Dengue Fever Personal Statement

We live in a country where all children go to school to gain an education and 25% of them will go onto receive some type of college degree. Compare this to low-income countries, in which children are 16 times as likely to die prior to their fifth birthday (Nickitas, Middaugh & Aries, 2016). Beyond the lens of our smartphones, Facebook friends and Nike sneakers is a world full of desperate people wishing to have enough food to eat for today. Many parts of the world lack sanitation, safe housing, sparse medical care and no medication. The global health issue are everyone’s problems not only for the sake of altruism but, with the increase in global travel for routine business and pleasure, dangerous pathogen are no longer confine by boarders. The Ebola outbreak four years ago, proved the necessity of a global solution to global health issues. The collaborative practice of several world health agencies and economically developed countries along with the use of volunteers, statistical updates, the latest literature and practices kept this outbreak mostly contained to its region of origin and the death toll to approximately 11,000 people (mainly in West Africa) (WHO,

For example, “Hospitals have seen an influx of patients suffering from preventable diseases, the aid group said”. These preventable diseases can include diarrhea, typhoid, hepatitis A, and most commonly malaria. Two out of every five children survive into their adulthood; because of unsanitary conditions, these diseases which are not prominent in well developed countries, have pronounced themselves as some of the most dangerous diseases in the country. This decrease of sanitation can be partially blamed on the ongoing war in the Congo. The rebel groups use children soldiers to fight their opponents. Furthermore, hospitals reported that, “Since government troops and rebels began clashing in the volatile eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, ‘the numbers arriving at the hospital have gone through the roof,’ said Dr. Louis Kamate of the Virunga Referral Hospital in Goma”. Conflicts and poverty have been proven to be the main factors of child death in the Congo. In order for the society to be successful, they must put an end to this terrible aspect of the country.

If a health clinic providing basic services to the world’s most vulnerable people is withheld the large amount of foreign assistance that currently comes from the United States government, all diseases will flourish, including epidemics such as Zika and Ebola (Barry-Jester, 2016). We contribute to more unstable political environments (Crimm, 2007, p.615) and more refugees that we increasingly refuse to help when we take away aid that would countries meet the needs of their citizens.

I was indecisive of my future career path. My mom would tell me the classic “You should be a lawyer” or “You should be a doctor.” I would go along with her idea for a couple weeks until I jumped off the bandwagon. I wasn’t passionate about either of those fields; I was interested in both math and science and as a young girl. As I got older, I became invested in technology due to my love of gaming, but I didn’t know that people devote their lives to technology until I interned.

Growing up, most kids in my generation had Disney Channel or Barbie Dolls. As I was raised with 6 siblings and cousins and having just emigrated from England, my family did not have ample money to expend on cable or fancy toys; subsequently, I resorted to books. As I read more and more, my interests began to broaden, and my keen admiration and curiosity for how and why things work in certain ways progressed. As I grew older, I realized that science could be used to answer many of life’s most complex questions. Once I was accepted early into The University of Georgia, I declared my major as Biology with a pre-medical intent, deciding to further pursue my curiosity about living organisms. I soon realized that I needed to achieve more, and decided

In a medically savaged developing country when there is a sudden influx of scarce resources, whom of the inflicted and in need shall be the beneficiary? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care....” (Skolnik, 2016). Poverty stricken countries caught up in a labyrinth of illness are unable to deliver the correct care their inhabitants necessitate. Richard Skolnik in “Global Health 101” identifies four basic ethical principles underlying most scarce resource allocation schemes as: 1) health maximization; 2) equality; 3) priority to the worst off and 4) personal responsibility.

The desire to discover never really left. I’ve always gone out of my way to learn something new. So it was to my disappointment when my middle school advisor in Geneva Switzerland told me that science and math were subjects I shouldn’t pursue. My high grades in Latin and German signified that I was more of a “languages person” and should therefore forgo a pursuit in stem fields and focus instead on classical languages and humanities. I countered their advice by shadowing a biologist who worked on altering genetics in mice. I found myself learning about anything I could despite the Swiss education system and my middle school advisor’s advice. When I transferred to Manhattan Center for Science and Math in New York City, I was encouraged to explore everything and anything. My first opportunity was the Advanced Science Research Program. After mere weeks of moving to a new country, my biology teacher encouraged me to apply. I never regretted the decision once. At the end of my sophomore year, some of my teachers suggested I take a few Advanced Placement courses during my junior year. I craved learning

As far back as I can remember I have been interested in business, I just did not know it for a long time. I did not realize that I enjoyed business and or finances until I was I in my early twenties when I joined the Air Force and purchased my first home. However, when I initially began collegiate career I originally picked psychology. Which, I really enjoy, but after taking a few classes of my business minor it became clear that my passion is business.

