“I think this was a really important experience as I gained a perspective of what life is like in Zimbabwe first hand from a Zim native. I got to ask so many questions and learn about the history and current issues in the country. They taught me about their culture, food and activities. It was amazing”
– UBC Medical Student
“I couldn’t have asked for a better clinical experience at Karanda. Due to the unfortunate circumstances of healthcare, I witnessed stark differences between first and third world medicine that I will remember forever. Diseases like HIV, TB, and malaria were ubiquitous and seeing the consequences of inadequate or improper treatment and their complications was both frightening and extremely worthwhile. At times I was given tremendous responsibility in the assessment and care for these patients, and I recognize the value of these experiences to move forward confidently as a new physician”
– UBC Medical Student
“The variety of encounters with the Zimbabwean health care system gave me a full scope of perspectives and helped me better understand the strengths and challenges. I am interested in public health and health care systems – this experience gave me a very interesting picture and something that I wasn’t expecting. Working and meeting with a variety of health care providers across health care centres from community health providers, nurses, midwives, physicians at community to regional to tertiary care centres – gave me a perspective that was well rounded. Seeing how medical students are trained, what the resources are available was also part of this overall picture. Altogether, this has shown me the complexities of the health care system and allowed me to compare to Canada, inspiring me to continue looking at health care systems and where I can be involved in change in the future”
– UBC Medical Student
“I think the mix of both community and hospital is very valuable as a med student and I would encourage students to do both. Yes, the hospital stuff certainly puts us out of our comfort zones, but personally I think that is often where the best learning occurs”
– UBC Medical Student
2015 Group Trip Blog: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/zimcanmed2015
