Students Attend USC Symposium on Global Health

By: Dr. Arjan Harjani, Medical Focus Program Director

Many people love to travel and explore other cities, countries, and continents to experience the rich cultural diversity, exotic foods, breathtaking views of nature, and architecture reflective of the generations that came before us. But have we looked at the world through the lens of global health? At times, we forget the poor and the vulnerable- people affected by poverty, destitution, illness, isolation, or lack of proper healthcare services, which all add up to a sense of hopelessness. How do we bring these realities into the classroom? Quite simply- you draw the attention of a teenager to these issues as well as concerns close to home- like that of Porter Ranch in our very own San Fernando Valley- then expand the circle to Flint in Michigan, Bogota in Columbia, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone in Africa, Syria in Middle east/Asia, China and many other cities and countries- the circle gets bigger until we have included the whole planet. I encourage them to hear about the issues, research them, talk about them, discuss them, and reflect on them. This year we added another dimension to this lens and that was an opportunity of attending a symposium to listen to all the experts about global health and present and future projects and plans. That helped the students get a better grasp on these issues by understanding the social and economic factors and the political turmoil resulting in forced migration, starvation, illness, and a downward spiral of degradation of human dignity. Many of the effects of these events could have been mitigated by agreements, unification, solidarity, and a better understanding of the fact that “we’re all in this together” and living on this one planet that is our only home! Providence was fortunate to have been the only high school invited to the 2016 USC’s Symposium on Global Health which featured women’s and children’s health. Justine Ko ‘10 is a current student at Keck School of Medicine of USC and on path to becoming a doctor. She is the Co-President of the OBGYN interest group that co-sponsored this year’s event along with students in pediatrics. She approached her superiors and explained the rationality of inviting us because we have a Medical Focus Program (and Justine is a graduate of this program)- her boss did not hesitate to agree to the invitation so there we were, on a Saturday morning in early February, twenty of us, part of a large gathering of doctors, med students, and research scientists. This was clearly a group of stewards of healthcare with a heart and mind full of giving to the sick, the poor, and the vulnerable with compassion, justice, respect, and a strong sense of moral obligation. “What I enjoyed most was the professional environment I was in. High school students do not always get opportunities like this one, so I found it refreshing and memorable to be surrounded by many like-minded medical school students,” said Nate Vicente ‘16. “Being in those lecture halls and listening to each presentation gave me a glimpse into what my future will consist of.” The students were split among the various workshops that were offered over the four block sessions ranging from an hour to an hour and one-half duration. Topics were diverse and based on the overarching theme of United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals with a 2030 agenda featuring 17 major actions. Women and children are segments of the global population that have often been ignored which leads us to ponder over this frightful scenario- failure to take action to better the lives of women and children will result in a sick and shrinking population and a huge economic burden on all governments, cultures, and societies. However, all this is not just spelling doom. It’s also about hope and actions that are taking place around the world to make every individual’s life and health better. The UN has established seventeen health resolutions and sustainable goals aimed for 2030- they include ending poverty, providing education for everyone, ensuring clean water for all, and many more! Positive and encouraging measures are being taken as a number of organizations are joining hands to eradicate poverty, illness, and illiteracy and bring confidence, power, and hope to all women and children around the world.

“The symposium exposed me to a multitude of different career opportunities within the medical field,” recalled Abigail Urbina ‘17. “All the passionate medical students and physicians I was able to meet provided me with a great amount of insight on what paved their journeys towards success. Not only was the symposium a fun event filled with many seminars and workshops, but it was also a great opportunity for us young adults to explore what work inspires us most.” “The symposium taught me a lot about what’s really going on in the world. It made me realize that there are situations out there that can be fixed over time, and ultimately, our generation will be the one to do just that,” added Kaelin Ayap ‘17.