CHAD - Experience in the Villages

This has been my most amazing experience of medical school. CHAD stands for Community Health and Development and it is a program in that provides healthcare, as well as other services, to villagers who otherwise would not receive care. In addition to clinical facilities in Vellore, they provide rural healthcare through doctor’s rounds and nurses’ rounds “clinics.” I participated in the nurses’ rounds and it was a truly unforgettable experience. It is such an amazing opportunity to step into true Indian culture and be invited into the homes of villagers. Words really cannot describe how much of an impact this had on me. I am extremely grateful for this wonderful opportunity!

While the language barrier makes it difficult to identify exactly what is going on, both of the nurses that I worked with on my trips, as well as the health aid workers that accompanied us, were very good about explaining what was going on at each house and answering any questions that we had. I have written down in detail my impressions from my first trip out, however, I do not have my journal with me right now, so hopefully I will get a chance to enter that later.

What is interesting to me is that each trip/”clinic” is completely different and each village that we visit has its own feel. For some reason I had thought it might be a bit monotonous, but that was not so at all. There are just so many cultural and social aspects of life that are different from what we are accustomed to in the united states that that alone is enough to keep the interest stimulated. And the children, oh my goodness, the children are amazing!

We went on prenatal visits, postnatal visits, pediatric visits, hospital follow-ups, clinic follow-ups, etc. Each village was a new adventure. We would park the car, grab our umbrellas and set out on foot, sometimes walking through fields to get to the patients’ homes. The second time I went out we went into the mountains which required a little more creativity in getting to the homes than the villages in the plains….wow, that was some incredible scenery!!! Although the days are exhausting beyond belief and I sweated more than I have every sweated before in my life, this has hands down been the best experience of this trip. I hope that students in future classes are able to experience this as well. As I said before, words can not explain how wonderful it was and I am so thankful for this gift!