I am so glad that I took my elective placement in India! I have so many reflections that I will 100% take into my career.
Wow! What an amazing experience I have had on my elective to India. I feel so fortunate to be able to have been given this opportunity through my medical degree, but also for the amazing team at The Mighty Roar for making this possible. This has been an experience that I will remember and use for not only my career, but also for the rest of my life.
For my elective, I travelled to the North-western state of Rajasthan and stayed in the state’s capital of Jaipur. This is otherwise known as ‘The Pink City’; a city painted the colour of terracotta to represent hospitality and where we were welcomed and were straight away engulfed into the local culture. My first experience of India was an incredible moment; the noises and colours were something beyond my imagination and of course the driving was certainly something I had never experienced before. Having never left western Europe, this culture shock of arriving and working in a developing country was exactly what I was hoping for from my elective.
"This has been an experience that I will remember and use for not only my career, but also for the rest of my life. "
Despite India being the country with the largest population in the world, it has a poor record of spending in public health. It was for this reason that I chose to travel to India, and I was fortunate enough to have placements within both the private hospitals and the slum based hospitals and therefore was able to see the full spectrum of care.
I started my placements in the private sector – I was placed within the emergency department, paediatrics, and general medicine. My role was mainly observational, however I did have the chance to do bloods and some histories and examinations; through this I got to develop my communication skills where language can be a barrier. I was surprised by how similar the presentations in ED were to the UK – I saw lots of ACS, COPD, and strokes. However, there was also a leopard attack which I certainly hope I don’t see in the UK when I start my job in the summer! The private sector ran very similarly to the UK, with good and quick access to investigations and management if the patient could afford this.
The second half of my elective was based within the slums. There was a very small hospital with around 4 beds and a clinic room, however the main care that was provided was via pop up clinics throughout the slums and by visiting people in their own homes. This was an extremely humbling experience and I feel very privileged to be able to go into people’s homes. This was my favourite part of my elective; I felt like I was using my skills to really help and benefit the people who are most in need. It was also a very difficult experience at times; many of these patients were unable to pay for the management that we were suggesting, which resulting in us leaving having accomplished very little for them. It made me understand the vast number of people within the country that have very poor access to the healthcare system. Despite all the problems these people have to face on a day-to-day basis, the people within the slums were the most generous people I have met. They cared more for our comfort and entertainment, than their own health. I will hold the impact these people had on me for the rest of my life and my appreciation for our healthcare system has only enhanced because I met them.
Outside of placements, I was lucky enough to be able to explore the beautiful country around me. I was able to get fully immersed in the local culture by taking part in cultural tours, traditional pottery and block printing classes, cooking classes and so much more. The Mighty Roar team put on so many local activities for us that really helped to experience and be immersed in the local culture of India – something I would definitely not have been able to do without them. I was also able to see some amazing wildlife and of course I visited the Taj Mahal whilst we were there!
I learnt so much during my elective to India, so many reflections that I am going to take into my career. This opportunity has driven me to want to do similar trips in the future, whereby I will be able to use all the skills I will have developed as a doctor to help more people over the world. I met some incredible people, both local and other volunteers, some of whom will remain my friends for life.
Thank you TMR for everything! You are all stars!!
