ND grad learns value of his `little hands' outside the U.S.
By ALLY JAY
News Writer
Deciding on what one wishes to do as a doctor is a lot like choosing a major in college. At first the amount of choices can seem overwhelming for students considering a future in the medical field.
Dr. Peter Meade, a '74 Notre Dame graduate, explained last night how he reached his decision to best use his M.D by asking the question, "How can my little hands make the most difference?"
He said, "If you're aiming to make money, you're aiming too low."
For Meade, this question led him to become a physician at the Dr. Martin Luther King Hospital, located in the inner-city projects of Los Angeles. Meade said his experience in the community influenced his involvement with Doctors without Borders, an international medical relief organization founded in 1971 by French physicians.
Meade spoke to a packed Notre Dame Room in Lafortune Student Center about working in Sri Lanka and Argentina helping heal individuals with injuries from land mine accidents and those received by civilians and soldiers fighting in war zones.
"As a pre-med I was interested in what he had to say as a doctor who had graduated from Notre Dame. I found his talk very informative and inspirational," said junior Jeanine Ollark.
While showing slides of his experiences around the world, Meade talked extensively on his experiences in hopes of raising awareness on international health issues.
Meade focused on the continuing destruction that land mines cause in maiming and killing civilians and how doctors and medical support can play crucial roles in alleviating damage done in the community. Meade used one slide showing a weathered statue with no arms to draw attention to how helping others is more important than seeking fame.
"A lot of us want to be famous and have statues commemorating us. But the birds know what to do with statues," said Meade. "For me effort should be put into daily interactions with people we work with. That's what's worthwhile, and that's how we'll be remembered."
All News Stories for Tuesday, January 30, 2001
