This summer, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania student Hayley Goldbach will travel to Botswana as part of the Botswana-UPenn Partnership to study dermatology and women’s health.
The program that Hayley is participating in was formed by the Government of Botswana, the University of Botswana, and the University of Pennsylvania in 2001 to build capacity in Botswana in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Penn has taken a broad interdisciplinary approach to train health care personnel throughout Botswana in prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and its complications, to develop outstanding post-graduate training programs at the University of Botswana with an emphasis on Internal Medicine and its subspecialties, to offer experience in global health to Penn trainees, and to develop joint research programs that address issues relevant to the health and welfare of the citizens of Botswana.
Watch an introductory video about the Botswana-UPenn Partnership.
Today, Penn maintains a strong medical presence in Botswana, with more than 60 doctors and staff living full time in-country advancing the work of the Botswana-UPenn Partnership. The partnership now includes other schools of the University of Pennsylvania beyond the Perelman School of Medicine with a couple hundred Penn students, residents, researchers and faculty traveling to Botswana each year for educational and research experiences working with our partners in country in a multi-cultural, multi-faceted effort.
Join the Botswana-UPenn Partnership Facebook page to find out more about the program and stay informed on the latest reports from Botswana.
While Hayley is in training abroad, she will share her personal thoughts and experiences to help the Penn community and the public at large understand the significance of this aspect of her medical training and the importance of the program.
She will depart for her journey on July 1, but she has provided a sneak peak about why she chose to travel over 16 hours and 7,855 miles to Gaborone, Botswana.
Embarking on a New Journey
Greetings! I thought I’d start my blog posts with some basics. Perhaps you may be wondering what would possess me to spend my last free summer halfway around the world in Botswana.
What/where is Botswana?
Botswana is a small country in Southern Africa, home to 2 million citizens (called “Batswana”).
Why am I going to Botswana?
“Fine,” you’re thinking, “I know where Botswana is now. I could have Wikipedia-ed that for goodness sakes. Why are you going to Botswana?”
One of the reasons that I chose to go to med school at the University of Pennsylvania is that Penn has an unbelievable partnership with the Republic of Botswana. Because I had such an incredible experience in Malawi, I knew that I wanted to spend my summer back in Africa.
Given my concurrent interest in dermatology (and NO, I do not want to do Botox thank you very much) I was put in touch with Dr. Kovarik who is basically a guru of all things international dermatology related (she’s also basically just a guru of all things in general but I’ll write about her in a later post). She generously included me in one of her research projects that is examining viral contributors to vulvar cancer (more on that in another post).
Med school is so awesome. I basically thought about my ideal summer and here it is, coming to fruition. I’m working on a project that I find fascinating and on top of that I get the opportunity to spend time in Southern Africa. MLIA (translation for those less savvy about inane internet slang… aka my grandmother: MLIA = my life is awesome). I am so excited.
Signing off for now,
Hayley
Hayley Goldbach just finished her first year of medical school at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently the Co-President of the Elizabeth Blackwell Society (the women’s medical student association) and President of the Dermatology Interest Group. She also volunteers at Covenant House, an emergency shelter for homeless teenagers in Germantown, PA.
Hayley grew up outside of Boston, MA. She developed an early interest in journalism and appeared as the "roving reporter" for nine years on NPR's “From the Top.” She received her BS from Brown University where she graduated in 2009 magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Her extracurricular activities included teaching health to under-served students and teaching ethics in a prison as well as being captain of the equestrian team.
Before starting medical school she took a year off and worked in Malawi with Project Peanut Butter, an NGO that treats pediatric malnutrition.
Her interests include international health, professionalism, and health disparities.