Komal Patel's Internship Abroad
Source: Excerpt from Case Western Reserve University News Center, http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2008/09/10/wellmanhill
Komal Patel's Internship Abroad Changed Her Views about Health Care
A Wellman Hill Political Science award allowed Komal Patel the opportunity to work for Unite For Sight, a nonprofit organization that empowers communities worldwide to improve eye health and eliminate preventable blindness.
Patel spent two and a half weeks in Kalinga, India providing follow up care to patients who'd received treatment. The experience, she said, allowed her to see a different aspect of health care.
"Over there it's not common to go to the eye doctor. Some of these issues are easily preventable and treatable," said Patel, a fourth-year pre-med and political science major. She estimated that about 60 percent of the patients in poorer areas of the country have cataracts. Unite For Sight volunteers brought a mobile bus to specific areas to provide education and take people to their appointments. Patel said during her internship, she learned about eye anatomy, did vision acuity tests, observed surgeries, and provided post-op care to make sure patients' eyes were healing properly.
Back in the United States, Patel worked with hospitals and Unite For Sight on assembling preventative health packets, which included plastic eyeballs to teach patients about good eye heath, along with educational pamphlets.
"This trip completely revolutionized the way I look at health care. It was one of those light bulb moments for me. You really don't understand the lack of support on an international level until you are there. I am now looking toward international health policy," said the Newburgh, N.Y., native.
Patel, a member of the university's pre-medical American Medical Student Association and the , Undergraduate Indian Student Association, found out about the Wellman Hill opportunity from her pre-medical adviser, and said the grant was the only way she could have funded her internship. "I feel fortunate, and I can't thank Elizabeth Hill enough for this."
