On October 31, 2022, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) published an issue brief claiming pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) use various “tactics” such as “misleading information” and “emotional manipulation” to dissuade pregnant women from seeking life-affirming help.
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“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, NIV).
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“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27a, NKJV).
Read MoreIn the third installment of this series, we examine the connection between the sexual revolution and the formation of sexual predators, the social harm of pornography and why children are its biggest victims.
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“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14, NKJV).
Read MoreI have a dear Christian friend of whom I have finally had to say, “This is as good as it gets,” and leave him in the Lord’s hands.
Read MoreFor more than 80 years, we have pursued one goal—to transform the lives of healthcare professionals so they can transform the world. Through more than 40 programs including campus and community ministries, medical missions, public policy and much more, CMDA continues to be a driving force in healthcare—enriching hundreds of thousands of lives each year.
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“Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man” (Mark 1:41a, BSB).
Read MoreWho we are and what we do. The CMDA Center for Well-being helps Christian healthcare professionals align with God, optimize well-being and maximize influence.
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The Christmas season is upon us! I love the smells, the lights and the traditions. One tradition we have in our family is to not put any Christmas gifts under the tree until after the kids go to bed on Christmas Eve. It is a tradition born out of practicality: we had curious toddlers in our house for more than 10 years. But even now, when our youngest is 11, we still keep all the gifts safely tucked away until late Christmas Eve. It is so much fun to see the surprise on their sleepy faces Christmas morning!
Read MoreOne of the most beloved Christmas symbols, the Star of Bethlehem has historic connections appreciated by few. This is a review and comparison of the newest theories.
Read MoreBristol, Tenn.—November 29, 2022—Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), which is the nation’s largest faith-based professional healthcare association, today is celebrating a final victory in its federal court case to protect the religious beliefs of healthcare professionals from being forced to perform gender-transition procedures or abortions against their conscience and best medical judgment.
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It will come as no surprise that the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently released a special issue filled with articles and opinions arguing for the absolute necessity of access to legal abortion. One opinion that caught my attention was entitled “Implications of the Dobbs Decision for Medical Education Inadequate Training and Moral Distress.” CMDA recently publicly released a new position statement on moral distress, so I was naturally intrigued. Were the authors of this opinion piece actually going to make the argument that the lack of access to elective abortion, a procedure that has been considered immoral for thousands of years, will cause moral distress among upcoming students and residents? Exactly.
Read MoreLet me introduce you to Aidah. She worked in our home (our “inside worker”) during the eight months our family lived in Kenya in 2003/2004. Don and I worked at Tenwek Mission Hospital as family physicians, and our three children attended elementary and middle school at nearby Rift Valley Academy. She helped me buy food and cook it, and she kept our house clean. Aidah was our backbone. She was a rock.
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“Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13:11, NIV).
Read MoreThere is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Read MoreIs life starting to feel normal again for you? By normal, I guess I mean pre-2020. Is life starting to feel the way it did before COVID and political intensity stretched us further as a society than we might have thought possible just two and a half years ago?
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I honestly don’t know what the word “old” means anymore. When we measure our days against the eternity that is ours, we are all spring chickens.
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In the Winter 2022 edition of CMDA Today, Building a Foundation to Recovery by David Holmes, MD, Healing from the Violence of Busyness by Emmy Yang, MD, MTS, Your Body Will Be Whole, by
Kathryn Butler, MD, Losing Our Language to Bureaucratic Jargon by John Patrick, MD; and more!
As the trappings of the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons emerge around us in North America, things look and feel quite different for our colleagues serving around the world. For cross-cultural missionaries serving far from home, this time of year is complicated.
Read MoreWhen a medical code alert went off, my team took the stairs and not the elevators to save us precious seconds in the resuscitation. A “good” intern, I learned, gets their notes done as soon as possible.
Read MoreDuring my surgical training, I helped care for an aging professor who bemoaned his declining health. His mind still moved in academic circles, pondering the high points of chemistry and physics, but arthritis had so fused the bones in his neck that he couldn’t nestle into a pillow anymore.
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As those called to the healing profession, we have all lived and practiced through old and unprecedented new challenges in our careers. We can all agree the last few years have surely been unlike any we have ever experienced before in our lives.
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I make a mean lasagna. Always have. It’s my mom’s recipe and it has never let me down. (Don’t worry. I’ll share it with you in a minute.) So, naturally, when I think of taking food over to someone’s house, I think of lasagna. It’s easy, portable, reheats well, and lasts for days. This is especially helpful if the person is sick, or in this case, recovering from surgery.
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“Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her; ‘Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all’” (Proverbs 31:28-29, NIV).
