Dr Peter Saunders chairs a webinar with Prof Andrew Tomkins

"Corruption, an undeniable reality in the health sector, is arguably the most serious ethical crisis in medicine today... Corruption traps millions of people in poverty, perpetuates the existing inequalities in income and health, drains the available resources undermines people’s access to healthcare, increases the costs of patient care and, by setting up a vicious cycle, contributes to ill health and suffering." - Subrata Chattopadhyay

This webinar discusses the challenges facing healthcare professionals and what can be done practically to combat injustices in medicine.


After postgraduate training, Andrew worked in a new medical school in Nigeria, establishing new management regimens and collaborative research on the interaction of infection and nutrition in children. After research training in nutrition at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Andrew worked in the MRC units in Malumfashi, Nigeria and the Gambia. Subsequently his research team established a range of applied research and training projects in resource poor countries, based at the Centre for International Child Health (now the Institute for Global Health) UCL London. Andrew has assisted UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank & national governments in the development of their child health and nutrition programmes. Andrew worked with Tearfund UK and overseas partners to develop church-based programmes for prevention, treatment & care of disease. He is now “retired” but does not know how to do it and is presently supporting programmes in northern Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Sudan & Zambia.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To listen live to future ICMDA webinars visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icmda.net/resources/webinars/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Recorded on 22 October 2020 for ICMDA Webinars.

Dr Peter Saunders chairs a webinar with Dr Katherine Welch

This webinar discusses how medical professionals can use their expertise to help lift people out of slavery and into a thriving life.

Katherine Welch, MD, an American physician, has been serving oppressed, trafficked, and exploited people since 2000. Her journey started at a mission hospital on the Thailand-Myanmar border where she first encountered human trafficking through her patients and other colleagues in Thailand. Since then she has worked with the marginalized and oppressed to fight slavery and other injustices in over 20 countries.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To listen live to future ICMDA webinars visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icmda.net/resources/webinars/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Recorded on 29 October 2020 for ICMDA Webinars.

Dr Peter Saunders chairs a webinar with Dr Vineeth Jaison


Hear how medical professionals respond to the challenges of COVID and how we can adjust our practices using technology accordingly.




Dr. Vineeth Jaison is currently working as Associate Professor in Neurology at Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, India. He did his undergraduate, post graduate and Neurology training in CMC, Ludhiana. He grew up in a family of missionary doctors and would often visit his maternal uncle Laji Verghese who was Surgeon at Lady Willingdon hospital in Manali, Himachal Pradesh. He spent two years after graduation in a mission hospital at Robertsganj in Uttar Pradesh. Where he took care of Pediatrics and General Medicine while helping his wife Dr. Preethi Paul manage Obs and Gyne. Doing Ultrasounds for Obstetrics was a part of his routine work. He also spent three months managing the eye OPD with over 100 patients a day.

Often during that time he would consult his seniors for difficult cases in the clinic or admitted in the ward. He also observed the immense capacity for well trained nurses to manage repetitive yet high skilled tasks.

During his DM Neurology training he set up a Physician assistant programme for task shifting highly skilled yet repetitive procedures to address the shortage of doctors. He has worked closely with Dr. Jeyaraj Pandian current Vice President of World Stroke Organisation and has developed a keen interest in Public health.

These laid the foundation for him to see the value in telemedicine now as qualified Neurologist.

Recently he along with his colleagues initiated and implemented an institutional telemedicine programme with over 70 consultants and 30 specialties, which has been a blessing for patients during COVID.


⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To listen live to future ICMDA webinars visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icmda.net/resources/webinars/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Recorded on 5 November 2020 for ICMDA Webinars.

Dr Peter Saunders chairs a webinar with Dr Keir Thelander


Hear the inspiring story of PAACS - an organisation that trains and disciples African surgeons to glorify God and provide excellent care to those most in need.

Keir Thelander attended Indiana University School of Medicine and completed his general surgery residency at Fairview Hospital in Cleveland, OH, in 2004. After working as a General Surgeon in Cleveland, Keir was led to train and disciple African doctors to become surgeons. Keir’s young family of 4 moved to Bongolo Hospital in Gabon. For 8 years Keir served as the Program Director of the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) surgical residency program as well as the medical director of this 150 bed facility. Recently Dr Thelander has been Team Leader for the over 20 ex-patriots living in Bongolo, while he also worked as the West/Central Africa Director for PAACS. Presently, Keir is the Executive Vice President of PAACS. In this role he oversees their 15 training programs across Africa. Keir’s passions are helping doctors and all people to thrive no matter the circumstances as well as surgical education in cross-cultural contexts.

⁠⁠⁠⁠To listen live to future ICMDA webinars visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icmda.net/resources/webinars/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Recorded on 12 November 2020 for ICMDA Webinars.

Dr Peter Saunders chairs a webinar with Dr James Paul


Contemporary sociologists argue that the way we see the world is socially created within cultures. “Girls wear pink and boys wear blue,” for example, is not a universal law but something created within twentieth-century Western culture through discourse around what it means to be male and female.

If reality is socially created, then it can be recreated. But is this true of all of reality?Can gender, religion, morality, and even our own humanness be shaped and reshaped as we choose?


Dr James Paul is director of the English branch of L’Abri Fellowship and before that he practised as a doctor in London, specialising in hospice care for the terminally ill. Many of the questions raised in his recent book What on Earth Is Heaven? are ones that people have asked him in these settings. He has been a speaker at Word Alive and European Leadership Forum, and regularly addresses university Christian Unions and the Christian Medical Fellowship students' conference, as well as speaking at L'Abri conferences globally.

⁠⁠⁠To listen live to future ICMDA webinars visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icmda.net/resources/webinars/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