Tanzania global health mission challenges WCMC-Q medical students

October, 2012

Not many students choose to spend the summer break working in an under-resourced hospital in a developing country but Aseel Abu Dayya and Mohamed Amin, two second-year medical students at WCMC-Q did just that during a challenging experience at a small public hospital in Mwanza in Tanzania.

The intense learning experience in a vastly different culture where resources are often scarce and opportunities are usually limited opened their eyes to the medical needs of people who are less fortunate.

“This was truly an amazing experience. It was a unique opportunity to see and learn so much,” Aseel said. “At Weill Bugando Hospital we did research, attended morning rounds with patients, attended conferences with staff doctors as they discussed treatment options, and then we were basically free to observe around the hospital.

“We were very lucky that a team of neurosurgeons from the U.S. came to work at Weill Bugando Hospital and they allowed us to sit in on everything they did. These were some of the best neurosurgeons in the world so it was an exciting opportunity to see them working in surgery and learning from them.”

Mohamed agreed that it was an enjoyable and interesting learning experience, especially for students with a focus on global health issues in developing countries.  “I would recommend it to fellow students as a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Mohamed said.

“We did many rounds and I did rounds in internal medicine, the intensive care unit, and psychiatry. The psychiatric ward was not very well advanced and it was sad to see how limited resources can actually affect patients.

“You certainly get to see many different things, which you will probably not see elsewhere. Even the visiting doctors from outside said they did not see many of these types of problems very often in the modern countries as opposed to these developing countries.”

“What is good about the Global Health scholarships is that you get to see and do so many different things in medicine and you also get an opportunity to get out and about to see new things and new places.”

The Department of Global and Public Health at WCMC-Q sponsors two first-year medical students during the summer break for a global health experience in Tanzania.It is a $3,000 scholarship awarded annually.

WCMC-Q Division of Global and Public Health manager Dr. Sohaila Cheema said applications for the scholarships will open early next year and she encouraged medical students to apply for this unique experience.