My Nonprofit Reviews

Six years ago, with China Cal, I embarked on an adventure that would inspire me to become a pediatrician. My return to China Cal six years later reflects the transformation this previous experience made in me. As a fourth year medical student equipped with more clinical knowledge and experience, I returned with greater confidence and ambition for the potential impact I could make. Through the joint effort of our China Cal team, we visited eight county hospitals in Wenshan, where we educated the obstetrics staff on congenital heart diseases and implemented routine newborn screening through the use of pulse oximetry and auscultation. In the afternoons, we tried to see as many patients as possible – performing echocardiograms and making follow-up recommendations. There were several kids born with very complicated and difficult to treat anatomies. There were also cases in which the kid was born with a reparable heart defect but had unfortunately missed the opportune timing for surgery. All of these cases were deeply heartbreaking to me. However, I know with confidence that, through our training program, we would be able to galvanize these local obstetricians and nurses into action and combat late-stage heart diseases through early detection and prevention. As an aspiring pediatrician, China Cal gave me the invaluable opportunity to be both a healer and a health advocate. I envision that, the next time I return to Yunnan, I will be able to help more children as a qualified pediatric cardiologist.