Mobile Outreach Clinic: Some of you may not know this, but while I was wrapping up the last year of my microbiology degree, I worked full/part-time at the UF Mobile Outreach Clinic. No, this wasn’t medical care offered through your mobile phones (telemedicine IS a thing though!), but an actual clinic with exam rooms, labs, and the whole nine-yards, operating entirely out of a bus! For comparison, please see Knight Bus from Harry Potter.  

Anyways, this is how I was introduced to mobile health and the enormous potential it had in improving patient health outcomes in underserved communities. If you are uninsured or underinsured, you’re most likely not seeking medical care unless it’s life-threatening, and even if you are, the only options in Gainesville are two hospitals or a few free clinics around town, both requiring some form of transportation to get to. The Mobile Clinic eases this accessibility barrier by bringing the clinic directly to the underserved neighborhoods, where patients suffer the most from lack of quality care. I worked closely with students, physicians, public health advocates, and community-based organizations to improve the accessibility, quality, and continuity of care offered by our clinic to ensure that marginalized populations were educated and empowered to live healthier lives.

So, do I have some valuable knowledge to share? I think so. Am I an expert? Ha, absolutely not. But I did come up with the idea for the mobile health education project right? Not even close (but more on that later!).      

MCAT: As the Independent Florida Alligator put it here, I can (and do) thank procrastination for my new opportunities. After I graduated from UF and passed down the torch at the Mobile Clinic, I needed to conquer an old enemy who had grown even stronger harder since our last encounter. I have always had trouble studying for standardized exams, but I knew this was my best and last shot. This meant 12 hour days at the library memorizing facts and formulas, reviewing hundreds of practice questions, and taking tons of full-length 7-hour practice exams. 

My 2016 resolution was literally to stay disciplined and stick to this four-month study plan. I was mostly successful, which is why my score is decent (hey I’m pre-med and Asian, so it’s never good enough!). But truly, it was times that I didn’t stick to my plan that led me to this unexpected journey. What was initially supposed to be a ten-minute study break, turned into an hour-long pity party, which turned into a three-hour job/post-grad program search, ultimately leading me to the extraordinary work of a SF-based non-profit organization called Mama Hope. No more studying got done as I “wasted” the rest of the day reading up on the incredible development projects of past advocates and day/night-dreaming about how cool it would be to apply and be accepted into their fellowship program. If only I wasn’t a pre-med with absolutely zero experience in the obvious fields I mentioned earlier. I decided to apply to Class 11 anyways, hoping my knowledge of patient-centered care, public health, and mobile clinics would be enough. It was.      

Mama Hope: Yes, I really am the first and only advocate going to India. My fellow kick-ass advocates will all be working on different projects in different communities in Africa and the U.S. So how exactly did my project come to be, in partnership with the Desai Foundation? Well, at the core of Mama Hope’s holistic, human-centered development model is listening to what communities want and need. It turns out that the Desai Foundation and the community members in the villages of Gujarat have been wanting to establish an accessible mobile education program for some time, especially one focused on nutrition, health, and hygiene. THEY CAME UP WITH THE IDEA THEMSELVES, PEOPLE! Mama Hope has just been waiting for an Advocate with the relevant experience, skill, and interest to place in partnership with the local community in India. Enter LIL OL’ ME. 

Medicine: This whole time, you might be wondering how I’m able to fit a full-time, 9-month fellowship program into my life. Well, this is one of those times when a gap year can truly be a blessing rather than a curse. Alongside fundraising, these past few months have been dedicated to writing essay after essay for medical school applications. Yes, that’s right. I still want to go into medicine, even though I have ventured into this uncharted and exciting world of aid & development. There are actually more parallels between the two then you might think, but more on that in a later post. From my experiences at the Mobile Clinic at the local level to the health care initiatives of Mama Hope’s past advocates on a global level, I believe that every individual, no matter where you live, should have access to basic health care services and quality health education. This is why I chose to be a Global Advocate. 

If you’re reading this, I thank you so much for sticking around and hope you enjoyed the ridiculous saga that got me here. So, was it a miracle or hard work that led me down this path? Or maybe just being at the right place and procrastinating at the right time? I’m not entirely sure, but all I can say is that M must be my favorite letter!