Read MoreOrgan transplantation has saved countless lives, increasing the demand for unpaired solid organs. As a result, the protocols for organ procurement continue to change to include more patients as “dead.”
Read MoreIn this installment, we consider myths concerning marriage, sexual “repression” and the impact of the sexual revolution for women.
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The purpose of the specialty section for dental hygienists is to provide a community for Christian dental hygienists. The mission is to engage in continuing education, provide volunteer care through CMDA endeavors, and support and encourage each other spiritually and emotionally as we provide care to our patients.
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“In the last days, God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams’” (Acts 2:17, NIV).
Read MoreAs James 4:17 says, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (NKJV).
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“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6, ESV).
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Medical life takes grit. We wrap our minds around MCAT scores, acceptance letters, residency placements and job contracts, knowing it’s not easy. There’s risk in leaving a paying job and moving across the country. And it’s scary. Will you land on your feet? Will you live on this budget? Will you make friends? Regardless, we have hope. We see the endpoint, or the little milestones on the way—the white coat ceremony, the match and the job signing.
Read MoreI recently had the pleasure of hosting a medical student in my home for a (mediocre) waffle breakfast (my sub-par cooking, not hers). She was a completing a sub-internship locally, and it was a joy to hear how her faith in Christ had inspired her to practice in resource-poor settings. I listened with a grin on my face as she described her heart for the downtrodden and afflicted, the mentors whose compassion inspired her and how she saw the Lord at work daily in her chosen specialty.
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“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:9-10, NIV).
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If you are among the majority of Americans without a will or trust, chances are good that at least one of two “costs” have gotten in the way: time and money.
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If you are among the majority of Americans without a will or trust, chances are good that at least one of two “costs” have gotten in the way: time and money.
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If you are among the majority of Americans without a will or trust, chances are good that at least one of two “costs” have gotten in the way: time and money.
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If you are among the majority of Americans without a will or trust, chances are good that at least one of two “costs” have gotten in the way: time and money.
Read More“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2, NIV).
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The first time I ever heard of a lobotomy was in the early 1980s. I was a medical student, but I didn’t learn about it in class. Instead, I was in a darkened room with a bunch of other family members, watching a family home movie filmed 30 years earlier. The scene was some kind of a garden party, and in the midst of the lively antics of my parents, their siblings and my great-aunts and great-uncles, there was a late middle-aged woman who just…stood there. Eventually someone took her arm and led her to a chair where she just…sat there. Completely still, no facial expression, no interaction with anyone else.
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The past 10 years have seen an exponential rise in the occurrence of gender confusion or gender dysphoria (also called transgender or gender non-conforming)* among young people worldwide, especially among teenage girls.
Read MoreComing out of the darkest days of COVID, I entered 2022 feeling bludgeoned by the experience I had just endured, both in medical practice and in society around me. I felt emotionally broke, overwhelmed and lost, to use some of Ms. Morrissette’s words. I was drowning in negative emotions and feeling psychologically depleted. My natural response was to grit my teeth and force myself to keep going. To get through each shift by ignoring my feelings and retreating into my knowledge.
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Behind the smile I was shouting, “Oh goodness mercy of course!” I have been the new girl showing up at the team meeting, the book club, the Bible study far, far more often than I have been the one standing with friends. It can be excruciatingly hard. It can also be invigorating.
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“In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith, with which you will extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16, NIV).
Read MoreSent home, shut in isolation, studying in our bedrooms, trying to survive our first year of medical school, and we weren’t even at school! When the four of us entered medical school in the Detroit, Michigan area in fall of 2020, it certainly trumped any expectations we had.
Read MoreSent home, shut in isolation, studying in our bedrooms, trying to survive our first year of medical school, and we weren’t even at school! When the four of us entered medical school in the Detroit, Michigan area in fall of 2020, it certainly trumped any expectations we had.
Read MoreAs a Christian who’s been practicing periodontics for 29 years, I’ve had numerous opportunities to share my faith and pray with my patients. A number of my patients have expressed their appreciation for having a fellow Christian responsible for their care.
Read MoreTry as we may, adversity is unavoidable. Often unexpected, hardship comes into our lives in a variety of forms and levels—a cancer diagnosis, a harsh public criticism, a mistake or accident with a detrimental outcome, an economic downturn or even a pandemic or natural disaster.
Read MoreIn June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court finally corrected the debacle of the Roe v. Wade decision, ending 49 years of federal judicial fiat allowing legal abortion in all 50 states.
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My freshman year of college brought a multitude of surprises. Certainly, there was the increased study load and the idea that I alone had to manage myself, my time and my schedule, yet the biggest surprise I experienced was when the God of the universe radically changed my life and the trajectory of my future.
