In the country where I come from, the answer of each above average student to the question "What do you want to become in future?" is the same, everyone wants to be a doctor. For me too, the answer was the same but for my very own reasons. I was a low birth weight baby with birth asphyxia, born to a 16 year old mother. I couldn't have seen more of the world had it not been for the medical miracles that helped me take my first ever breath in this world. This story of my survival would be heard many times over the coming years whenever I would pay my ever so frequent visits to the hospital gasping for breath due to bronchial asthma. If there was one angel for me, it was the doctor who gave me my bronchodilators and the steroid shots which turned me back into one of the normal children. It was an everlasting impression and whenever I would think of what I wanted to be when I grew up, there was absolutely no doubt, I wanted to be a doctor.
But of course, wanting to be a doctor was not enough. It required years of hard work and dedication. They say "hard work never goes in vain" and I realized it when I was awarded a full scholarship by the Government of Nepal to study MBBS. I completed my MBBS degree with honors and set out as a young medical officer, filled with enthusiasm and zeal to do something better for the society to Syangja which lies in the rural Western parts of Nepal. I was determined to face every challenge and determined to provide the best medical services I could to all patients. For someone who had always lived in a city and worked only in the tertiary centers in the capital, the situation there was an eye opener about the real situation of the health services being offered in my country.
I worked in hospital with minimum medical facilities, few staff and only forty kinds of medicines to distribute. I felt helpless I could not do much, for we had to refer patients who came with end stage diseases or women with complications during pregnancy and children with disabling diseases. As I went on interacting with the patients more and started listening to their stories about why they didn't come for medical consultation on time or why they thought they did not need any medical help, I was appalled by the answers I got. The ignorance of these people about their own health, the misconception they had about diseases and the gender bias even in fundamental rights as that to one's health seemed just too hard to digest. The more time I spent with them, the more I realized that I was surrounded by people living with diseases, becoming more and more fatal each passing day but them being totally unaware about it, that the women in the villages of my country still hide their health problems, that they did not know there are contraceptives available and that it is their right to decide whether or not to give birth rather than just keep getting pregnant because the family needs a male child. The revelations were not to end there.
After receiving the "Advanced Skilled Birth Attendant" training I was required to train health workers all over the district for better obstetric care in Syangja. I visited different health facilities in the district like health posts, sub health posts and birthing centers to ensure that the services were given according to national protocol. I also had the opportunity to interact with women from all walks of life from politicians to housewives. We would also attend local mother's club meetings, visit schools and interact with young girls. It was during this period I witnessed the misery in which the women in my country live. Problems like sexually transmitted diseases, unsafe abortions, repeated and high risk pregnancies and malnutrition were so rampant and blooming due to the simple fact that they are unaware of ways to prevent them, never sought medical help or were denied access to medical services.
Each of these experiences shaped my understanding of how even in modern times like today; my brothers and sisters from remote villages still lack the opportunities for better healthcare. I became more and more motivated to provide for them to the best of my ability. It doomed on me that providing treatment is not the solution, these problems could only be solved when people in my country themselves realize how important their health is and that health is a fundamental right which deserve. These challenges could only be solved through a well designed public health program. In my effort to contribute and learn more, I started to actively participate in all public health programs in the district like safe motherhood program, HIV AIDS program, integrated management of childhood illness, nutrition program, training for Skilled Birth Attendants, immunization program to name a few. Tons of ideas came to my mind. I established a fund called "The Tej Foundation" to help the poor and especially women with obstetric problems, conducted a weekly class for women coming for ANC check up to make them aware about the complications that could occur, form groups of young girls from local schools and educate them about reproductive health. Having studied public health courses in medical school and knowing how much research has been done in such an important area, I felt the need to formalize my raw ideas through an advanced and dynamic degree like MPH (Master of Public Health).
Having considered my options for further studies to aid in my professional growth, I feel MPH is the course that best fits my interest for it will help me approach health in a population based manner so that I have the opportunity not only to treat the patients with diseases but play a role in preventing those from occurring, allow me to be better positioned for a leadership role in health promotion and changes in health behavior in my country, facilitate me to learn state of the art qualitative and quantitative skills needed for developing multidisciplinary strategies for a sound public health program in resource poor settings like in Nepal, hone my communication skills to reach out to a larger and diverse population and gain research skills on issues of public health.
