I had the pleasure of facetiming with two of our CA3 residents, Rachel Feldman and Mitch Daniel, as well as Dr. Jatin Joshi (chronic pain specialist) and my old friend and trusty local Punjabi driver, Babu this morning! Rachel, Mitch, and Jatin are beginning their 2-4 week experience in Amritsar, Punjab on Weill Cornell Anesthesiology's 11th global health elective!
Tacking on a bit of travel upfront, Rachel and Mitch first toured the Taj Mahal and Agra with Mitch's family and then Mitch spent time in Nepal before meeting up with Rachel and Jatin in Amritsar where they have already visited our two partner hospitals (Sri Guru Ram Das Institute and Amandeep Trauma Hospital).
In addition to learning about anesthesiology and health care systems in low resource settings, they will soon engage with many other facets of local society that have a profound impact on health, disease, and access, like gender inequality, substance abuse, poverty, environmental pollutants, and politics. Just this evening, the group visited a nightly ceremony at the Waga Border that showcases tenuous international relations and nationalistic tendencies between India and Pakistan - just one week ago, it seemed as if it might be too risky for a visit here during this elective but our colleagues seem to have enjoyed the experience without incident, donning their "MIGA" hats and all.
Beyond new headgear, Chief Resident Mitch Daniel has designed and purchased himself a new suit; though given the endless supply of yummy local cuisine they are discovering, by the end of the month, he may need to let it out a bit!