I went to India through Child Family Health International and had a great experience.

For the duration of the elective, I was grouped with a medical student from Texas and a PhD researcher from Singapore, and it was a blessing to have them there. 

For the first week, we were in New Delhi and stayed with a host there. We rotated through various public health-related nonprofit organizations. We visited these organizations, which had missions ranging from supporting LGBQTIA+ individuals to helping young boys overcome substance use disorder. We met the amazing leaders and participants of these programs and learned so much about their incredible stories and the much-needed safety net such nonprofits provided for some of the most vulnerable in the community. 

For the subsequent three weeks, we spent our time in Dehradun, where we rotated through various practice settings. We rotated through a small private hospital, primary practice, cardiology, ophthalmology, and pediatrics. We even spent time with traditional medicine practitioners. During our time in the private hospital, we had the chance to go on rounds with the attending, doing components of the physical exam, interpreting ECGs and labs, and quickly discussing our thoughts with the attending. On our other rotations we were mainly observers, but on cardiology, we were able to listen to and discuss various abnormal heart sounds as well as observe and attempt to do echocardiograms. The interactions were in Hindi most of the time, so we had to rely on context clues and the preceptors’ explanations during or after the visits. 

For the last two days of the elective, we spent time in a small village in the mountains, called Patti, about an hour away from Dehradun. We were able to meet the villagers and participate in a student health camp run by CFHI. This was an incredible experience as we had the chance to meet the jovial children, do some of the physical exam, and then report to the attending who ran the camp. 

Throughout the four weeks, CFHI helped arrange excursions throughout northern India. We went to Jaipur, Agra, Rishikesh and Mussoorie. We tasted the spiciest of foods and danced at a festival in Jaipur, saw the breathtaking Taj Mahal in Agra, and trekked up steep mountains and saw amazing views during our journey through Mussoorie. Overall, the trip was a valuable experience. What I loved most, however, were the people we met and interacted with. Our hosts all welcomed us and treated us like family. We ate meals with them while having funny conversations, played sports with some of their children, and watched the news and discussed current politics. Our host in Dehradun even took us along with her to a wedding, where we met amazing people who made sure we ate and danced to our hearts' content. 

Our hosts, the leaders and participants of the nonprofits, the clinicians, our yoga instructors (we had a week and a half of yoga in the mornings), and majority of the people we encountered, treated us with respect and kindness that I will remember for a long time. We learned so much about the culture from them as well. I also really appreciated my colleagues on the elective with me, as we grew so much together. We discussed and compared American, Singaporean and Indian culture, often challenging our assumptions and beliefs, and often within the context of public health and health care.

This Global Health elective with CFHI is something I will cherish and continue to learn from for the rest of my life. I am still unpacking the many encounters and lessons I was blessed enough to experience and look forward to applying them in my future as a culturally humble, open-minded physician with a keen sense of how best to treat the communities I serve.

After graduating from Drexel, I went to UPMC Shadyside for a residency in family medicine. They have a very well-developed Global Health track, and because I had traveled to India during medical school, they offered me a spot in it, which means I will be able to do an overseas elective each year.

 
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