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In the Fall 2022 edition of CMDA Today, mentoring- contributing to the success of the next generation, the landmark Dobbs case decision, organizational diversity, being on the receiving end of prayer in healthcare, staying connected during school isolation; and more!
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“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15, NIV).
Read MoreBristol, Tenn.—August 29, 2022—The 13,000-member Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), which is the nation’s largest faith-based professional healthcare association, today praised the unanimous ruling from a federal appeals court in Texas that protects the religious beliefs of healthcare professionals from being forced to perform gender-transition procedures or abortions against their conscience and best medical judgment.
Read MoreBristol, Tenn.—August 24, 2022—The 13,000-member Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), which is the nation’s largest faith-based professional healthcare association, today praised the preliminary injunction from a federal court in Texas that protects the religious beliefs of healthcare professionals from being forced to perform abortions.
Read MoreThe BBC broke a story July 28 headlined, “NHS to close Tavistock child gender identity clinic.” Following the Cass Interim Review determination that the current model of care “is not a safe or viable long-term option,” Britain’s National Health Service announced that their Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), the world’s largest pediatric gender clinic, is to close by spring 2023. It is to be replaced with centers in London and North West with increased emphasis on mental healthcare and relevant general practitioner services. Also noted was that the UK’s 20-fold increase in referrals over the last decade (250 then and 5,000 in 2021) had overwhelmed the capacity of the service.
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“‘Then neither do I condemn you’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin’” (John 8:11b, NIV).
I had managed his lymphoma for a few years. The task had been difficult due to his drug problem affecting his compliance—I almost lost him twice, but he is in good shape now.
Read MoreAll battles over human sexuality spanning the last 50 years in the Western world can reasonably be parked under the umbrella of the sexual revolution. Its foundational principles are assumed dogma throughout the educational and entertainment establishment, serve as battle cries for politicians and activists and have infiltrated much of the professing Christian community. However, the sexual revolution has been an unmitigated disaster for individuals and society, and it is built upon a foundation of lies.
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In the midst of often baffling and perplexing policies and mandates coming out of our nation’s capital, this post outlines good news for current and future members of CMDA. With conscience freedoms increasingly at risk from government infringement, we want to emphasize a recent victory in court. This victory affords you crucial protections of your conscience freedoms as a healthcare professional allowing you to practice from your sincerely held beliefs.
Read MoreAs a young man, I struggled some, wondering what my true calling in life was. At age 18, after months of prayer, I felt the Lord was calling me to life as a physician. Later, in medical school, the multiple options for work within medicine fascinated and, at times, bewildered me. They say the average undergrad student changes their major five or six times. I don’t know what the number is for medical students, but I know I seriously considered multiple options before I finally settled on neurology as a career choice, and later God also led me into working in palliative medicine, healthcare leadership and medical ethics.
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While it is never possible to accurately paint a picture of the future, especially the future of the complex culture of healthcare, what is happening in Canada should alarm every healthcare professional in the United States who desires to practice medicine according to a Judeo-Christian ethic.
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“Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:22-23, NIV).
Read MoreOn August 4, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to the Federal Registry to modify Section 1557, the “Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities Clause” of the Affordable Care Act.
Read MoreDuring my surgical training, I helped care for an aging professor who bemoaned his declining health. His mind still moved in academic circles, pondering the high points of chemistry and physics, but arthritis had so fused the bones in his neck that he couldn’t nestle into a pillow anymore. Cancer riddled his chest, and squandered nutrients, until his frame wasted to skeletal proportions. The simple routine of enjoying a meal pitched him into coughing, and pneumonia festered from the secretions that pooled in his lungs.
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I don’t drag out my MD for just any occasion. Typically, I keep it tucked away. But today I thought I would speak (indirectly) to residents, especially first-year residents or interns, so it seemed appropriate. Perhaps you ladies, who are reading this article, will pass along my remarks to the young physicians in your lives.
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“Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:22-23, NIV).
Read MoreA program designed to serve domestic and international healthcare missionaries in their work as well as aid in the recruitment and retention of career medical missionaries. CMM also assists students with scholarships and overseas rotations.
Read MoreBristol, Tenn.—August 1, 2022—The 16,000-member Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), which is the nation’s largest faith-based professional healthcare association, today announced its disapproval of the disastrous move by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to further alter Section 1557 and redefine sex discrimination so broadly that it threatens the ability of members to practice medicine according to solid medical evidence as well as their faith principles.
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“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35, ESV).
