Dharamsala, India Clinical Internship

As a Sikh from India, I have been exposed to the inadequate health care in third-world countries. I have seen patients who are not treated due to their inability to finance medical operations, and this has made me indignant. The opportunity to volunteer in a hospital with limited resources and funding may seem a daunting task to others, but to me it presented a golden opportunity for me to restructure the medical structure in India. Upon perusing the website of the Tibetan Delek Hospital in April of 2010, I knew right away that this hospital would be the best avenue to improve international human rights and healthcare by working with Tibetan refugees who were exiled from China and now reside in Dharamsala, India. I thus emailed the secretary of the hospital, Tashi La, and expressed my interest in volunteering that summer. He first expressed doubt because college students have never worked at the hospital before, but due to my persistent dedication he accepted me to work that summer. I shadowed the physician for the Dalai Lama, Dr. Tsetan. He was impressed with my compassion, warmth of heart, and ability to learn about the Tibetan culture, and I thus worked with him to create the Dharamsala, India Clinical Internship. Because this would enable college students to volunteer at the Tibetan Delek Hospital and work to remodel the tuberculosis and ambulance corps system, the staff at the hospital was excited about the project. We have selected the interns that will work this summer at the Tibetan Delek Hospital, and have candidates who have applied to work throughout the year at the hospital. During my summer at the Tibetan Delek Hospital in Dharamsala, India, I was able to partially solve the problem of the limited ambulance corps. My mission was to fundraise money that could be used to purchase a new ambulance for the clinic in a timely manner so as to ensure that no emergency calls are missed due to lack of transportation and ambulatory care. At first, the executive summary for this momentous project seemed extremely challenging to achieve because an ambulance costs about 700,000 rupees, or $15,600 US dollars. Although this seemed a daunting task, I knew it was essential to accomplish and would be a remarkable way to increase healthcare efficiency in Dharamsala for the Tibetan refugees. Via motortrain, I was able to travel to Chandigardh, Punjab, Jalandhar, and Ludhiana and present on my mission to various business and corporations. To Dr. Tsetan and my surprise, at the end of the summer the amount raised was nearly $17,000. This was enough for the hospital to purchase another ambulance and increase the power of the Ambulance Corps system in India. This extra ambulance has helped over 10,000 Tibetan refugees and people in Dharamsala receive life-saving medical care since this summer.