For our final rotation we set out on the metro and headed to Gurgaon to visit a private hospital, Medanta. The difference between AIIMS and Medanta is apparent even before walking inside. The outside of medanta was well kept, there was a green area, and there were not nearly as many people outside the facility waiting to be seen/ admitted. We were told by our coordinator that a certain type of health insurance is needed to be a patient at Medanta, and even then treatment is very expensive. He also mentioned that there are around 1,000 beds in the hospital with single and double rooms. Medanta also tries to attract Indian doctors to stay in the country by paying salaries competitive to what a doctor could make in other countries, like the United States. This has led to making the hospital more innovative and up to date with technology as well.
Tree of Life.
Lobby.
Inside the hospital we met with a doctor in the blood bank who is completing her transfusion medicine residency. She gave us a tour of the blood bank facility and lab. Medanta mainly depends on family donations to stock their blood bank and provide transfusions. This method prevents them from running into blood shortages. Whenever a person needs blood, a family member goes to the blood bank to donate. There they get screened for disease risk, have a physical exam, blood is drawn, then it is examined and tested ( HIV, Hep B/C, Syphilis, Malaria), and then the patient can receive a transfusion after it is cross matched. They also hold blood drives similar to theres cross when needed.
While speaking with the resident, we found out more on the process to become a doctor in India. She said that she took an exam in which she scored high enough to be allowed to practice medicine, but not high enough to allow her to practice in the field that she wanted (internal medicine). They have this process in place so that they do not have a shortage in any one specialty. I think this compares similarly to the United States and scores on our board exams. Highly specialized things require higher scores to make an applicant competitive. Although I’d like to think that the programs look at more than just our scores to determine whether or not we are accepted into a specific residency program. After meeting with the doctor we headed back to Saket to visit the Delhi Network of Positive PEople (DNP+) center.
DNP+ was started in 1999 by three former IV drug users. The goal of the organization is to provide support for people with HIV through advocacy, counseling, outreach, and medical treatment. In 2012 they received the Red Ribbon award for their work with HIV+ people. Today the organization has over 3500 members. We met with the Saket program director as well as several other educators and outreach workers who shared their stories and how they became involved with the program. I really enjoyed learning about the different initiatives they are involved with and how they raise awareness for HIV+ people. One of my favorite things I learned from them was their Discrimination Response Team. If someone feels they are being discriminated at work or in a medical center, one of the counselors will come and try to sort out the issue through education or if necessary involving legal action. After learning about the organization we shared tea and then walked back to our apartment for our final meeting with our program director.
Advocacy poster at the center.
Today was our last rotation and last day before leaving our CFHI apartment and heading out on the next phase of our India adventure. Throughout our stay we met a lot of great people who taught us about various public health initiatives in Delhi. We also experienced a lot of laughter and fun times while making new friends and memories that we will take with us once we return home- thank you fellow travelers!
Hopefully we will still be able to add
pictures and updated information as we continue to explore India =]
-Megan
More Videos!
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