Erica Miller - Weill Bugando

by Erica Miller

Cornell University student Erin Byrt ('09) (left) and WCMC student Erica Miller ('11) (right) at Weill Bugando

I had the tremendous opportunity to study at the Weill Bugando Medical Center and Bugando University School of Health Sciences in Mwanza, Tanzania during the summer between my first and second years of medical school.  I spent most of my time in the hospital's Department of Internal Medicine.  We were welcomed to join the teams of Bugando residents, interns, and assistant medical officers (AMOs) at morning conferences and on the hospital wards for rounds.  We participated in discussions about patient cases and were invited to ask and answer questions.  We worked with patients suffering from diverse diseases, some common in the United States like hypertension and others practically unheard of at home like schistosomiasis.  It was exciting to problem-solve as a part of the housestaff team and exhilarating to learn about medicine through our patients rather than from our textbooks

As a visiting medical student, I also worked with members of the faculty on quality improvement projects designed to evaluate the burden of diseases in the Bugando patient population and target future interventions.  Using the records of the Histopathology Department, I compiled information about the frequency of different types of cancer diagnoses. 

 We compared current results with data from seven years ago, and will use our data to communicate to members of the Bugando community which types of cancer are being diagnosed most frequently and which cancers are diagnosed more rarely, possibly indicating a need for improved diagnostics or targeted interventions. 

The Cornell medical students also eagerly participated in Bugando student life.  We shared meals with Tanzanian students in the medical student cafeteria, attended lectures and small group sessions, lived in the student dormitory on campus, and enjoyed the sights of Mwanza with residents as our guides.  It was exciting to see what medical school is like in Tanzania and wonderful to connect with our peers studying in a different country.  The students are friendly, welcoming, and as eager to learn about us and the United States as we are to learn about their lives and their country.  The summer went by very quickly, and as the students at Bugando frequently asked me, I find myself wondering when I will be able to return to Mwanza.  Whenever that may be, I am grateful now to have the lasting friendships, memories, and experiences from my wonderful summer in Tanzania.