Jun 1
Students Working at Nepal Hospital for New Global Health Program
What seemed like a pipe dream three months ago has turned into a working trip to Nepal for two College of Medicine students.
When rising second-year medicine students Nathan Hendryx and Michaela Stamper attended an information session about NEOMED’s Global Health Program (offered through its Office of Global Engagement) they were intrigued. The program’s director, Bernhardt Fassl, M.D., is a pediatrician (now on the NEOMED faculty) who has guided health sciences students to international medicine experiences in India, Kenya and Nepal for the University of Utah – where he and NEOMED President John T. Langell, M.D., Ph.D., worked together before Dr. Langell joined NEOMED in 2019.
Now Dr. Fassl is shaping a Global Health Program at NEOMED, and the opportunity he presented to travel to Nepal in between the first and second years of medical school appealed to Hendryx and Stamper. During a layover on their international flight, the two students explained why.
The Pulse: What will you do/learn on this trip to Nepal?
NH and MS.: Our big goal with the trip is to be completely open and experience as much Nepali culture as we can. We want to learn the health care system and more from a truly local perspective so we can work with the community to make positive change in the future through research initiatives and future trips.
Will your clinical experience be in a classroom setting, hospital or clinic?
We will be working in the clinical setting: Dhulikhel Hospital at Kathmandu University (KU), right outside of the capital.
How long will you be there?
We will be working there for about three weeks.
Where will you stay?
While working at the hospital, we will be staying at a local hostel in Dhulikhel.
Who will be in your cohort?
We are the only two students working at Kathmandu University.
[Editor’s note—In an update, Nathan Hendryx wrote, “Since we arrived, one of the other Nepali sites had some staffing changes, so we have gained a third student who will spend a part of his time (one week) with us at KU. His name is Deven Curtis, and he is also a rising second-year at NEOMED.”]
A handful of others are traveling to different regions in Nepal to assist with community medical initiatives in more rural regions. We specifically wanted to be in an urban setting, so KU was a great fit.
Three NEOMED students currently working at Dhulikhel Hospital, from left, are Deven Curtis, Nathan Hendryx and Michaela Stamper. The picture was taken at Kathmandu (Nepal) Durbar Square, inside an old royal palace.
