Finding Our Grace, Gratitude, and Fortitude

Written by Dr. Randi R. Diamond, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, and Director of the Liz Claiborne Center for Humanism in Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College

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As physicians and medical students, we may initially think we are going to a new place, often in the Global South, to share our expertise and teach local healthcare workers about the practice of medicine. In reality, we are going to learn – not only about a different medical system but also about cultures, beliefs, values, stories of life and illness, and ourselves. This learning may start even before we arrive at our host destination.

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In Awe

Written by Dr. Stephen Winter, Senior Consultant for the WCHN/UVMLCOM Global Health Program

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Medicine in a crowded hospital ward in a resource-constrained country can be emotionally overwhelming. Patients generally enter these hospitals with advanced diseases, often accompanied by severe comorbidities such as advanced HIV or malnutrition. Mortality rates are much higher than we experience in our home hospitals. During my visit to Zimbabwe two years ago, it was not unusual for two or three patients to expire or experience a severe event such as a grand mal seizure during the course of rounds on a single day.

Global Health: A Proving Ground for Physicians On Their Journey

Written by Dr. Stephen Scholand, Global Health Program Site Director in Thailand, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe

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One of the challenges in global health is the need to adapt. It is vitally important to focus on the goal: to become the absolute best physician you can be. The practice of medicine is not easy. It is a great sacrifice on many levels, beginning early in the education process from passing organic chemistry to scoring well on the MCAT, applying to medical schools to undergoing the interview process.

Challenging Moments in Global Health: Inflexible Participants

Written by Dr. Molly Moore, Director of Global Health at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Pediatrics Department

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From a series of discussions about challenging moments in global health, with responses from global health leaders in the Global South and Global North. Please leave us your feedback in the comments section, and send us cases you would like to see discussed.

In Another World: Part I

Written by Dr. Natalie Wilson, former medical resident at UVMLCOM

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From the moment we stepped off the plane into a humid, sunny land filled with red dust and all sorts of smells, we knew we were in another world. After a long, hot line at immigration and feeling very lucky to find our bags at baggage claim, we were greeted by Martine, via sign, and shown to a dusty, beat-up van. We were thankful for the breeze through the windows during the hour-long ride from Entebbe to Kampala. Along the way we caught our first glimpses into Uganda: women balancing baskets on their head; men carrying bundles of sugar cane on bikes; children bathing in tubs; goats, cows, chickens, dogs, and cats wandering along the road; and lots and lots of trash, some of it burning.

Cases That Linger in the Mind

Written by Dr. Elena Kozakewich, medical resident at UVMLCOM

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My mother recently asked me on the phone how I was coping with all of the sad and depressing things I am seeing every day. Though I told her somehow I was managing, I also have a sense that I will keep processing some of the sadness for a long time after returning home.

Evolution of a Global Health Institute

Written by Jonathan Fine, Director of Medical Education at Western Connecticut Health Network

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Over its seven-year existence, the Global Health Program at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine / Western Connecticut Health Network has grown from international collaborations focused solely on students from UVMLCOM students to multidisciplinary, multi-school, and post-graduate activities. During this evolution, the Global Health Program has gained international recognition from its many peer-reviewed papers and meeting presentations, thoughtful participant reflections distributed through the web, engaging symposia, and ever-growing numbers of participants in the U.S., Africa, Asia, and Caribbean.

Challenging Moments in Global Health: Inflexible Participants

Written by Dr. David Chia, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine

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From a series of discussions about challenging moments in global health, with responses from one global health leader in the Global South and one in the Global North. Please leave us your feedback in the comments section, and send us cases you would like to see discussed.

A More Deeply Connected World: A Note From the Leadership of Walailak University School of Medicine, Thailand

Written by Dr. Prachyapan Petchuay, Dean of Walailak University School of Medicine

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I strive to nurture my students into well-rounded physicians who approach their patients with astute clinical skills and with heart. Undeniably difficult to teach, empathy opens a window into a world deeper than the classroom where care translates as truly listening to patients and seeing the communities in which they live. In imparting this way of being, we as teachers are reminded to reflect on the meaning of empathy and learn to practice it anew.

Reader Response: Naggalama Hospital Palliative Care Outreach Team

Written by Dr. Randi R. Diamond, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine and Director of the Liz Claiborne Center for Humanism in Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

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I was delighted to read Dr. MacDougall's reflection “An Amazing First Day in Naggalama” depicting her first few days at Naggalama Hospital. Her experience, as I have heard from other visiting students and residents, fortifies my own impressions and rationale for suggesting Naggalama as a site for the UVMLCOM/WCHN Global Health Program.