Operation Smile Reviews

- In the last year alone, 13 out of roughly 30 people from the international programs department have quit. Only 4 out of these 13 people left with jobs or alternative plans. Furthermore, though we are requested to stay for two years, five out of the nine people that I started with have quit before their two years are up. This goes to show how much dislike and distrust those who are on the ground the most have for this organization. - Though there are numerous reasons to leave, the majority of those who quit seem to blame upper management for their desire to get out. The complete lack of communication between those running the organization and the absence of quality strategic planning means that the International Programs Department, specifically program coordinators, are forced to clean up upper management's messes - sometimes with solutions of questionable legal standing. For instance, thanks to poor planning, on numerous occasions, program coordinators have been requested to hand carry medical items with them on international flights. This is technically against our policies and there have been instances where the person making the request will send an email stating that we are not allowed to hand-carry the items while, immediately after, telling us in person that we have to or the program won’t happen (ie. Saving their own butts in writing just in case something bad happens). In some instances, I have even seen the organization change the stated price of hand carried items in order to reduce or eliminate import taxes - actions that carry the risk of imprisonment abroad for the person carrying the items. When asked about this, I have been told by higher level staff that it is the program coordinators job to say “no” if they are uncomfortable. At the same time, my immediate manager has informed me that I should try not to get cast as the “no” person in the office. What gives? Do we say something when we think it is wrong or do we hold it in so as not to be ostracized. - Looking to grow in the organization? Unless your last name is Magee or you are willing to spend several years kissing up to someone in the Magee family, don’t bother! Like a communist organization, growth at Operation Smile is contingent on your standing in the ruling party and your ability to follow without dissent. Have suggestions for making the organization better? Better to hold it in or you might just find yourself out of a job or almost certainly out of consideration for promotion. - Think you’re joining an organization with their morals in check? Think again. Before this job, I had a generally positive outlook on marriage and family. After watching volunteers cheat on their spouses with other volunteers, prostitutes (help the kids AND the international sex trade woohoo!), and others for the last two years, my outlook has soured. Despite media attention about this matter, Operation Smile has done nothing to curb these actions from taking place. - But at the end of the day you’re making a positive impact and changing lives, right? Maybe. Maybe not. It’s easy to look at the before and after photos and determine that Operation Smile is making a positive impact. Get into the nitty gritty, though, and you might not like what you see. For all the rhetoric surrounding safe surgery, our quality assurance is truly abysmal and lacks teeth to actually make changes when they come across problems (and they come across plenty of problems). Furthermore, a greater focus on research and churning out research papers has reduced our focus on patient-centered care. This is especially true when you consider that the IRB approvals for this research, if they are acquired at all, tend to be acquired in sketchy roundabout ways from within the local country. When research, marketing, and the money that comes along with it starts driving our programs, you know you have a problem.

There have already been so many reviews that cover this information, but it's worth stating again. It’s apparent that so many of the issues we face are a result of an egocentric founder that has created an atmosphere where self-centered people believe that their work justifies unethical behavior. Its hard to believe that people that work for such an important cause can be arrogant narcissists. - Upper management overworks their employees and then uses that to “look good” in front of the founder and CEO. They push young, passionate employees until they are burnt out then move on to the next batch. It's a continuous cycle, and the high turn over rates doesn't matter to them because there are always new passionate, idealistic individuals who want to make a difference in the world but don't realize what they need to sacrifice to do it. - There have been many times where leadership has made mistakes, costing the organization hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, no one gets reprimanded, and the behavior continues. No successful organization runs this way. - The only way to advance in the organization is to kiss up to a Magee. One day new leadership will take over. But I can tell you one thing if their last name is Magee than they will have the same narcissistic attitude. - I personally have witnessed bribery of international officials in other countries. - There is regularly mistreatment of patient information such as carrying patient information out of countries that prohibit it. - Other employees hand carry items that should only be shipped, and leadership tells them to show pictures of the kids we help to pass through customs. - One last important aspect of the organization is their unethical treatment of donor money. There are frequent happy hours which include kegs, wine, and food, despite a financial crisis which has cost people their jobs. One way they make their numbers look so much better is calculating surgeons, anesthesiologist, and nurses volunteer time as a “gift in kind.” Thus it gets a dollar amount associated with it. No other organization does this. In fact its the reason you won't find Operation Smile listed on sites like charity navigator. Also spending millions of dollars on producing a television segment for raising donations and then classifying it as a programmatic expense since it is “educational.” Then why was it produced by the fundraising department and not the education department? Because just like many things in the organization, it is a smokescreen to cover the real motivation. There is a saying that if someone is nice to you but rude to their waiter, they are not a nice person. Well, it doesn’t matter how many times a person tears up talking about their cause to a donor. Look at how they treat people. The Magee family only treats people well if you have something to give them.