Monday, August 22nd, 2011
Rennie Qin, a 2nd year student from the University of Auckland blogs about the inspiration that led her to global health and her thoughts and reflections after the 2011 August Meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.
One sunny afternoon, as a first year student, I began to wonder – if one could, hypothetically, spend their life making maximum impact, what would it be? Should we invest our energy and time into perfecting the expensive treatment of a few patients from high income countries or alternatively put the same energy and time into improving the basic healthcare of millions of patients in developing countries? I was compiled to pick the later. And that conviction led to the beginning of my search for global health. I recognized that no matter what advanced technology and fancy gadgets we have in medical system of high income countries, it all comes to nothing if millions of patients are suffering from lack of basic access in other parts of the world.
Through 10 dizzying, inspirational and life-changing days at IFMSA August Meeting, global health comes to life in front of me. Global health, albeit not a focus of IFMSA, is what I looked for and found at August Meeting. There is no better way of learning about global health than through a global context – by being in the same room with 1000 medical students from all around the world. I met some girls from the newly formed South Sudan. I saw Taiwan and China working together on a climate change project. The Tunisian girls are working on an exhibition of the revolution in their country, while the Palestinians are running a project that brings students from around the world to a UN refugee camps. This, to me, is global health –immersing first-hand in the heartfelt diversity of the world.
Back at home, I am busy running around medical school telling people about the amazing time at IFMSA GA. I stumbled when people asked me what is so amazing about it. The academic programme is good. The socials are good. (Admittedly, those aspects of NZ and Australian conferences are right up there with IFMSA). Speakers are world-class. But the amazing, ambitious and talented people I’ve met have made the conference! I loved talking to people about their internships, projects, travel experience, the three or four degrees they are studying at the same time and their grand plans to change the world in the future. At the same time, I watched people hurrying off to their casual meetings with experts from the World Health Organization or World Bank. It is difficult to believe that we still have time to be medical students!
The 1000 medical students I have met symbolize 21st century professionalism – professionals with social conscience and global inter-connectedness. We are trained not only for our own country, but as global citizen, as doctors of the world. Words cannot describe the energy when these 1000 youth come together! It is the energy that makes us sing to ‘wavin’ flag’; the energy that makes us dance like crazy to ‘waka, waka’; the energy that makes us quote Virchow time and time again ‘medicine is a social science and politics is nothing but medicine on a grand scale’; the energy that makes us question the root of healthcare leading into a journey of uncovering health inequity, climate change and health, social determinants of health, the interplay of politics and health, economic governance of health and so much more.
As entire plenary came to silence while the kiwis were performing the haka, I stood there in awe. I cannot wait for the amazing things that our ambitious generation will achieve in global health even before we graduate. I cannot wait to collaborate with students from all over the world on exciting projects about global health. I am grateful for this eye-opening experience (thanks to Phillip Chao for persuading me to apply even after the deadline for application has passed) that has completely reshaped my perspective as a 2nd year student – an experience worth every single cent and second.
