On July 11th, Dr. Bilal Khan (Class of 2011) embarked on his first Global Health mission – a two-week trip to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam as an attending physician. He supervised medical students from the University of Vermont, conducted an ultrasound training session, reviewed cases, and brought U.S. standards of care to Vietnam while studying the advances and limitations of their health care system.
Dr. Khan realized that although his experience as an attending physician was limited, his global health experience was not. He started his medical career in Antigua and was already accustomed to being the foreigner in an international hospital. Having this experience in Antigua allowed him to excel in Vietnam.
He was able to humbly present himself to the hospital staff and doctors. They greatly appreciated his understanding that experience in a different health care setting doesn’t mean “bad.” It just requires understanding the various socioeconomic statuses and limitations in other countries. They were impressed at how comfortable he was in their hospital and he can directly attribute this to his experience at AUA.