Megan Ulsh, DO Class of 2021
The summer after my Sophomore year of undergrad at UD, I traveled to Dar es Salaam Tanzania to work as a medical intern. Through the company “Projects Abroad”, I spent 5 weeks living with a local host family and working as an independent intern at Mwananyamala Hospital. During my stay, I completed rotations in four different units of the hospital including outpatient procedures, surgery, labor and deliver, and internal medicine. I was able to observe surgical procedures and treatments and, because of my prior EMT training, assist in natural births, taking vital signs, and wound care and dressing. I gained knowledge in obstetric, surgical, and emergency healthcare in a developing country while my eyes were opened to global healthcare issues including a lack of clean water, improper sanitation, and underfunded healthcare systems. In addition to working at Mwananyamala, I volunteered at an orphanage outside of the city. Here, I taught the children lessons in personal hygiene and basic health practices and was able to assist in performing physical exams and providing necessary medications to many of the children. On the weekends, there was plenty of time to explore the city of Dar es Salam, Tanzania’s capital, the nearby safaris, and the island of Zanzibar. I was able to take lessons in Swahili, travel to neighboring villages, experience Tanzanian night life, and relax on local beaches. Living with a host family provided unique experiences I likely would not have had living in a hotel or hostel. Not only were my host parents my first point of contact for things to see and places to go while in Tanzania, living with a local family allowed me to immerse almost completely into the culture. Each day I shared three home-made Tanzanian meals at a dinner table with my family. This authentic experience was mutually beneficial, as we all shared our experiences each day and compared our differing cultures. As I worked both in the hospital and orphanage, and learned to navigate the nation’s capital by way of bajaj and dala dala, I discovered the differences, and many similarities, between America and Tanzania, both medically and socially. My experiences in Tanzania allowed for the expansion of my understanding of healthcare issues to encompass a global perspective and heightened my sensitivity and compassion for those in need.
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Amy Elfond, University of Delaware Class of 2018
This past winter, I had the most gratifying, humbling, and life changing experience. I had the opportunity to travel to Tanzania, Africa with a non governmental organization called MEDLIFE for the whole month of January. We volunteered in small, impoverished villages on the out skirts of Moshi Town, and set up free mobile clinics to provide men and women of all ages with proper education, medicine, and tools in order to live a healthier life. We helped over 2,000 patients. It is unbelievable that something like medicine and education, which is available at my finger tips, is so inaccessible in a third world country like Tanzania. It evoked a passion of health, travel, and helping others in me. I wish to continue to go on volunteer trips throughout the rest of my college career and when I am in the work force as well. This eye opening experience reminded our volunteer group of how grateful and appreciative we should be, always. The inspiring families I met, doctors I shadowed, and deep discussions with the friends I made will forever stay in my heart and I will continue to carry these lessons with me |
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February 2018
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