I am scheduled to do a month long Internal Medicine elective through the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative in Botswana from end of August through September of this year as part of my PGY2 Medicine-Pediatrics training. I will be working at the referral-Hospital in Gaborone as Physician staff to train in a resource-scare, underserved environment and help meet the needs of a Physician shortage in Botswana. My primary role will be outpatient Primary care for adolescents and adults living with HIV, working with Host-National supervisory attending faculty. As a Med-Peds physician I bring a particular set of skills working with adolescents and have extensive experience working with HIV within Sub-Saharan Africa. I am requesting funding to assist with flight and travel costs for the rotation.
The specific population served will be adolescents and adults living with HIV in urban and surrounding rural Botswana. I formerly served 3 years as a Peace Corps volunteer in bordering Namibia where I learned to speak a local language that originated from Botswana and is a dialect of Setswana, Botswana’s national language. I specifically chose Botswana as my BIPAI site for this experience because of my familiarity with the culture and familiarity with the language. During my time in Peace Corps I worked specifically in the health sector with expanding access to HIV treatment and prevention. As both a Med-Peds physician and someone who has worked extensively with populations highly impacted by HIV disease burden I have a unique perspective and skillset that I will be able to bring to this clinical setting. This experience will be in both a different country’s health care setting, and providing direct clinical care which will allow me to gain further perspective and experience whilst providing the best care for this unique and vulnerable population.
The intended impact of the project will be increasing the number of patients served in the community and access to care for individuals living with HIV. Additionally we will be establishing and strengthening bidirectional relationships between Baylor COM and the Botswanan Ministry of Health. I will be one of the first Internal Medicine residents to be working with the program after COVID disruptions and hope to establish further ground work for future trainees to benefit from Global experiential learning, as well as providing direct access to resident physicians to decrease immediate physician burden. Lastly, this opportunity will further my own experiential learning in my training as a physician intending on working in the Global Health sphere after completion of residency. Most of my experiences in Global Health have been long term projects and relationships and I am excited to better explore how to continue practicing the principles of sustainability while working on a short term project over the the month rotation. Additionally, I hope to share my experiences and lessons learned with other residents and the greater Medical community to improve mutual understanding of our global communities and health disparities.
My experience in Botswana was an incredible opportunity to witness some of the great successes of public health interventions and the advancements in HIV care. The majority of my patient population were patients who acquired HIV perinatally and had been living with HIV for greater than 10 years, remaining virally suppressed. The transition during these young adult’s lifetime; a disease initially deemed to be a death sentence, now with incredibly effective medications that have made HIV to be just like any chronic condition when on proper treatment. Throughout my month I discussed with patients barriers to care during adolescence and young adulthood, educated on U=U and strategies to maintain and optimize adherence. The clinic had a model of comprehensive care which provided a one-stop place for HIV adherence counseling, clinical consultation, labs, pharmacy to address general primary care for individuals living with HIV. Though there is still further work to be done reducing societal stigma with regard to HIV, I am blessed to have been able to take part in expanding access to comprehensive care for persons living with HIV. Thank you again to the Doximity Foundation for supporting this trip!