South Africans have been struggling with access to medical care for many decades. The root of the problem of access to medical care in South Africa is mainly attributed to the poverty located in the region. Many living in poverty suffer from inadequate resources such as a lack of clean water, malnourishment, lack of effective sanitation, and unreasonable housing conditions. South Africans living in urban areas are more likely to receive better healthcare services than those in rural and remote regions. Sickness in South Africa has been an ongoing issue due to their history of persistent racial inequality, inadequate human resources, and the relentless burden of infections and noninfectious diseases. Proposals to improve the current system include increasing government funding to build hospitals, especially in rural areas, strengthening the public sector of the current healthcare system by utilizing the services of the private sector, improving the

I met and outscored my best friend in Biology on almost every test and lab. I competed against one of the boys in Chemistry, whom I continue to challenge in an effort to make him push himself and myself as well. I was driven, hungry to learn more and help those around me. I stayed up late to take peers’ calls and answer their messages about assignments. I helped anyone who asked for my assistance to the best of my abilities. During this time, I realized how much I enjoyed Science and it was not solely because I was doing well. I recognized I had a natural talent for science as well as an inclination towards it. I enjoyed Biology and Chemistry immensely, and because of this, my decision to major in Biochemistry was easy, almost obvious, unlike the conclusion I assumed back in elementary

UNICEF officer, Suzanne Mary Beukes provided a clearer insight to how poor the country of Guinea is when she wrote, "The world has virtually quarantined a country in which 43 percent of people were already living on less than $1.25 a day prior to this health crisis” (Gholipour, 2014). The countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone (the countries where outbreaks primarily occurred), are some of the poorest countries in the world as a result of their recent civil war and the damaged health and education infrastructures that followed. (“Factors that Contributed to the Spread of Ebola,” n.d., para. 10). The poor infrastructures led to the delayed transportation of patients and lab work to labs and hospitals in addition to the lack of communication between health facilities. In addition to the lack of health facilities, there was shortage of healthcare workers. “Prior to the outbreaks, the three countries (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) had a ratio of only one to two doctors per nearly 100,000 population” (“Factors that Contributed to the Spread of Ebola,” n.d., para. 15). The poverty in these cities and countries lead people to want to move to a better standard of living, be treated for the virus, and look for food &

Working as a medical officer, I came across scores of patients with mosquito-borne diseases. Despite my state having a near cent percent literacy, my hospital wards were flooded by patient with dengue, malaria, and chikungunya. I studied about these notorious ear buzzing mosquitoes in my medical school, but never did I know how villain they were. After moving to Singapore, I understood how these diseases are a major problem even in developed countries. I can never forget those patients with chikungunya who had

As I was reading about the village and the people in the village in Madagascar, I really admired Janice Harper the medical anthropologist. The living conditions and the health of the people really made me think about how fortunate we are in the United States to have health care. The mortality rate was disturbing with 100 deaths per 1000 people compared to that of the US being 8 deaths per 1000 population (Singer & Baer, 2012, p.45). It would be wonderful to be able to go to different countries to help people improve their health care and provide proper medical care, but not sure how one deals with the conditions of the different countries. It definitely takes a special person to be able to deal with the situations Harper encountered. But, Harper found that even though the children where sick with bloated bellies, ear infections, scabies and boils, they were still active and happily playing (Singer & Baer, 2012, p.45). This was the children’s way of life and how they

My journey continues when I start taking the science courses at Montgomery College. I felt in love with Anatomy and Physiology. It is so fascinating to understand in the broad sense how the body works. Even though Anatomy and Physiology can be challenging sometimes, it gives meaning and understanding to small things as moving a muscle of your body. On the other hand, courses as Microbiology

My interest in Infectious disease began even before entering residency half way across the world in the unique country of Nepal. Nepal is rich in natural beauty with breath taking landscapes, diverse culture but is also one of the most impoverished. I had the privilege to witness first hand how the dedicated physicians living there do the most with less in one of the most remotest parts of Nepal. Majority of the cases were infectious in nature with differentials including organisms not as prevalent in the US: tuberculosis, typhoid, dengue, malaria, brucellosis and leptospirosis to name a few. What the physicians lacked in resources, they made up their close attention to detail in both the history and the thoroughness of their physical exam. My interest further developed during my residency years where I had the pleasure of working with seasoned infectious disease attendings and was exposed to an array of pathology… even seeing a handful of extremely rare