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Today I am a pharmacist. Well, not really. I’m still a physician, but this week in the Dominican Republic on a Global Health Outreach (GHO) trip, I am serving as a pharmacist. The incredibly dedicated pharmacist who has served on this team for years is at home with COVID-19, and I am attempting to fill his shoes. And as I look around the pharmacy, I see a beautiful picture. While we don’t quite represent every tribe and tongue, we are a varied group, to be sure. There is a woman here from Georgia who is originally from Colombia, a woman here from Ohio who is originally from Indonesia and a multitude of Dominicans and Americans. When I look outside the pharmacy door at the rest of our 75+ team members, we represent at least 10 U.S. states and at least five countries of origin. We include physicians, dentists, nurses, students, optometrists, teachers, pastors and homeschooling moms. We span ages from 10 to 70. We have people triaging and organizing patients, taking vitals, pulling teeth, prescribing medications, performing ultrasounds, filling prescriptions, dancing, singing, making balloon animals and sharing the gospel. We speak English, Spanish, Indonesian and Tagolog. We are funded by people and churches who paid our way or bought medications, and we are even funded by airlines that waived baggage fees to allow the many bags of equipment to travel here. We are supported in prayer by hundreds of people across at least two countries. As a group, we exemplify the beauty of the body of Christ.
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“Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25, ESV).
Read MoreThe June 28, 2022 piece by Rita Rubin in the Medical News & Perspectives section of JAMA, “How Abortion Bans Could Affect Care for Miscarriage and Infertility,” presents a one-sided narrow view of the potential impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on women’s reproductive care, specifically the management of miscarriages and advanced reproductive technologies.
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“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself…” (Matthew 6:34, NIV).
Read MoreChristian Medical & Dental Associations® educates, encourages, and equips Christian healthcare professionals to glorify God. Christian healthcare professionals glorify God by following Christ, serving with excellence and compassion, caring for all people, and advancing Biblical principles of healthcare within the Church and throughout the world.
Read MoreWe were doing a residency rotation in Florida when the triplets were four. One dreary overcast Saturday we were enjoying family time even though Wade was on call. We didn’t understand that in Florida rain can turn to sun in less than a minute. That day it did just that. And three four-year-olds began to wail. I couldn’t understand why the sun was making them cry. As I attempted to console them, I was asking why they were sobbing: “Daddy will have to go to work now.”
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Sometimes, we need a “right now” word. Sometimes, this is referred to as a “rhema word” or “God’s Word spoken to you.”
Read More“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV).
Read MoreBristol, Tenn.—June 24, 2022— The 16,000-member Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), which is the nation’s largest faith-based professional healthcare association, today praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case that strikes down the precedents set in both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, effectively ending the constitutional right to abortion in the United States.
Read MoreSupporters of gender-affirming therapy (GAT)—transition affirmation—are doubling down on claims that regret and detransition are rare. From state-level bills in my home state of California to national policy initiatives from the federal administration, the assertion that transitioning for gender dysphoria is all but regret free is used as a promotional tool for the proposed mandating of GAT essentially on request. However, the sales pitch does not hold up to inspection.
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If you are among the majority of Americans without a will or trust, chances are good that at least one of two “costs” have gotten in the way: time and money.
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Through good planning, you can amplify all the goodness of your life and the core values by which you’ve lived.
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Did you know there are smart and powerful ways to increase the impact of your giving—often while benefiting your family, too?
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Your completed estate plan ensures the legacy you envision is carried out for generations to come.
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“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20, NIV).
Read MoreThe resources we provide are specifically designed to equip you to integrate your faith into your practice.
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The core of CMDA’s ministry happens in local communities where healthcare professionals, residents and students live out the character of Christ. Just like it says in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Read MoreCMDA’s Advocacy Department is focused on serving as your voice to the government, media and public on bioethical and public policy issues. Much of the grassroots advocacy efforts we take on both federal and state levels depend on your individual involvement.
Read MoreBristol, Tenn.—June 16, 2022— The 16,000-member Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), which is the nation’s largest faith-based professional healthcare association, today protested President Biden’s newly announced Executive Order Advancing LGBTQI+ Equality because of its support for gender-affirming care and therapy bans, which completely disregards the full body of medical research and puts already at-risk youth at even greater risk.
Read MoreThat scriptural challenge is a driving factor for the work we do in advocacy here at CMDA. As one of the core aspects of CMDA’s ministry efforts, we are dedicated to serving as a Christian healthcare voice in the public, to the media and to the government. And we do that through our grassroots advocacy efforts on both state and federal levels.
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This scholarship if for currently enrolled female medical and dental students are given priority. Consideration is given to female medical and dental residents as well as medical and dental fellows who have financial need.
Read MoreThe core of CMDA’s ministry happens in local communities where healthcare professionals, residents and students live out the character of Christ. Just like it says in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Read MoreOver the years, countless healthcare professionals have shared touching stories of mentors who encouraged and inspired them at early stages of their training. Such accounts motivate us to “pay it forward” and serve in that role for the next generation.
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