You're now developing an excellent understanding of global health issues, and it's time to go. But what do you bring? How do you keep yourself safe and well to do the job you need to do? Dr. Tracy Cushing is here to tell you. She graduated medical school at New York University and completed a Masters of Public Health at Harvard. She's the Fellowship Director for Wilderness and Environmental Medicine at the University of Colorado and Denver Health and serves on the Regional Disaster Medical Assistance DMAT Team deployed within the United States for medical crises. She'll outline simple things to consider and to carry with you when you're travelling and working outside of your home country, common sense tools to make you the optimal global health responder. >> Hi, my name is Tracy Cushing. I'm the Emergency Medicine Physician at the University of Colorado. And I'm going to talk to you today about packing a go bag or a ready bag for any global health responder. This is the size of the backpack that I use as a emergency medical responder, packing for approximately 72 hours of whatever I might need wherever I'm going, all designed to fit in here. So the number one, most important thing involves your personal identification and your electronics. So I typically pack a charger for every device that have, headphones as well and a plastic case for my iPad, as well as a international charger with different adapters, so that anywhere you're going, you'll be able to use the power source. I bring a waterproof case for my cell phone. And then, I have a small pouch with all of my identification, including my ID badge as a physician, my travel credit card, copy of my driver's license, my military ID tags. I usually also, in here, have my passport and a copy of my passport as well. In addition, any other official licensure or certifications that you have, worth bringing a copy of that as well. So, second most important thing, where you are going, you will have to have water to drink, and you may need to purify your own water. So depending on where you go and how much water you have to purify, will depend on what your choices are. So, in my pack I have, I carry two three liter Camelbak reservoirs and one of the following. So this is ubiquitously available. It's a chlorine water purification. They also make iodine. It's pretty cheap. It does affect the taste of your water. Some folks don't like that, but it will kill virtually anything if you let it sit in your water for about a half an hour. This is a water filter, usually designed to pump sort of a liter at a time, one end in there. And it's hand pumped, so it works quite well unless you have to pump large volumes of water for many people. It gets a bit tiring. And some of the filters don't filter out very tiny viruses. And if the water is quite dirty, it can clog your filter. So if you do rely on a filter, make sure you bring a spare filter if you're going to be overseas for a long time. Finally, this device is called a SteriPEN. And it's an ultraviolet light water pure, purification pen. That basically you plop into a liter, press the button, and when the light goes off, the water's been purified. Unless the water is very dirty, this works pretty well. It has both batteries and they, they make a solar charging model. So make sure to bring extra batteries and a solar charger for that, if that's your choice for water purification. So next we're going to talk about food. Food is pretty important, particularly if you have any dietary restrictions. You might want to think about bringing plenty of things for you to eat, in case whatever they're serving doesn't meet with your needs. So, I carry two gallon size zip-lock bags, that have about a week's worth of food in them for me, including goo energy gels. So find some that you like, that you know won't upset your stomach, and that's a great way to get calories in small packages. Powdered drink mix, as well, especially if the water is kind of yucky after you treat it, you might want to flavor it a little bit. Meals that don't require anything besides hot water. So, Ramen, a college favorite, and then, I bring, basically, freeze dried, vegan meals, because I'm a vegan, and it's pretty hard to find vegan food around the world. Peanut butter packets are a great way to bring high-fat, high-protein food in small packets. And then, if you are a coffee or tea drinker, you definitely might want to bring some instant coffee, or whatever your coffee of choice is, so that you don't get withdrawal headaches, if there's no coffee. Then, your personal kind of safety gear, things that everyone should have. So of vital importance, a head lamp, head lamp that works, preferably, and one with extra batteries as well. A multi-tool or knife, a lighter, and I also bring waterproof matches, something to start fire. A sharpie can come in handy if you have nothing else to write with. [SOUND] Duct tape and a pen combined, but you can get a pretty big roll of duct tape around a pen, pretty important. I also carry a bottle opener and another knife. [SOUND] [COUGH] A rain poncho can be used actually for lots of things, as emergency shelter. And then plastic gloves or personal protective equipment, if you need to touch anything that might be dirty, it's good to have a pair of gloves on hand. Finally I also bring a little notebook to hand write things in as well. Next, I'm going to talk about toiletries and personal care kits. I have one small kit that belongs in my carry-on bag, and then another larger kit that I take in my backpack. And in those kits I have a pack towel that is quick drying that fits down to this size. They're very small. I have bug spray, particularly if I'm going anywhere tropical, toilet paper, baby wipes. I have two different sizes, large and small. Laundry detergent, eventually to wash your clothes. Body soap, preferably biodegradable. Hand sanitizer, I carry two, a small and a large. And plenty of sunscreen as well as chapstick with sunblock in it. Travel toothbrush, toothpaste, and ear plugs because you'll most likely be sharing sleeping quarters, potentially with noisy neighbors. Finally, medications that you take for any personal reasons. I personally have a nut allergy so my EpiPen is in there. I have asthma so my inhaler is in there. And then I bring a supply of over-the-counter medications, inclu, including acetaminophen, ibuprofen, vitamins, meds for upset stomach, like Pepto Bismol, or diarrhea medications, or anything that you might need for personal use, as far as over-the-counter medications. And then in the bigger kit, includes things like deodorant, razor, shaving cream, shampoo, and conditioner. [SOUND] And then finally, clothing. So, this is about two weeks worth of clothing for a, an emergency medical responder, which means I'd be wearing scrubs most of the time. But these are basically dry bags made by a company called Sea to Summit that you can pack down really, really tight. And they are terrific, so I highly recommend investing in a couple of them. And in here basically, I have things for cold weather, extra socks, hat, gloves. I have things for warm weather including a bathing suit to shower in, because you may be sharing co-ed showers. And you may not have a place to shower so, it can be pretty important. Scrubs to work in, really basically just comfy clothing, underwear, socks. Head to toe rain gear, so a jacket and pants. And then, sandal type shoes to wear in the shower if it's hot, but with a covered toe to make sure you don't get injured. Boots for walking around in muddy or mucky conditions, and then tennis shoes for comfort. So that wraps up the most important items that we feel you should have to be comfortable, safe, and healthy on your mission. We've provided you with a reference checklist that you can refer to later on down the road in case you forget anything. And with that in hand, you should be very well prepared for your next mission.
