The Global Health Academic Concentration
Follow UC San Diego School of Medicine's GHAC students around the world.
I was born in Guatemala and raised in Southern California. Growing up, I remember my mom always telling me, “En la casa hablamos Español, en la escuela puede habalr Ingles,” which translates to, “At home we speak Spanish, at school you can speak English.” In my early childhood, I remember struggling with both languages. There … Continue reading Found in translation
When I joined the GHAC program, I knew that I wanted to travel to Sub-Saharan Africa. I was eager to understand more about the region, and to have an opportunity to learn from physicians, fellow students, and patients there. Fortunately, I found a project working with American physicians Dr. Sierra Washington and Christy Zachek, and … Continue reading Mapping maputo
The ESPINA project was established in 2008 with the aim of assessing the effects of pesticide exposure in the development of children living in agricultural settings. Over the past few weeks, I have had the pleasure of working with the team at the Cimas Foundation, helping with data collection for the 14-year follow-up of participants. … Continue reading Ecuador research
‘Snake bite’…‘electrocution…’ I read the board on the first day of my rotation in the Emergency Department (ED) at Dhulikhel Hospital in Dhulikhel, Nepal. During my time at Dhulikhel, I saw afflictions that I personally have not yet seen in America: epiglottitis, disseminated tinea corporis, prolapsed uterus with decubitus ulcers, many cases of pesticide poisoning, … Continue reading Snake Bite
Hola! Qué tal? This week I rotated through obstetrics and gynecology at Hospital de las Mujeres Adolfo Carit Eva. Hospital Carit, a public hospital only for women, is named after Adolfo Carit Eva, a French physician who studied at the University of Paris and then lived in Costa Rica. Upon his death is 1912, he … Continue reading Week 3 – Ginecología
Hola! This week I had the privilege of working at my neighborhood’s health center (I live in Pavas, a residential section of San Jose). On Monday and Thursday, I worked in a primary care clinic with Dr. Chinchilla. Like most primary care physicians here, Dr. Chinchilla is a “generalist” – i.e. someone who has completed … Continue reading Week 2 – Clinica de Pavas
Nick Rice and one of the health screening teams in the shelter’s vaccine clinic Beginning my undergraduate medical education in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic made much of what I was learning about the practice of medicine seem abstract. Unlike other years where first-year medical students began their ambulatory care apprenticeships (ACAs) in … Continue reading Vaccine Hesitancy in San Diego Asylum Seekers