BackgroundThe motivation to volunteer on a medical service trip (MST) may involve more than a simple desire for philanthropy. Some volunteers may be motivated by an intrinsic interest in volunteering in which the context of the volunteer activity is less important. Others may volunteer because the context of their volunteering is more important than their intrinsic interest in volunteering. Furthermore, MSTs may pose a variety of ethical problems that volunteers should consider prior to engaging in a trip. This study evaluated the motivations and barriers for graduate health care students volunteering for an MST to either the Dominican Republic or Mississippi. Volunteers’ understanding of some of the ethical issues associated with MSTs was also assessed.MethodsThirty-five graduate health professions students who volunteered on an MST were asked to complete an online survey. Students’ motivations and barriers for volunteering were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale and Fisher’s exact test. Ethical understanding of issues in volunteering was assessed using thematic analysis.ResultsStudents’ motivations for volunteering appeared to be related to the medical context of their service more than an inherent desire for volunteer work. Significant differences were seen in motivations and barriers for some student groups, especially those whose volunteer work had less opportunity for clinical service. Thematic analysis revealed two major themes and suggested that students had an empirical understanding that volunteer work could have both positive and negative effects.ConclusionsAn understanding of students’ motivations for volunteering on an MST may allow faculty to design trips with activities that effectively address student motivations. Although students had a basic understanding of some of the ethical issues involved, they had not considered the impact of a service group on the in-country partners they work with.

CsH 2 PO 4 has garnered interest as a protonconducting electrolyte due to its exceptional conductivity at intermediate temperatures (228−300 °C) at which it adopts a cubic structure with a high degree of disorder. Here, through a study of mixtures of CsH 2 PO 4 (CDP) and CsH 5 (PO 4 ) 2 , the cubic phase was discovered to form solid solutions of composition [Cs 1−x H x ]H 2 PO 4 , with x extending to at least 2/9. A phase diagram of the composition space (1−x)CsH 2 PO 4 − xH 3 PO 4 , 0 ≤ x ≤ 2/9 was developed through thermal analysis, high-temperature in situ X-ray diffraction experiments, and variable-temperature NMR spectroscopy. At temperatures above about 90 °C, monoclinic, stoichiometric CDP exists in equilibrium with Cs 7 (H 4 PO 4 )-(H 2 PO 4 ) 8 . These two phases displayed eutectoid behavior, with a eutectoid reaction temperature and composition of 155 °C and x = 0.18, respectively, to form cubic [Cs 1−x H x ]H 2 PO 4 . The structural studies revealed, rather remarkably, that the cubic phase accommodates vacancies on the cation site that are charge-balanced by excess protons, where the latter are chemically associated with phosphate groups. The conductivities of cubic phases of various compositions, measured by impedance spectroscopy, are comparable to that of CDP. The excellent proton conductivities of off-stoichiometric, cubic [Cs 1−x H x ]H 2 PO 4 at temperatures well below the superprotonic transition of stoichiometric CDP present the opportunity to extend the low-temperature operating limit of CDP-based devices. More generally, the off-stoichiometric phase behavior demonstrated here introduces a new approach for the modification of superprotonic solid acid compounds.

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