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An Internship and My Interest in Medicine Essay examples

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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, …show more content…

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

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