When I was applying for medical schools, I remember being captivated by a UC San Diego GHAC video where students described their ability to ‘engage in global health work in your own backyard’. As an out-of-state student passionate about global health, this resonated deeply with me. The ability to integrate global health work so closely into my daily life was hugely alluring and a deciding factor in my ultimate choice to enroll. Now as a student, my time in GHAC has allowed me to do exactly this, simultaneously engaging with communities in the US and Mexico to learn, build connections, and help conduct research all while pursuing a top-notch medical education.
While still being based in San Diego for the summer, I have been able to take several trips to Mexico with my mentor, Dr. Amanda Gosman, and her foundation ConnectMed, which works to provide free, much-needed surgeries to kids born with craniofacial conditions who might otherwise go without care. On these trips, otherwise known as Jornadas, I wake up bright and early to meet the team in downtown San Diego at 7 am. From here, we pile into a couple of vans filled with medical supplies, research equipment, and plenty of snacks and get ready to cross the border. It takes less than 30 minutes by car to reach the clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, where we quickly unload, come together for a collaborative team meeting with staff and providers from the US and Mexico, and devise a plan for the day.
As the surgeons, fellows, and residents proceed with rounding on patients and getting ready for their surgeries, I meet with patients and their families waiting for their consult or follow-up appointments. My summer project is an extension of Dr. Gosman’s long-term research focus to understand and improve the quality of life of kids with craniofacial conditions. On these trips, I help enroll patients in this study and administer surveys aimed at better understanding their quality of life. It is amazing to be able to meet with these kids and their caregivers, all of whom not only come from low resource backgrounds but face the difficult reality of living with significant craniofacial malformations. It’s a reminder of the resiliency, joy, and beauty of the human spirit to sit in these rooms filled with happy smiles and bubbling, excited energy as kids wait to meet with their doctors and take the next steps on their healthcare journeys.
The day passes quickly, punctuated by a delicious paella lunch and a quick peak into the operating rooms to shadow the surgeons at work. All in all, the team provides four much-needed surgeries, all free of cost to the patients, with the day wrapping up around 6 or 7 PM. Not yet ready to leave, we celebrate the end of a successful day by heading down the street to a local taqueria for some of the most delicious tacos I have had. The people are a big part of what makes these trips so special, and being able to chat with residents, program coordinators, fellow volunteers and students, and everyone in between is a fantastic way to end the day.
Bellies and hearts full, we head back to the vans to for the (much longer) line to re-enter the US, arriving back in San Diego around 10:30 PM. Exhausted but filled with gratitude for such an incredible opportunity to grow, learn, and contribute to global health work, I end the day fast asleep in my own bed. Well, that’s it for me y’all; I’ll catch you on the flip!
