Dear family and friends of Dr. Rob Tingley,
Thank you for your generous contribution to support the overseas elective experiences of medical students. As the most recent recipient, I am deeply thankful for your help in covering the costs of my 4th year elective to Huai'an, China. I am also encouraged by the conviction of Dr. Rob Tingley that overseas electives provide an added and invaluable niche of learning during our medical training.
To tell you a bit more about myself, I first became interested in overseas medical work the year prior to entering university (yes, this dates back to at least 8 years!). I had gone to rural Mexico with a mission team, and it was there that I was first encouraged by a local family to pursue medicine, with hopes that I would one day return to treat their children. I will never forget their request as it was curious to me that this family I had only just met would ask for healthcare services before education or expertise in building the village's infrastructure. I began to see how valuable the healh of a person was in order for them to go to school, to carry on with their job - healthcare was crucial to building healthy communities. Medicine encompassed a unique skillset that could be brought to reach out to impoverished communities and these skills were transferrable to promote sustainable services.
My second trip was as a 2nd year medical student to one of the most poverty-stricken provinces of China - Ningxia. I joined a multidisciplinary Canadian team on their annual journey (for the past 20 years!) to various village hospitals and water wells established by the Evangelical Medical Aid Society. The purpose of these annual trips were many: to train local healthcare workers as they worked alongside our professionals in offering free healthcare services, identify staff to offer scholarships for further professional development in the main cities, and also deepen the partnerships with local authorities to see how to better meet local health needs. Again, I was struck by how valuable medical care was in strengthening communities and saw the direct effects of poverty as a social determinant of health. I returned from China with full convictions to go back to learn more about its healthcare system and its culture.
In fourth year, with many electives available, it was a natural and easy step for me to take on the opportunity through the Global Health department (MEOP) to journey to Huai'an, China. UWO and Huai'ans hospitals are in the early stages of pursuing a long-term bilateral partnership and I was the first senior medical student there on an elective. The purpose was two-fold: for my own clinical education and cross-cultural exchange with the Chinese healthcare system and traditional Chinese medicine, and second, to determine the feasability for future senior electives. To give you a much better idea of the elective and how it went, my post-elective trip report can be found at the UWO Global Health website here: http://www.schulich.uwo.ca/globalhealth/index.php?page=electiveReports. It gives a good overview of my time in Huai'an, and gives a glimpse of the learning experience that you have been a part of!
In July, I will be starting my family medicine residency at the University of Toronto's Markham Stouffville site. This site is unique in its emphasis on global health. As part of the training, I will be participating in monthly global health rounds, working closely with the growing immigrant population in Markham, preparing for an interntional elective and taking courses to complete a certificate of global health.
Thank you again for your donation! You have played an integral role in my journey in learning more about global and international health!
If you would like to hear more about my adventures to come, I would love to share that with you. Please feel free to contact me by email at ....
Yours sincerely,
Lydia
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