Introduction to Public Health

The interns had a wonderful first day of program with their teams, starting their introduction to the world of public health and learning a little more about  the week ahead. They were lucky to hear from our very own Director, Kat Lewis, as she held a discussion about the lesser known elements of public health: what are the systems and structures in our neighborhoods that keep us safe, and why do we prioritize the things we do when it comes to health education, health policy, health law, and health infrastructure.

Once we felt comfortable with the foundation of our knowledge, we went through the expectations and parameters surrounding the Public Health Workshops they’ll create in their teams: an intervention with a community in Bauchi State, Nigeria to combat malaria, typhoid fever, acute respiratory tract infections, and nutritional anemia through prevention and awareness. 

Dr. Aisha taught the interns how to hold a patient clinical conversation; what questions to ask, symptoms to dig into, ways to structure the conversation, and common mistakes and misconceptions. All this is done to prepare the students for their experience diagnosing and treating a real patient in Nigeria at the end of the week. Six very brave volunteers “took the stage” to practice holding out the conversation, and then accepted critique and compliments from their peers. They then all got started learning about our four diseases in detail. 

Dr. Amani Yusuf joined us first to teach the interns about Acute Respiratory Tract Infections - symptoms, causes, epidemiology, and treatment options! The interns reflected on their own experiences with the common cold, but also times they experienced more serious infections (pneumonia, bronchitis, etc.). They discussed the implications, then, of the ways in which our physical location impacts our health - when we live in an area with strong healthcare systems, we can diagnose, get treatment, and prevent these diseases with more ease and accessibility than in areas without. 

This afternoon, they’ll listen to lectures on the other three diseases to lay the groundwork for the rest of the week’s work and learn to plaster cast! So far, they have impressed every speaker with their thoughtfulness and the depth to their curiosity.