What They Did Over Their Summer Vacations
It’s called summer vacation, but for most students, summer isn’t a time to just kick back and relax, it’s a time to work. We caught up with ten students from five schools at Tufts to find out what they were up to.
Gabrielle Horner, A14, M21
What she did on her summer vacation: Participated in the School of Medicine’s eight-week Global Health Program in Windhoek, Namibia
On the clock: I worked alongside another first-year medical student in the HIV/AIDS subdivision of Namibia’s Ministry of Health and Social Services. While we assisted with various division-led projects, most of our time was spent in the field completing an evaluation of a community-based medication-delivery program. This evaluation consisted of interviewing physicians, nurses, field workers, and people living with HIV. We found the days spent in the field the most rewarding not just because we were collecting the data to write up, but because we heard firsthand about the impact of HIV on the lives of people in Windhoek.
Off the clock: Windhoek is right in the middle of Namibia, so we went on several weekend road trips in all different directions. Our favorite was a trip to Sossusvlei, which is known for its massive red sand dunes. We went sand-sledding, climbed the dunes, camped outside the national park, and answered the question, “How many medical students does it take to pitch a tent?!”
Final thoughts: We are extremely grateful for the collaboration between Tufts faculty and staff at the Namibian Ministry of Health. This relationship between the two institutions enabled us to travel abroad and feel confident in how we prepared and what our goals were for the summer. Three of our professors even traveled to Namibia shortly after we arrived to check in on us and work on their own projects.
Alex Smith, M21
What he did this summer: Participated in the School of Medicine’s eight-week Global Health Program at Christian Medical College in Vellore, India.
The work experience: Rachel Reindorf, M21, and I stayed at Christian Medical College in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, while we pursued separate experiences at the hospital. She took a class and participated in research; I rotated between different departments as an observer. I started in the Community Health and Development hospital and the Low Cost-Effective Care Units, responsible for providing affordable care to low-income rural and urban populations, respectively. I participated in outreach trips to villages surrounding Vellore and to the inner city to assist in screening medicine disbursement.
I also rotated through the neonatology, medical oncology, cardiology, pulmonology, and infectious disease units at the main hospital. There, my days would vary with inpatient and outpatient clinic days. I found my time spent with the neonatal and infectious disease units the most rewarding due to the severity and diversity of cases, and the way that the residents welcomed me into their daily routines.
On his own: My favorite trips were to Coonoor and Delhi/Agra. Coonoor is in the hill region of Tamil Nadu and is stunningly beautiful. The hills are covered with tea plantations that appear manicured at a distance, interwoven with trees to help maintain soil hydration/retention. Cities and villages sit right on the sides of the hills, and smaller villages are tucked between summits. Delhi and Agra were fun to visit for the cultural and architectural sites: many temples, forts, palaces, and of course, the Taj Mahal. This was the standard touristy trip, but it was amazing.
Final thoughts: For me, traveling abroad offers the chance to immerse myself in other cultures—to push myself out of my comfort zone. It’s also an opportunity to reset and ground myself, to pop the “bubble” in which I’d otherwise continue to live.