My Experience In Public Health

One year ago, I was given a life changing opportunity to intern in San Ignacio Community Hospital in San Ignacio, Belize. Each day brought something new: a man limping towards the emergency room with a deep shin laceration after a machete fight, what seemed like hundreds of mothers and their children waiting to be evaluated by a pediatrician for the first time, and numerous teen women who would soon be in delivery with little to no prenatal care. Patients traveled miles by foot, bike, or taxi to be seen at the hospital every day and we worked until each was cared for. Consequently, I witnessed how a public health system functioned in a rural, considerably underserved community. Throughout my month in San Ignacio, I was lucky to work with a variety of health care providers from different backgrounds while researching the country’s health challenges and most common diseases. I quickly learned the basic health care I often took for granted in the United States was not easily

While earning undergraduate degrees in biological sciences and clinical laboratory science, I gained significant experience in both clinical and laboratory settings. I spent one summer volunteering at The SHARING Clinic, a clinic established to provide health care to underprivileged populations in south Omaha, Nebraska. I drew patient’s blood to screen for diabetes, high cholesterol, and other suspected conditions. Additionally, I volunteered at The RESPECT Clinic, providing patients confidential testing and treatment for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. While volunteering in the clinics I learned first-handedly the demographic and socioeconomic factors of public health. It was also my first exposure to health inequities in the United States. I now wonder, how can I help eliminate these both nationally and