Med School Finale Past Review

This past April I participated in the CFHI Maternal and Child Health program in Pune, India. The experience from the day I was accepted into the program until the day I returned from India was wonderful. CFHI kept in contact with me throughout the many months before the program began. I received program information via mail and email, and felt very comfortable heading out to Pune. I was the only person in the program during the month that I was over in India, but the program directors in Pune and in the States made sure that I was doing well throughout the entire trip. I felt very supported during my time over there. Each morning I met with the program director to discuss either the rotation I'd be going to or some interesting cultural information about India. The rotation was set up so that each week I worked with a different obstetrician or pediatrician in both hospital and outpatient settings. Every morning I would go to the clinic and observe the physician during their normal day of clinic or hospital rounds. During my obstetrician rotations I was able to assist in a few surgeries and deliveries. I saw how different the hospital facilities were from ours in the states. The open aired buildings and women and men's wards that were crowed with people contrasted with the hospitals that I've worked in during my medical school training. The pediatricians' offices were also always busy with patients and their families. I am heading into a pediatrics residency, so I enjoyed working in these clinics the best. The physicians taught me how to diagnose and treat some diseases that we would rarely see in the states, like Typhoid Fever, but I also learned so much about treating malnutrition, diarrheal diseases, and dehydration. During my third week, I also was able to work in a rural clinic outside of Pune. The rural clinic was one of my favorite experiences. On the morning that we went there we picked up four residents from the local medical college and drove about 3 hours outside of the city. The mountains were beautiful and it felt wonderful to be outside of the noise and busyness of the city for a while. When we arrived at the clinic a crowd of people were already waiting there for us. I was able to work with both a pediatrician and an obstetrician during the morning. We saw over 60 patients, and by the time we were finished we all were exhausted, but satisfied that we were able to see everyone who came. I enjoyed talking and spending time with my host family as well. They made sure that I had more than my share of the great Indian food, and was able to experience many of the wonderful places to see around Pune on my evenings and weekends off. I am grateful that I was able to participate in an Indian wedding, climb one of the nearby mountains, see multiple temples throughout the city, and visit the historical Buddhist caves. Coming home after my four week stay I can say that I feel more informed both about the health care system and the culture of this beautiful country. I can't wait to return.