The Plant Genome Mapping …show more content…
As a participant in their Global Health service-learning program, I travelled to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, where I partook in special medical training seminars and began a program of hands-on caregiving to the poor and underserved in the area. The participation in this program also involved ninety hours of clinical work, including shadowing and assisting a licensed medical professional in healthcare-related community outreach programs across …show more content…
Prior to the trip, I had very little hands on experience with the practices employed by physicians. I had interacted with patients and observed medical professionals taking vitals and asserting treatment plans, but I had never had the responsibility of doing either on my own. While there I learned, among other essential vitals, how to take a patient’s blood pressure, calculate their pulse, administer a blood glucose test, and then how to use this information to diagnose a plethora of illnesses. While practicing these skills on one of my patients, Teddy, I had a personal realization that transformed my motivation for becoming a doctor. She was ten years old and was rapidly approaching death due to flu-related complications. She had been sick for months but was unable to visit a clinic due to financial obstacles and lack of access. My team and I did everything we could to help the little girl; however, the care was likely too late to save her life. I admit that prior to this incident I was completely ignorant of the shortcomings of the healthcare system, but I had now personally witnessed the true depth of the issue and the tragedies that it can cause. I no longer yearned to become a doctor to provide care to the most fortunate but instead to all of the Teddys quietly dying beneath the radar. This career is