Thanks to the generous support of the Southeastern Section of the AUA, Dr. Nathan Jung had an impactful experience in Bhopal, India where he worked with local personnel to provide care for people in need.
Dr. Jung stated about his experience:
“India was my first choice and fortunately I was able to receive the opportunity to work there. I was able to work with some of the leaders in my field including Dr. Raju Thomas. I was also able to work with a colleague from a different program, Katie Rydze. She was a 5th year resident who was also volunteering at the camp. Our standard days at the camp were much different than the days I experience at my “regular” work week. We would wake up early in our lodging have breakfast and then go to the camp to get started with rounds. Rounds needed to be translated and notes were written. After starting the day by rounding we would then proceed to the operating rooms where we would get started on our cases. The simple things we take for granted could not be taken for granted in Bhopal. One striking example of this is a patient in “pre-op” who had to hold their own IV bag above their head as there were no IV poles available. We also operated in operating suites with two beds per room, something I had never seen before. After our cases we generally went back to our lodge and had dinner and usually went to sleep.
“Many unique things happened while in Bhopal. I got to participate in three major cases which included some anatomy I had rarely seen before. We also had plenty of opportunity to improve as we did about 35 cases per day while in Bhopal. We were also doing all of these cases under a high spinal anesthetic. This was new to me as we rarely use spinal anesthesia in our institution. I was impressed with the results. Fortunately for me my trip was not only for medical learning but also for cultural learning as well. I had the opportunity to see the Taj Mahal! This is truly something I will never forget.
“In the end I think that I can identify three things that were truly special about this opportunity. The first thing is that it allowed me to re-examine why I became a physician and re-explore that choice. This is something that I think we all need to constantly remind ourselves of as this can get lost quickly in the day to day struggle of running an effective service. The second thing that I will keep with me forever is the perspective gained on healthcare around the world and how different each system is and how fortunate I am to train in a system with many advantages. Thirdly, I think that it is obvious that from a purely medical/surgical perspective I have become a better urologist through the opportunities I had to struggle through difficult situations requiring adaptation without the comforts of my own equipment. Thank you for the opportunity!”
