Admissions Essay - An Internship and My Interest in Medicine
How does a hospital run without adequate water to develop X-ray films? What are the signs and symptoms of malaria? What is the most common cause of infant mortality worldwide? These are all questions to which I learned answers during my six-week clerkship in rural South Africa. That a well-rounded education is the mark of a true scholar is a belief I acquired from my high-school education, and in that spirit I flew off to try and understand some of the important issues in the changing South African health care system.
I learned more than I had anticipated was possible and can easily conclude that studying abroad is one of the quickest, most memorable,
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Although American physicians tend to be interested in the science and not the administration of health care, the two go hand in hand. In South Africa, one has the chance to work with and learn from other medical students whose curricula include rotations in health care administration as well as in scientific study. I feel fortunate that, by studying abroad, I have been formally and practically introduced to some of the politics that influence health treatments and distribution. I expect that this will likely influence my thinking later in my career as well.
In addition to the influence of politics in health care, I was exposed to the importance of culture. Treatments and etiologies of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV/AIDS, and contraception contain cultural components. When working with women about family planning in South Africa, for example, Depo-Provera shots are the most effective option. The explanation for this lies in the strongly patriarchal and agricultural nature of the indigenous society. A traditional rural family includes many children (preferably male). With many children, however, nourishment and supervision are usually insufficient. Consequently, an interest in contraception has arisen. Although oral contraceptives were available at first, this option led
Although the !Kung San of southern Africa differ greatly from the people in the west African nation of Mali, both areas share similar problems. Both suffer from diseases, illnesses, malnutrition, and having to adapt to the ever changing and advancing cultures around them. What I found to be the most significant problem that is shared between both areas is that the people suffered from a lack of education. In the book Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine A. Dettwyler, there is a lack of education in proper nutritional practices, taking care of children and newborns, and basic medical knowledge and practices. The Dobe Ju/’hoansi have recently started putting in schools to help children receive an education to help
For this past week, I was an intern for Week 7 of the Harvard Medical School MEDscience Summer Program which offers a total of nine sessions of a week-long summer medical intensives for high school students. 13 students passionate about science, medicine, and healthcare come together from all over the country and even Canada to take advantage of the unique opportunities MEDscience offers. In general, there are very few medical programs in the country gear towards high school students whether it be because of age and education level, laws and hospital policy, or costs. Most of the medicine-related summer programs you can find for high school students are those in which you’d sit in a classroom all day and learn what you could have learned
Studying abroad will be an experience of a lifetime. Going beyond the US Coastlines that I have never crossed will get be valuable life lessons that I must learn to be successful in my future career. I want to increase my knowledge both inside and outside of the classroom, and I believe the best way to do that for me is to continue to go beyond those small town borders that have kept me
A Heart for the Work: Journeys Through an African Medical School by Claire L. Wendland is both an first hand account of time spent in an African medical school and hospital as well as a critique on Western medical practices. Dr. Wendland, an accomplished anthropologist and physician, provides a first hand account of her time in a Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world. Through this account she provides insight into the complete journey a student must take to become a doctor in conditions much different than our own. These insights and research are used to argue that medicine, or biomedicine as it is called, is part of a cultural system and is predicated on the cultural ideals and resources of developed nations. Wendland uses the differences in moral order, technology, and resources between the Malawian culture and our own culture to provide evidence for her main argument.
