 Soraya Azari, M’07, serves ardently with GHP in Guatemala.
When Soraya Noel Azari, a fourth-year student, went to Xela, Guatemala, in May 2005, she didn’t know what to expect. Within two weeks, she was seeing patients on her own, speaking only in Spanish, and rethinking her career goals.
"I found the experience to be absolutely amazing," says Azari, a Californian who earned her bachelor’s degree at Brown. "Not only was I one-on-one with the attending doctor, but I felt that I got to know him and that he came to trust my ability to see patients."
Azari lived with the Rodrigues family, whose little boys loved to play soccer with her and teach her new words. She took Spanish classes in the afternoons, and in the mornings, saw patients. "We would have 25 people or more lined up to see us in these rural areas," she says. "We would treat them in a classroom or whatever was available, with two chairs and a makeshift bed."
Azari went to Guatemala as part of the School of Medicine’s Global Health Programs (GHP), which coordinates the School’s global activities and supports international aspects of its research, educational and service programs.
Says Neal Nathanson, M.D., associate dean for GHP, "The vision behind Global Health Programs—or at least my vision—is that we become successful at giving the student some interest in seeing life in other countries, particularly developing countries, with the idea that this might be something they would want to do on a career basis." The program is a perfect example of President Amy Gutmann’s determination that Penn "engage globally and locally."
Azari can attest to GHP’s impact on participants. "As soon as I left Guatemala I wanted to go back. I’ve made a 180-degree turn in my career plans," she says. "I thought I would be a neurosurgeon, and now I’m thinking about the field of infectious disease."
GHP opportunities exist in 30 countries, including Botswana, Ghana, South Africa, India, Guatemala, Peru, Austria, Belgium, England, France, Ireland, and Japan. In addition to Dr. Nathanson, the program’s staff includes Assistant Dean Dr. Steven C. Larson, M’88; Administrative Director Nancy Biller, M.A., M.P.H.; and Administrative Director Valerie Sica. As a board member of the Global Health Education Consortium, a national organization, Dr. Larson observes that GHP at Penn "is one of the most organized and sophisticated in existence at a U.S. medical school."
GHP has also teamed with Penn’s Bridging the Gaps program, which provides interdisciplinary health-related service and training in underserved communities, to create a Global Health Scholar track. The collaboration will enable students to combine international and local experiences, gaining greater insight into the ways that poverty, lack of access, and health disparities negatively affect the health of those in local communities and throughout the world.
"The greatest challenge I see facing GHP at Penn is funding," says Dr. Larson.
Since 2004, GHP has sent more than 250 students overseas. A generous grant from the Benjamin and Mary Siddons Measey Foundation has helped support the program. GHP’s policy is to fund every student with a good proposal, as generously as possible given the funds annually available. "Currently, our funding averages $1,300 per student, ranging from $700 to $2,000 depending upon destination," explains Nancy Biller. "This usually covers about 80 percent of very basic expenses. With more resources, we could relieve a bit more of the burden on students who are already deeply in debt."
With interest in global health exploding across the country, many medical schools are seeking funding from programs such as the Gates Foundation. With that kind of competition for foundation money, private donors such as Mark Kaufman, M’77, become even more important.
In Azari’s case, there’s no doubt that her GHP funding is an investment in increased access to health care. "The fact is that health care is a human right, and I hope to do whatever I can to help people access this right — may they be in developing countries or in underserved communities here in the States," she says. |
 Alumni support helped Patty Salmon, M’08, get where she's going.
Patricia M. Salmon knows firsthand the wonderful benefits that donor support can add to the lives of PENN Medicine’s students. As a recipient of the John J. Mikuta, M.D., Endowed Scholarship, she received the financial assistance necessary to pursue her medical studies. "The Mikuta Scholarship is obviously worth more to me than just the dollar amount given each year," says Salmon. "It has reduced some of the stress that comes from funding a medical education, and has allowed me to focus on my studies, not my debt."
A May 2008 graduate, Patty is confident that her PENN Medicine education will prove vital as she begins the next stage in her professional life. She is hoping to pursue a career in hematology-oncology, and would ultimately like to be a physician at an academic medical center.
Grateful for the opportunities made possible by attending PENN Medicine, Salmon is proud to have been inducted into the AOA Honor Society. While at Penn, she was actively involved with the medical student government, serving as a fourth-year representative and as a student ambassador for alumni relations.
Patty describes her vision of the future this way: "The most important change I would like to see is for medicine to become more accessible to the average person, regardless of socioeconomic status. I can help promote this by being an informed, active voter, and participating in professional organizations that lobby for change at a national level."
As she looks back at her four years at PENN Medicine, Patty reflects on the important role that alumni support plays in the lives of medical students. "Medical school is extremely difficult — emotionally, physically and financially," she says, "and we look to the alumni during those exhausting days to remind us of where we are going." Patty is excited to be joining the School’s rich alumni community. |
