Kate, a 2024 graduate of the Indiana University School of Medicine Combined Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics Residency program, had the opportunity to train internationally via the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) network. As part of her involvement with AMPATH, she completed several months of training in 2023 at Dhulikhel Hospital in Nepal. In August she returned to Nepal, assuming the role of AMPATH Nepal's global health clinician educator and team leader at the Arnhold Institute for Global Health, associated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In a recent conversation, Kate shared insights about her journey, her driving forces and her aspirations for advancing global health.
On her first day at Dhulikhel Hospital, she felt a mix of nerves and excitement about working in a new hospital system, in a new country. Rose House, MD, the AMPATH Nepal Partnership Director for the Arnhold Institute for Global Health, helped her get settled. Rose is an associate professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and affiliate faculty member at IU School of Medicine. Rose also graduated from the Combined Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics Residency in 2010 and enjoys mentoring and learning alongside medical students, residents and fellows. Rose shared, “It is an honor to collaborate with our colleagues in Nepal and other AMPATH partners to make a significant impact on health equity, build capacity and develop innovations that enhance health outcomes globally. Experiences outside our normal context help us identify our biases, challenge our assumptions and broaden our perspective ultimately enhancing the care we provide.”
Kate recalled, “It was great to have Dr. House to both decompress or talk about cultural things. She gave us journal articles that we could read to broaden our perspective and help us to better integrate and understand what we were interacting with at the hospital.”
As her time in Nepal continued, Kate discovered that even when presented with new pathologies, systems and culture, building trust with patients is a universal value. She immersed herself in the community where she was welcomed into local homes, learned traditional cooking and built relationships. All together, these moments and interactions gave her a deeper understanding of cultural context of health and medicine in Nepal and made her a better physician. She described a Nepali phrase she learned during her time that translates to “same, same but different, different.” It reminds Kate of the differences and similarities in practicing medicine in Nepal versus the United States. She noted, “Good medicine is good medicine. Health care is important across the globe.”
The sadness Kate felt when it was time to leave was indicative of the tremendous impact of her time spent in Nepal. For her, the experience was a “dream come true.” This fall, she is continuing the dream alongside Rose leading academic and clinical activities at Dhulikhel Hospital. She hopes to contribute to the educational training opportunities and facilitate other physicians to take part in the program. Rose praised Kate saying “She brings valuable experience in emergency medicine, pediatrics, and global health, coupled with a passion for medical education. She is a pleasure to work with, consistently demonstrating cultural humility, empathy and adaptability. Kate will be an outstanding asset to our collaborative efforts in Nepal and a good friend to live alongside in Nepal.”
