Lena R. GH A&S'17, Vivekananda Memorial Hospital-Sargur, Fellowship Program in HIV Medicine

Lena at the Shravanabelagola Temple.

            This summer, I spent my time working at the Vivekananda Memorial Hospital – a secondary care facility that serves people living in and around the rural village of Sargur, India. In two months of working, I learned more than a few invaluable lessons and now enjoy the satisfaction of having made a contribution to the efforts of this hospital. Among several other programs of specialization, the hospital offers the Fellowship in HIV Medicine. This Fellowship is a yearlong course doctors take to learn clinical and managerial aspects of an integrated, non-discriminatory approach to care for patients with HIV. For this program, I was asked to update a variety of curricular materials, including a list of learning resources, flyers, a student handbook, and new promotional video.

            When entering the scene of this hospital, the staff greeted us kindly and with respect. Never was I made to feel badly about my shortage of experience or contextual knowledge. However, one cannot help but notice the professionalism and competence of each staff member. Doctors, nurses, and administrators all approached their jobs with joyful devotion. This spark of enthusiasm was contagious for our group. While the first few weeks required that I overcome some bouts of shyness, I soon found myself conversing easily with residents, nurses, and doctors whom I now regard as both colleagues and friends.

Dorm room in the hospital.

            So what did I learn? The implications of HIV transmission go far beyond immediate clinical consequences. Indeed, patients must grapple with the struggle to obtain antiretrovirals (ARVs), adhere to these drugs, maintain confidentiality, avoid transmission of the virus to others, and watch their overall health. Working on the Fellowship taught me about the unique skillset that doctors must have in order to care for people living with HIV. In response to severe societal stigma against PLHIV, doctors at VMH use a similar protocol for all patients, such that there is no routine differentiation between patients with and without the virus. An Integrated Counseling and Test Center (ICTC) provides PLHIV and their family members with ongoing counseling and guidance, support groups, yoga, and care for psychological difficulties. What I saw in this type of care was a profound respect for the person, and an acknowledgment that holistic, multifaceted treatments yield better prognoses and improve quality of life. The challenge I faced was doing justice to such an incredible program.

            The video below gives one an impression of the hospital and what is to be gained from the Fellowship in HIV Medicine. To explain all that doctors get out of the course would take a much longer video. My hope is that this film alerts doctors and other professionals to the existence of this program and its potential to empower, educate, and prepare doctors to make a difference in the lives of many.

 Link to video: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2hTpGk6FzOzeEg3cXRXTUpwYTg

Kyonne R. ILR'18, Viveka Tribal Centre for Learning: Heightening Our Capacity for Global Service

My name is Kyonne R. ('18) and this past summer I had the distinct privilege of participating in the ILR in India program. After completing some introductory courses on gender, culture, language, and labor in this new context, I was able to join one of India’s premier non-profit organizations, which has set out to address the needs of the nation’s most vulnerable populations. This partnership was an opportunity for change makers from across the globe to coalesce for one singular purpose, which was to heighten our joint capacities for public service.

Kyonne and Dr. Ramkumar, his mentor and supervisor at VTCL

This year, the Viveka Tribal Centre for Learning launched a new, cutting-edge dual immersion program to increase rates of English proficiency amongst tribal populations. I had the honor and privilege of assisting in the management and development of this program – an endeavor which I would say was rather successful. Relying on my previous experiences documenting effective practices in K-12 schools across the U.S., I joined a team of educators in their efforts to develop innovative communication strategies for student-student and teacher-student interactions. After a period of both active and passive classroom observations, I hosted training sessions to explore strategies for taking this newly established English-instruction program to the next level. Throughout this experience, I felt as though my skill sets were welcomed. I felt like part of a team. And beyond our efforts to meet this primary goal, I was also able to engage teachers and administrators in discussions that I believe will continue to spur organizational success for this esteemed institution. 

Playing games with the youngest VTCL students.

