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Medicine Personal Statement

Motivation for choice of elective India is a developing country where medicine is advancing at a fast rate. It is culturally very diverse with a wide range of social classes. The vastness of the country was my main resolve for going to India. Through past experience and positive feedback from other doctors I believed an elective in India would offer me the ideal opportunity to see diseases which I wouldn't in the UK, study epidemiology in the country and gain a fist hand view of medicine at the grass roots level. Being a developing country meant that I would be able to gain an insight into how lower social class citizens live and the factors to good health which are important to them

Objectives achieved and how Increase experience in paediatrics: By spending time in the hospital on the paediatric wards shadowing the doctors and attending daily ward rounds I was able to learn about common conditions affecting children in India, such as; malaria, glomerulonephritis, congenital heart defects, infective endocarditis, TB, HIV and hepatitis. Through regular interaction with patients presenting with these conditions I was able to conduct supervised clinical exam and develop an understanding of each condition and develop my diagnostic skills. I also attended private paediatric clinics where I learned about the role of the paediatrician in the community

Develop experience into infectious diseases: Through working in general medicine I was able to see a whole host of conditions, which are uncommon in the UK, such as; Malaria, TB, Hepatitis and HIV which are more common in this area of India. By attending ward rounds, teaching seminars and case presentations I was able to attain a better understanding of the epidemiology, management and education regarding the control of infectious diseases. Malaria was very common in this area of India, therefore by the end of the rotation I felt more confident in making a diagnosis of malaria and recognising the red flag symptoms suggestive of malaria, and offering a comprehensive treatment regime

Whilst working in community medicine and taking part in field trips to patients homes I was able to learn more about communicable diseases. I discovered that factors such as cleanliness, overcrowding and storage of food can all contribute to the spread of disease. Overall I was able to see a range of patients with different infectious diseases which I would not be able to encounter in the UK

An insight into medicine in a developing world: By completing an elective in India I was able to see how the healthcare system is different to the UK NHS system. I discovered that there were many differences to the UK, in particular the public health issues, the socio-economic status and also how the topography of the area alters the way medicine is practiced and accessed by patients. By working in the hospital I was able to appreciate that there are private institutions and government institutions. Both were perceived by the patient to be offering different standards of care. Private thought to be offering better, as free care was seen as substandard

Travel India: I was able to develop an even deeper understanding into the cultural, historical and religious beliefs in the area. India is a very large country therefore beliefs vary from one state to state

Having visited the north of India on numerous occasions, visiting the south was a new experience for me. I was able o appreciate the great architecture built under the influence of the influence of the British and the Portuguese. I was able to develop my Hindi speaking skills whilst there and visit some historical religious places, which was a unique experience

What unexpected learning experiences did you have: I was able to take part in a community study with other students where we visited people in their homes. I could relate to this as it was similar in essence to our family project/patient study. I was able to see how a lower socioeconomic class live in India and learn how factors such as food storage, overcrowding and cleanliness were the main issues for good health

I was able to visit rural and urban health centres where I was able to appreciate how public health issues were tackled. For example contraception and family planning were simply addressed by patient education and then placing a box of condoms on the outside of the building for discrete attainment

I was also able to spend some time with the ophthalmologist. This allowed me to use my skills developed in my SSC to assess patients with eye problems. I learned that well developed cataracts were very common, and surgical techniques are quite similar to those in the UK

What was the most important thing that you as an individual gained from your elective experience: As well as gaining an insight into diseases which I will rarely see in the UK, I was being able to conduct a communication skills workshop for medical students in India

This was very rewarding I was able to use my skills developed in medical school to highlight the importance of good communication skills. As well as being helpful to the students it also highlighted to the staff the importance of good communication skills and the need to implement a regular workshop into the curriculum in order to help produce better doctors

I found it immensely rewarding and beneficial when I was able to work in community medicine and actually get down to the grass roots level this helped me to appreciate the problems of health promotion in within a community

What were the main economic, cultural and epidemiological influences on health care in the country visited: The, most important factors influencing healthcare provision in India were accessibility, acceptability, affordability and availability

The main economic influences on health care were that many patients couldn't afford good quality healthcare, or were financially unable to take time off work to access healthcare. If the main wage earner, which is usually the male falls ill, then the family struggles to cope, so is usually very reluctant to access healthcare

The cultural belief in India is that traditional Indian medicine is the best. However allopathic medicine is becoming more widely practiced and accepted by people in India. From this I learned that alternative health beliefs have to be respected

Epidemiological influences on healthcare are very different to that in the UK. Communicable disease prevalence is much higher, and poor health promotion practices make it difficult to restrict the spread of disease. With no litter, sewage collection, poor food and water storage and poor cleanliness means that the environment for spread of disease is more active. Due to the close proximity of communities and overcrowding, infectious diseases spread very rapidly often affecting most people under one roof. Diseases such as CHD and stroke are less prevalent in India than in the UK, mainly due to the difference in diet

From my study elective I was able to gain an experience into a different healthcare system than our own and appreciate the factors which are important for good health in India.

Comments

This statement is probably too long for a UCAS application.