I have two opportunities for participating in a global health trip next summer. I am having difficulty deciding between which trip I would like to take. Both trips are to small countries in southern Africa with the highest levels of poverty and diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis.
For the first trip, I would be working with an organization that sets up mobile clinics/hospitals in different rural villages each day where they can treat as many as 3,000 patients. These clinics provide services in the fields of family medicine, pediatrics, infectious disease, ObGyn, surgery, and ophthalmology. As far as I understand, as a medical student I would be working to triage patients and perform routine tests such as HIV screening. I would also have the opportunity to work with the different services and do things like suturing during the closing of a surgery. When not working at the clinics, I would be working in the pharmacy counting pills or doing data management for the organization.
The second trip is organized around working with an established rural clinic. At the clinic, I would be assisting with family medicine, HIV/nutrition classes, outpatient diagnosis, and outreach. There seems to be a good amount of emphasis on maternal-child health and following up with mothers during their child's check up exams. I have been to this country twice before and have a strong local contact. Because of this, I think that I could travel to different health facilities in the country and conduct some sort of research. I would have to plan a lot of the trip and any other experiences and research I'd do, so I think this trip would show more initiative on my part than the other.
I am interested in family medicine with a focus on women's health and have thought about getting an MPH in the future. I am super torn between these two opportunities because the first trip seems so much more exciting involves more clinical skills, but the second trip is super close to my heart and I think I could really make it a meaningful experience. I am nervous that I am going to regret not going on the first trip and not getting the opportunity to work in such a fast paced and impactful environment, but I am also being really pulled to the second country.
I would appreciate any thoughts anyone has on the matter!
For the first trip, I would be working with an organization that sets up mobile clinics/hospitals in different rural villages each day where they can treat as many as 3,000 patients. These clinics provide services in the fields of family medicine, pediatrics, infectious disease, ObGyn, surgery, and ophthalmology. As far as I understand, as a medical student I would be working to triage patients and perform routine tests such as HIV screening. I would also have the opportunity to work with the different services and do things like suturing during the closing of a surgery. When not working at the clinics, I would be working in the pharmacy counting pills or doing data management for the organization.
The second trip is organized around working with an established rural clinic. At the clinic, I would be assisting with family medicine, HIV/nutrition classes, outpatient diagnosis, and outreach. There seems to be a good amount of emphasis on maternal-child health and following up with mothers during their child's check up exams. I have been to this country twice before and have a strong local contact. Because of this, I think that I could travel to different health facilities in the country and conduct some sort of research. I would have to plan a lot of the trip and any other experiences and research I'd do, so I think this trip would show more initiative on my part than the other.
I am interested in family medicine with a focus on women's health and have thought about getting an MPH in the future. I am super torn between these two opportunities because the first trip seems so much more exciting involves more clinical skills, but the second trip is super close to my heart and I think I could really make it a meaningful experience. I am nervous that I am going to regret not going on the first trip and not getting the opportunity to work in such a fast paced and impactful environment, but I am also being really pulled to the second country.
I would appreciate any thoughts anyone has on the matter!