Although my primary focus was on communication strategies, the overarching goal for this partnership was to build the capacity of teachers and administrators as they continue to meet the needs of India's tribal student populations. With this broader goal in mind, I advocated for the use of employee self-assessments as an opportunity for teachers and administrators to regularly evaluate their own professional development. I also discussed the potential benefits and challenges associated with collaborative teaching environments – hopefully so that administrators could make more informed decisions on how to utilize teams as part of their approach. Lastly, I shared some effective practices for increasing extrinsic motivation for students with disabilities – students who have the potential to be left behind if they aren’t engaged in ways that are palatable for them. Looking back, I think that my professors from the ILR School's OB and HR departments would have been proud of my contributions! 

I was surprised by how open the teachers and administrators were to my suggestions, but what I took away from this experience was the importance of honest self-assessment in all realms of public service. Although I had expected some pushback, my colleagues at the Viveka Tribal Centre for Learning welcomed my analysis for its potential to help them in their quests to serve a marginalized community. They were less interested in praises and more focused on developing their own human capital - an approach which I will adopt and carry with me for the rest of my life. 

Having successfully completed this program, I am still in awe of the school's teachers and administrators, who continue to make strides in the provision of high-quality educational opportunities for a diversifying rural student population. This experience has deepened my commitment to making a difference for urban student populations back home, as I use these and other experiences to prepare for a career in education consulting and nonprofit management. 

Azael P. GH A&S'17, Palliative Care Program, Mysore

Azael(center) with fellow GSL students at the SVYM Welcoming Ceremony.

During my time in India I worked under SVYM’s Palliative Care Program situated in Mysore, India. The ultimate goal of my project was to make an overall review of the program and focus on any problems facing the program’s organization, administration and funding. I was to identify and describe the way these problems were being dealt with and provide my own suggestions on how to improve. In order to make a quality assessment I had to experience the program’s work both on and off the field. To accomplish this, I first began my project by accompanying the palliative care team on their daily visits to patients’ homes. While on these trips I would observe the patient’s condition, environment, and their interactions with both the team and their own family. In addition, I would also observe how the team carried out their tasks and any problems that would occur. I carried around a small journal and jot down all of my observations along with any questions or comments that would come up at the time. Most of the conversations would occur in Kannada and so many times the doctors would simply explain to me what was said after we had left the home. During these trips I was able to see first-hand the impact this program was having and how the services were being implemented.

To complement my field visits, I would spend the rest of my time reading, researching palliative care policies and interviewing the palliative care staff. Interviewing the doctors, nurses and the rest of the staff and volunteers proved to be the most helpful. It is unwise to try and assess an organization without talking with and getting the opinion of the employees themselves. I would ask sets of questions including what their role was, what difficulties they have had completing their duties, and what they thought could be done to improve.  I would also go on visits to different hospitals in the Mysore area. This included a corporate hospital, an Ayurveda government hospital, and a public government hospital. Through these visits I was able to get a comprehensive view of the health care background in Mysore which helped put SVYM’s Palliative Care Program in better context.

My experience in India is very hard to put into words. In short, I like to tell people that it was simply amazing. Through my project I was able to learn about the health care system in Mysore and the problems that plague it, learn about the need for palliative care, how to effectively review and report on an organization, and through the patient home visits see so much more than I ever would have as a regular tourist. At the end of my project I was able to create a 13-page report on the program, how it runs, my methods and ultimately outline some of their biggest problems and the ways they are being solved and some of my own personal suggestions. Already feeling accomplished on learning so much, it was even better when I received an email after leaving India from one of the program’s directors telling me that they were already in the process of implementing one of my suggestions.

After going through her medical issues, the palliative care team took the time to sit down and speak with the patient about how she was doing beyond her physical health. She was eager to speak about her passion for sewing and crocheting and the strong family network she had to support her. (This photo is being used by permission of the patient.)