What is Love medicine? Love Medicine is a fiction novel by Louise Erdrich. The book is based on Native American stories, which cover three generations, fifty years, several families, and there are many relationships. Love Medicine is a collection of short fiction stories of “people that are living on Chippewa reservation in North Dakota”. Louise Erdrich makes the story with use of flashback. Love Medicine is not on particularly one theme but there are some stories on other themes such as, true identity, religion, family, love etc. Love Medicine is the creative formation of stories and characters which allow for the original creation of love. Each character exposes his or her individuality
by finding the identity of his parents and accepting his talent. It is after he
The poor areas have many less doctors than the wealthy spots, even though the rural areas suffer from much harsher diseases on a larger scale. The countries either provide medical training for their own citizens or fund their training from somewhere else, but once the students have the skills to save lives, they move to different places for higher pay. This issue lies not only in South Africa, but in the entire continent. For example, for every Liberian doctor working in Liberia, there are two working abroad. Not only is there a shortage of doctors in general (averaging about 1.15 doctors for every 1,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa) but a shortage of nurses and midwives. Over two-thirds of mothers in Africa have no health professionals to guide them through hardships regarding pregnancy and childbirth, causing Africa alone to be responsible for over one half of the world’s infant and maternal
With Fertility being very important in culture it is not uncommon to see women reaching out for relationships in order to sustain fertility further down the road if problems occur. Multiple relationships have the ability to spread Aids. In combination with the issue of condoms, Africans have culturally turned away from protection because it goes against the values of fertility in society. When a woman seeking a relationship tries to bring in the use of condoms she is seen as unfit for a marriage because of lack
In addition to practicing medicine, I aspire to dedicate myself to improving access to healthcare. Acquiring the skills to practice clinical medicine is fruitful when patients are able to receive the needed care, as demonstrated by JD’s case. I gained a deeper understanding of the challenges in accessing healthcare internationally through the research I conducted in
I am a medical graduate from Viet Nam. I came to the United States with the goal to becoming one of the best internists. I have improved my medical knowledge through my studies at Kaplan Medical Center. After that, I obtained experiences in different healthcare settings such as The University of Florida, Health Shands hospital and Emergency and Trauma Center at Hackensack University Medical Center. At this time, I am working as an extern at a clinic in New Jesery and attending some conversational English courses at Seton Hall University. I appreciate the patient-physician relationship and team-approach which are central practice in healthcare of the US. I am conscientious, focused and persevering in what I am doing. I am helpful and respectful
I quote a man who has been accepted by the general populace to be accurate in his observations of society: “Every civilization is, among other things, an arrangement for domesticating the passions and setting them to do useful work”, Aldous Huxley is known to have said. I know not the purpose of life, but I know of passion, and mine lies in medicine.
The residents of Africa are suffering from preventable, treatable, and fatal diseases everyday at a higher rate compared to developed countries. The healthcare crisis in Africa is the primary cause of all these deaths, and includes inefficient healthcare systems. Consequently, African's inefficient healthcare systems results in poor delivery of care and a shortage of health professionals. The healthcare crisis in Africa is a current issue impacting the lives of many African's who don't have the same access to resources as developed countries such as the United States. These resources can save the lives of many African's dying of preventable and curable disease, and understanding why the African continent has little access to them
To become an OB GYN, there are certain job tasks, special skills, and talents, as well as a higher education that is needed. You will need to be able to collect, record, and maintain the patient's information, such as medical histories, reports, and examination results. Another thing you will need to be able to do is treat diseases of female organs, and also care for and treat women during prenatal and postnatal times. Furthermore you will need to be able to prescribe and administer therapy, medication, and other specialized medical care to treat and prevent illness, diseases, or injury. Lastly you will need to be able to perform cesarean sections or other surgical procedures as needed to preserve patient’s health, and deliver babies safely. Not only will you need these tasks, but you will
The perception that men in undeveloped parts of Africa have with regards to birth control and the female anatomy is also a reason for how come female genital mutilation occurs (Schmöker Annika, Kyungu Nkulu Kalengayi Faustine). Not only is there a stigma attached to women using different pharmaceutical methods of birth control, there is also a preconceived notion attached to partners using latex protective barriers. According to a study conducted by the Journal of Southern African Studies, an anonymous male who lives in a rural part of Africa, stated that “I trust my wife and she trusts me therefore I will not use a condom with her. Condoms indicate that we do not trust each other” (Maharaj, Pranitha, 254). Another example of how male dominance and definitive gender roles work against women in many parts of Africa is that it is often the mans jurisdiction when it comes to deciding what topics are to be conversed, and what is not acceptable to talk about. This can be the cause for very little communication between the husband and wife with regards to intercourse and family planning (Maharaj, Pranitha, 254). If a woman decides to speak up and discuss the topic with her husband, she may risk being physically abused for failing to comply with him. In order to correct this misconception, women must be empowered in order to feel confident enough
As a student of nursing program I am doing 220 clinical placements at True Davidson long term care. On the first day of my clinical, I was so excited and quite nervous too. On that day, I picked one patient and it was my first experience to handle the client individually. I am going to write about that I eventually learn something from my first clinical experience. My buddy nurse told me to go to client’s room and ready her for breakfast. Then, I went her room and said her to be ready for breakfast. She looks at me and seems angry. At that time my mind was wandering that what I did mistake to her. It was the fifth week of my 220 placement, however, that event has left a permanent effect on my mind and it comes to my mind on every