The Global Health Academic Concentration
Follow UC San Diego School of Medicine's GHAC students around the world.
When I returned home from nearly two months in Brasília, the most meaningful souvenir in my suitcase wasn’t a gift or a photograph. It was a worn-out notebook filled with seemingly random Portuguese words I had scribbled down throughout the summer. Some were medical terms I heard and quickly translated in between patients in the … Continue reading The Words I Brought Home from Brasília
When I first arrived in Hanoi, I was struck by how familiar it felt. The bustling streets, endless stream of motorbikes, sidewalk cafes, and organized chaos reminded me so much of my hometown of Kathmandu. What I did not realize then was that the similarities extended far beyond the city itself. Throughout my month in … Continue reading Vietnam: Finding Connections in Unexpected Places
It is a distinct experience to feel that you are living in a place as opposed to visiting. This is one of the strengths of the global health academic concentration at UCSD. I have felt integrated into the cities and healthcare systems that I have worked in. As an MS1, this was Maputo, Mozambique and … Continue reading Discovering Quito: The Difference Between Visiting a Place and Living There
I traveled to Seoul, South Korea to be physically present at the intersection of healthcare data collection, infectious disease management, and public health initiatives within a universal healthcare system setting. More specifically, in my several weeks in Seoul, I shadowed Dr. Min, a renowned pulmonologist and public health specialist at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, The … Continue reading Lessons from Seoul: AI in Infectious Disease Management
I'm spending the summer in Maputo, Mozambique doing research on peripheral neuropathy in patients with HIV at Maputo Central Hospital. Although much of my time is spent doing research in the Internal Medicine Wards at Maputo Central Hospital, I have had a lot of free time to explore Maputo and engage with locals in their … Continue reading A Foodie’s Guide to Maputo: Local and Fusion
On my first morning in Quito, I stepped onto the third-story balcony of my host family’s home and was met with a quiet, beautiful surprise—a bright rainbow stretching across the misty sky. I had arrived the day before on a red-eye flight and, still adjusting to the altitude, had gone straight to bed. Waking up … Continue reading Inside Ecuador’s Healthcare System: My Time at a Centro de Salud- Quito, Ecuador
Bahiana Escola De MedicinaIt was an honor to spend my final clinical rotation of medical school in Salvador, the vibrant coastal capital of Bahia, Brazil. Throughout the month, I worked in outpatient clinics affiliated with the Bahia Escola de Medicina, rotating through cardiology, gastroenterology, and rheumatology. Each day, I joined final-year medical students for patient … Continue reading Experiencing Brazil’s Public Healthcare in Salvador, Bahia
Hola from Huanchaco! The infamous Huanchaco red bus that runs between Trujillo (the neighboring city) and Huanchaco. I am writing from Huanchaco, Peru, a small beach town in the northern part of the country, where a fellow medical student and I are participating in a clinical rotation as part of the GHAC curriculum. Our rotation … Continue reading Clinical Rotations and Community Health in Peru
My time at the National Children’s Hospital in Hanoi was transformative. Days started early with a quick walk through the bustling hospital grounds, past vendors selling sticky rice and pho. By 8 AM, we were in scrubs reviewing the OR schedule. I worked closely with Dr. Quang, a pediatric urologist whose surgical precision was matched … Continue reading Clinical Insights from a Pediatric Urology Rotation in Vietnam
I write to you from Phuket: my last weekend in Thailand, spent in the bluest waters I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes. Imagine my gratitude when I saw my first coral reef, a 30-minute snorkeling session I lazily floated through while mulling over the state of the world. Would these reefs be here … Continue reading Lessons Learned from my Research Journey in Chiang Mai, Thailand