Michael Rowe Medicine in India

In March 2007 I embarked upon what I considered to be a momentous and frightening journey. I had decided to go to India for three months with Projects Abroad to have a go at the medical project they offered there. I had always wanted to do medicine, but after failing to get into any school first time around I decided to get pro-active and get myself some work experience. India seemed as good an option as any!

The prospects were daunting: a new and developing country and being alone for three months. It is safe to say that I was pretty terrified. However, I had chosen Projects Abroad for a reason. After lengthy research and visits to open days, they seemed to me to be the safest Gap Year company out there, offering constant in-country support, meeting at the airport and very clear descriptions of the conditions to be expected. They were professional and helpful, so as I got off the plane in Trivandrum Airport, I was also filled with excited anticipation.

The shock, of course, was to be expected. My first placement was in an ENT surgery and the diseases and mentalities I saw there were truly mind changing. No matter how much you may read or prepare yourself for, it bears no resemblance to the real thing. I had observed surgeries in Switzerland before but was still dumbstruck when I watched one of quite a few surgeries in my placement, be it concerning the hygiene conditions, the less than perfect sterility or the exotic range of conditions and the expert surgical ways they are dealt with. Truly it was a clash of opposites and an incredibly enriching experience.

I think, with useful hindsight, that it is important to go to the medical projects not with a wish to actually participate in the medical environment but with a desire to see a completely different world, in both medicine and general life and to absorb some of the vast amounts of information doctors have. I was one of a few lucky enough to actually be able to assist a surgeon in an inguinal hernia operation which was of course an experience of a lifetime for a pre-medical volunteer, but it was the observation and knowledge of the doctors that really made my placement profitable.

I learnt a great deal during my time in India and felt I grew as a person, felt much more prepared for medical school and life itself. I made many great friends and had countless good times. Many occasions come to mind but a few stand out such as trying to fit seven people into one rickshaw to the hilarity of on-lookers.

I like to believe that my time with Projects Abroad contributed to getting my place in medical school. In fact, I only got an offer during my Gap Year. My placement provided me with invaluable medical experience, an important grounding and alternative view on medicine and of course a fantastic time that has no price.

Michael Rowe

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