Child Family Health International - Bolivia

Final Report: Child Family Health International - Bolivia

This summer, I was blessed to spend eight weeks completing a virtual internship in conjunction with Child Family Health International (CFHI) for their “Virtual Global & Public Health Internship” program, which took place in Bolivia. This program was filled with learning experiences that I will take with me not only into my future career but also in my daily life as I interact with the world.

Throughout this program, I learned about how communities in Bolivia are addressing their most pressing health challenges. In addition to Bolivia, I also learned about healthcare and other pressing issues in CFHI partner countries, including Uganda, the Philippines, India, and Mexico, through semi-weekly round-table discussions. I attended language training sessions three times a week with Gonzalo, where we learned about many local health realities in Bolivia including transmissible diseases, adolescent pregnancy, climate change, neonatal disorders, and much more. We talked through many clinical cases during class, read articles, watched videos, and listened to podcasts in Spanish but also were challenged to complete project-based work to deepen our understanding of healthcare subjects as well as to practice our Spanish. We completed a partner presentation every Monday in Spanish on a health-topic of our choice, and some of the topics I addressed were maternal mortality, the opioid crisis, vaccinations in Bolivia, organ transplants in Bolivia, obesity, and smoking.

I also attended Dra. Uribe’s lectures each week where we discussed the healthcare system, traditional medicine, mental health, malnutrition, maternal health, health disparities and more, all in relation to Bolivia. I completed a culminating final presentation on altitude-related illnesses in her lecture, which I presented in front of all the Bolivian interns in Spanish.. In addition to the lectures, I attended a director seminar each week where we discussed many different topics related to global health, cross-cultural effectiveness, and international development. I also was blessed to attend cultural activities every Friday where we learned how to cook Bolivian food, virtually visited museums, and learned about Bolivian history.

CFHI is a truly remarkable organization that trains students ranging from undergraduates to medical students on how to be global citizens in a world that is in desperate need of informed advocates. We were blessed to have many cross-cultural interactions that led to deep reflection on our own perspectives compared to those who come from different backgrounds and have different experiences. My Spanish skills have dramatically improved through my language classes and this has helped me in my daily life, now that I am currently studying abroad in Puebla, Mexico. Although there were many times when I failed in my Spanish speaking abilities during the internship, I picked myself back up and tried again every time, leading to a deeper understanding of the language.

My knowledge of traditional medicine and its relation to culture has increased dramatically after this experience, and it is something that I will continue to learn about so as to integrate traditional medicine with modern medicine to develop holistic treatments for my patients. This holistic treatment will allow the patient to feel more comfortable and trust their doctor more fully. The patient-doctor relationship is important to me, and through this internship

I am now better able to understand the backgrounds that my future Latin American patients may come from. Beyond this, I will also be able to communicate with patients who may only speak Spanish or who may be more comfortable speaking Spanish.

Through my experiences during my CFHI internship, I not only gained more knowledge of healthcare and culture in Bolivia but also many other countries, which has increased my cross-cultural awareness in important areas of global health. The formation which I have received has improved my ability to function effectively in the context of cultural differences, aided in the development of my cultural humility and my increased knowledge of community-based development plans to ensure local empowerment. One of the most memorable and important views that I gained from this experience is that health is a human right. Many of the site coordinators were shocked that the right to healthcare is not mentioned in our constitution, as it is an important aspect of their respective countries' governmental system. Working towards providing access to healthcare for all in the United States and in countries throughout the world is a priority of mine going forward. I am so grateful for this internship that helped me improve my linguistic skills, cultural awareness, and expand my global perspective which will allow me to provide more personalized care as a future physician and spread the knowledge that I learned to others so together we can serve our communities as global citizens.