Last night in Vellore

Today seems a bit bittersweet. Although we are all getting a little antsy and ready to start a new adventure, we have finally gotten used to the hospital, campus and the small part of town that we venture into every day.

We have tried almost every good restaurant (recommended by friends, physicians, students) in town, ironically the best one is at the rooftop of our own hotel! We have definitely been spoiled staying at a hotel in town, other visiting students who have been here or will be here for extended periods are all staying in hostels on campus (No air conditioning! We don't know how they do it!). Also, many of us have opted to take rickshaws instead of the bus to get around town. The bus, which has its very crowded moments (people literally hanging out of the door), also has routes that we can't quite seem to get. Even after waiting at the bus stop we will sometimes opt for a rickshaw! The security guard at our hotel has noticed our efforts and gave us a thumbs up the other day for squeezing all 5 of us into one after negotiating a good price!

We met with Dr. Varghese on Thursday for dinner at the rooftop restaurant. He was our main CMC contact since he is an adjunct WSUSOM faculty member. He told us stories about CMC, and even about his time spent in Detroit working in Infectious Disease! He really reminded me of Dr. Chandrasekar, the AAPI faculty sponsor at WSU, in the way that he spoke of his medical work and experiences. We hope to meet Dr. Varghese when he visits MI in the fall!

This week I was working in Endocrinology. I was able to join visiting physicians from all over India who are here taking a 1-wk course in diabetes care. They were so interested to hear about how I thought medical care differed between the two countries. I had to mention that in the US, our system is set up so differently from theirs, that it is almost impossible to compare the task that physicians have to undertake in each country.

I think these past two weeks have really opened my eyes to the financial side of medicine, and how much we take for granted, especially having every form of technology and test available to us. For instance, out of all of the patients that this department sees, only a handful are using an insulin pump to deliver their insulin. The reason is that most patients do not have insurance and each pump costs 10,000 rupees per month (close to $250/month). The department can sometimes sponsor a patient, but even then, the money invested in one pump could potentially sponsor medications for a larger number of patients not using an insulin pump. The fact that the first thought most doctors have when treating a patient is 'what are they able to afford?' and also, 'how long will this patient be in town for' (since many patients travel as far as West Bengal), completely blows me away. I will be taking these experiences with me when I leave and will never forget my time here!

Tomorrow, Yinan will leave to head back to Detroit (Rasika left on Friday to return), and Sarah, Alexis, Jen, Caitlyn and myself will travel to Mammalapuram, Chennai and finally Goa. We are ready to start our next adventure and hopefully I can post pictures soon!


Shivani