Summer 2012 - Weill Bugando Internship

Each summer, Cornell University undergraduate students and medical students from WCMC and WCMC-Qatar travel to Mwanza, Tanzania, to complete an 8-week internship in Weill Bugando Medical Center (WBMC).  Students have the opportunity to rotate through departments in the hospital with Tanzanian medical students and residents and learn alongside their international peers.  Year after year, the program proves influential in students’ medical education and future career pathways.  This year Mohamed Elsaid Amin (WCMC-Q), Aseel Abu-Dayya (WCMC-Q), Ethan Green (Cornell undergraduate), and Amber Eller (Cornell undergraduate) participated in the internship program.  

Students’ Reflections

Aseel Abu-Dayya and Mohamed Elsaid Amin in front of Weill Bugando Medical Center

 “In addition to acquiring new sets of critical thinking skills, observing hospital rounds, helping the medical staff, and interacting with patients, I believe was able to capitalize on my people skills. Unlike Qatar, where I haven’t had problems interacting with patients since I speak the native language, I was interacting with individuals of a different language, culture, and background. This experience nurtured my communication skills, and has taken me one step further towards becoming a well-rounded doctor.” –Mohamed Elsaid Amin

“My experience in Mwanza this past summer was unlike any other. Upon entering the arrivals terminal at Mwanza International Airport, I knew my next 6 weeks in Mwanza were not going to be easy… however, I met so many wonderful people and was able to experience a culture that has much to offer.  I learned a great deal from this experience that I would have never learned in medical school, and I already look forward to visiting Mwanza again.” – Aseel Abu-Dayya

Amber Eller and Ethan Green assisting Dr. Jen Downs in a rural community 

“A vital part of education that no textbook or professor can truly teach you is the people factor-not just which disease, how few resources -but the who of medical care in developing nations.  Travelling to Bugando Medical Centre in Mwanza, Tanzania for two months this summer was an absolutely perspective-changing experience, broadening my horizons medically, culturally, emotionally and academically.  The people who live in Mwanza, both local and international, were some of the most intelligent, caring and driven people I have ever met and truly welcomed me with open arms into their community halfway around the world.  As a student, I believe that exposure, inspiration and first-hand knowledge are priceless resources which can be drawn upon in my future education and career to continue searching for innovative solutions to global health problems.” –Ethan Green

“This past summer I learned so much about global health, Tanzanian culture and the challenges of working in a developing country.  I witnessed a doctor’s strike, village life, and many diseases that I would likely never have seen in the U.S.   I felt so inspired every day to go to the hospital or village and absorb as much as possible.  After this trip, I can say with complete confidence that my future will be in the field of global health, and I am so excited to continue on the path to my career.” –Amber Eller