Global Health Needs to Provide Mental Care to Marginalized Population

Thirty years ago, my parents escaped war-torn Lebanon as refugees. Having lived most of my life in California, the annual trips to Lebanon had a profound impact on me. In 2013, I traveled to Lebanon, this time as a graduate student researcher, to conduct a study on mental health that I hoped would help to improve the quality of life of those living in the Shatila refugee camp. During my study, I met 18-year-old refugee with symptoms and signs of depression. The experience brought home to me one of the most disheartening aspects of global medicine: the neglect of mental health. While my desire to become a physician can be traced, years back to where I was brought face to face with poverty and suffering, my recent trip opened my eyes to health inequalities and gaps in delivering care. As a re-applicant, my perseverance, academic strengths, and unique experiences have brought me to the certainty that being a physician would best enable me to address unmet global mental health needs and provide medical care to marginalized populations.

In the past year, I have improved my academic and practical knowledge of medicine. I graduate August 2013 with a Master of Science (MS) degree in Global Health Sciences from UCSF, with a comprehensive skill set applicable to any area of medicine. I received extensive training in global health research, studied global health problems, and explored a hands-on global fieldwork on mental health in a refugee camp. My contribution gives me much satisfaction because the project’s findings will reduce the mental health treatment gap, providing mental health services for the first time. In addition, I draw from and hone my leadership skills as a member of the MS Student Council at UCSF, and expand my knowledg...

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...emotional neglect I saw in Shatila, although demoralizing, brought me to a certainty that the power of compassion and support are much more valuable when paired with medical knowledge. Yes, medicine requires problem-solving and critical thinking that I learned from research with Dr. Hayes, and agility and intellectual curiosity that I learned from being a graduate student. Yes, medicine requires the power of advocacy that I learned with Kerry’s Kids clinics. But above all, as a re-applicant, I realized the power of endurance, persistence, and passion necessary to thrive in medicine. Medical school will provide me with the knowledge and skills required to improve the quality of human life. It will fulfill my ultimate goal of establishing a career as a physician and a global health researcher, leveraging knowledge into change, and empowering the neglected.