We first met—and followed—Penn Medicine medical studentHayley Goldbach (M’15) almost two years ago when she bloggedabout her experiences in Botswana, as part of the Botswana-UPennPartnership. We got a peek at her work at the dermatology clinic andwhat’s it like to study vulvar cancer in HIV positive women. Before that, shechronicled her time in Malawi when she was with Project Peanut Butter, anorganization that treats pediatric malnutrition.
Lucky for us, Hayley is at it again, but this time she’shanging up her stethoscope (just for a bit) for a different type of globalhealth endeavor: journalism.
She received a prestigious media fellowship with NancySnyderman at NBC News in New York, and she will once again be sharing herpersonal thoughts and experiences with us on the Penn Medicine News blog asthis opportunity takes her all across the globe.
“I know I want to make international work a part of mycareer,” Hayley wrote in 2011, after she returned from Botswana. “I feltso at home in Bots and I felt the same way in Malawi. I can't wait to find outhow my career evolves to include this passion.”
That next phase starts in a country ravaged by a terribleearthquake that destroyed much of its major city and killed over 230,000people. On Saturday, she landed in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where she joinedPerelman School of Medicine alumni John Macdonald (M’62) at the HospitalBernard Mevs, one of the only trauma, critical care and rehabilitation centersin the country. In September 2011, Dr. Macdonald became Medical Director of theWound Care program at the hospital with Project Medishare. Stay tuned for moreon Haiti.
This blog is the first of many over the next year…
Let’s start fromthe beginning
Helloeveryone. This marks my third blog chronicling my internationaladventures and I couldn’t be more excited to start. You can read my previousblogs at www.hayleyinbotswana.blogspot.com and www.hayleyinmalawi.blogspot.com.
Who amI?
Let’s pretend for aminute that my mom isn’t the only one reading this blog. My name is Hayley andI just finished my third year of medical school at the Perelman School ofMedicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
What amI up to this year?
I am taking a yearoff between my third and fourth year of medical school. This time I am having aunique experience and (gasp) it won’t include an African country. I am honoredto report that I have been selected as the 2013-2014 Stanford-NBC Global Health and Media Fellow. Thisfellowship, open to all medical students/residents/physicians, gives one personthe opportunity to gain experience in the field of global health journalism. Sowhat does that actually mean? It means that I get to hop all around the globeand do some fantastic things.
- Haiti: Startingmy experience with a quick trip to Haiti to visit Hospital Bernard Mevs atthe beginning of June.
- India: I willspend ~3 months (July-Sept) in New Delhi working for the WHO (World HealthOrganization) regional office (SEARO).
- Journalism School @ Stanford: (Sept-Jan)
- NBC: (Jan-June):I will be working at NBC studio (30 Rock!) in NYC, embedded with Dr. NancySnyderman, chief medical editor for NBC.
Along the way I willbe updating this blog with my experiences (the good, the bad and the ugly) andthoughts.
Hayley Goldbach just finished her third year of medical school at thePerelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She is currentlythe Co-President of the Elizabeth Blackwell Society (the women’s medicalstudent association) and President of the Dermatology Interest Group. She alsovolunteers at Covenant House, an emergency shelter for homeless teenagers inGermantown, PA.
Hayley grew up outside of Boston, MA. She developed an early interest injournalism and appeared as the "roving reporter" for nine years onNPR's “From the Top.” She received her BS from Brown University where shegraduated in 2009 magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Herextracurricular activities included teaching health to under-served studentsand teaching ethics in a prison as well as being captain of the equestrianteam.
As the 2013 – 2014 Stanford – NBC News Global Health and Media Fellow,Hayley hopes to learn how to be an effective advocate for global health issues.After the fellowship, Hayley will return to Penn to finish her fourth year ofmedical school. Ultimately, she plans to blend her interest in global healthwith media and telemedicine in order to broaden the reach of medical care forunderserved populations.
Her interests include international health, professionalism, and healthdisparities.