Study Abroad Voyages
U.Va.-Led Medical Team Expresses the Value of International Education and Service
In 1958, a nine-year-old Leigh Grossman left Pullman, Washington with her family as they traveled to New Dehli, India for her father’s one-year academic sabbatical. That one year turned into a ten-year international experience that had a profound effect on the rest of her life.Today, Dr. Grossman is a professor of Pediatric Medicine and Chief of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Division at the University of Virginia (U.Va.) School of Medicine, where she also is the Assistant Dean for International Programs. Until recently, she also served as the university’s Vice Provost for International Affairs.
Long an advocate for the value of international travel and education, she is responsible for bringing a medical team from the University of Virginia to the Spring 2010 voyage of Semester at Sea for a 30-day elective. The team joined the voyage in Shanghai, China and will remain through India.
Consisting of two medical faculty, four senior year medical students and one third year resident, the team will observe and interact with traditional and contemporary medical treatment facilities in China, Viet Nam and India. While on board the ship, the team has had numerous opportunities to interact with Semester at Sea students, faculty, staff and lifelong learners through classroom presentations, evening seminars as well as small group discussions with those interested in careers in medicine. The team also collaborates with the Semester at Sea shipboard medical staff.
Joining Dr. Grossman in directing this medical elective is Dr. Thomas Braciale, Professor of Microbiology and Pathology and Director of the Carter Immunology Center at the U.Va. School of Medicine. Both Drs. Grossman and Braciale are firm believers in the value of international experience for professional and for personal development.
In addition to the two professors, the U.Va. team includes Emily Darr, MD and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation senior resident; and senior medical school students Aisha Rivera (Family Medicine), Grace Wan (Pediatrics), Tracy Rushing (Pediatrics) and Niloo Ratnayake (Surgery).
During a recent Global Studies class, the medical team served as a panel talking about global health issues, their personal motivations for entering the medical field and the value of international travel and education.
In her introduction, Dr. Grossman shared her excitement about the opportunities this voyage has and will present to every student and congratulated them for having stepped outside their comfort zone. She stated emphatically that Semester at Sea “is an experience that will – I absolutely guarantee- will alter your life.” She told how her childhood experiences growing up in India and subsequent international travel helped to shape her future choices in education, career, service work, religion and spirituality, friends, and how she views world news.
She passed on three pieces of advice to voyagers that she feels will help them make the most of this Semester at Sea experience.
When asked what people outside the health care professions could do to help underserved populations, their answer was direct. Through education, experience and personal interactions, you can become aware of needs and develop a sense of caring. Then, regardless of your individual field of study – business, marketing, communications, education – if you have the desire, you will find a way to serve.
The Semester at Sea international experience provides an excellent opportunity to acquire the awareness, the sense of caring and the desire. But as Dr. Grossman advises, only in retrospect will we know the results.
Joining Dr. Grossman in directing this medical elective is Dr. Thomas Braciale, Professor of Microbiology and Pathology and Director of the Carter Immunology Center at the U.Va. School of Medicine. Both Drs. Grossman and Braciale are firm believers in the value of international experience for professional and for personal development. In addition to the two professors, the U.Va. team includes Emily Darr, MD and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation senior resident; and senior medical school students Aisha Rivera (Family Medicine), Grace Wan (Pediatrics), Tracy Rushing (Pediatrics) and Niloo Ratnayake (Surgery).
During a recent Global Studies class, the medical team served as a panel talking about global health issues, their personal motivations for entering the medical field and the value of international travel and education.
In her introduction, Dr. Grossman shared her excitement about the opportunities this voyage has and will present to every student and congratulated them for having stepped outside their comfort zone. She stated emphatically that Semester at Sea “is an experience that will – I absolutely guarantee- will alter your life.” She told how her childhood experiences growing up in India and subsequent international travel helped to shape her future choices in education, career, service work, religion and spirituality, friends, and how she views world news.
She passed on three pieces of advice to voyagers that she feels will help them make the most of this Semester at Sea experience.
- International education teaches new ways to learn and to live. Put away books, electronic devices and other barriers that insulate you from others and be open to experiencing differences.
- Only in retrospect will you understand how this Semester at Sea education has impacted your life. For now, just know that it will have a profound effect.
- Don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone and experience differences in people, places and ideas. Walk the streets, talk to people, use all your senses, because it is only then that true learning will occur.
When asked what people outside the health care professions could do to help underserved populations, their answer was direct. Through education, experience and personal interactions, you can become aware of needs and develop a sense of caring. Then, regardless of your individual field of study – business, marketing, communications, education – if you have the desire, you will find a way to serve.
The Semester at Sea international experience provides an excellent opportunity to acquire the awareness, the sense of caring and the desire. But as Dr. Grossman advises, only in retrospect will we know the results.