Furthermore, I have studied the core courses of MPH like biostatistics, epidemiology, health behavior, maternal and child health, health management and environmental health for seven semesters in medical school and passed the subjects with honors, and hence academically I will be able to adjust to the advanced course that MPH entails. I have had the experience of working within the health care system of Nepal for two years so I will be able to relate to the theory I learn to the practical experiences I have had. I have been a team leader, member and volunteer for community programs so I can use these experiences while working on projects in graduate school. I also had the opportunity to work as the medical superintendent of a Syangja District Hospital for three months, hence have a firsthand experience of health administration, planning and policy implementation. The environment I studied and practiced medicine was a unique one from socioeconomic and cultural perspective, and having been employed in a government hospital interacting with a large number of patients with public health issues present everywhere, I now have a very clear understanding of the health problems, their patterns and the social stigma associated with diseases prevalent in a developing country like mine. I believe I can bring these experiences to the class and contribute a lot to the class discussions, research and case studies.
I am interested in joining the Master of Public Health program at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, not only because it is the most prestigious school offering the best, highly integrated and flexible public health courses, but also because I know learning in such a diverse and intellectually challenging environment from the most acclaimed professors in my subject matter along with best candidates all over the world will prepare me to be an outstanding leader in public health that my country is in need of today. I am particularly keen on taking up the women and reproductive health concentration of the MPH degree in your institution as it will allow me to address and solve key challenges in public health particularly those of the discriminated gender in my country, develop skills required for strategic planning and program implementation, prepare me for working with national and international agencies for better healthcare system and potentiate myself to be an advocate for encouraging better health practices in the community. I strongly feel I should contribute to the improvement of health behavior towards women in my country and your program will offer me a chance to undertake an in-depth study in my field of interest eventually increasing my competencies for making that contribution. My career goal is to work with national and international agencies for better health services in rural Nepal, especially for women and to bring the much needed awareness about issues of health, joining your program will be a stepping step towards achieving this goal. I am aware about the several researches carried out and contributions made by the Bloomberg School of Public Health in my country which one day I hope to be a part of.
"Be the change you want to see" .I have lived my life following this very simple rule. I believe that I have what it takes to take a step towards bringing the change in aspects of health services and health behavior I anticipate to occur in my country. It is my dream that teenage pregnancies like that of my own mother, gender discrimination in health issues and lack of awareness about health matters become a history in Nepalese society. My country is waiting for transformation, which can only be brought about by passionate and dedicated experts. Being accepted into your program will help me be one of those experts, able to make a significant contribution to the radical change Nepal awaits.
Thank you for considering my application.
Sincerely,
Dr. Anju Ranjit
But of course, wanting to be a doctor was not enough. It required years of hard work and dedication. They say "hard work never goes in vain" and I realized it when I was awarded a full scholarship by the Government of Nepal to study MBBS. I completed my MBBS degree with honors and set out as a young medical officer, filled with enthusiasm and zeal to do something better for the society to Syangja which lies in the rural Western parts of Nepal. I was determined to face every challenge and determined to provide the best medical services I could to all patients. For someone who had always lived in a city and worked only in the tertiary centers in the capital, the situation there was an eye opener about the real situation of the health services being offered in my country.
I worked in hospital with minimum medical facilities, few staff and only forty kinds of medicines to distribute. I felt helpless I could not do much, for we had to refer patients who came with end stage diseases or women with complications during pregnancy and children with disabling diseases. As I went on interacting with the patients more and started listening to their stories about why they didn't come for medical consultation on time or why they thought they did not need any medical help, I was appalled by the answers I got. The ignorance of these people about their own health, the misconception they had about diseases and the gender bias even in fundamental rights as that to one's health seemed just too hard to digest. The more time I spent with them, the more I realized that I was surrounded by people living with diseases, becoming more and more fatal each passing day but them being totally unaware about it, that the women in the villages of my country still hide their health problems, that they did not know there are contraceptives available and that it is their right to decide whether or not to give birth rather than just keep getting pregnant because the family needs a male child. The revelations were not to end there.
After receiving the "Advanced Skilled Birth Attendant" training I was required to train health workers all over the district for better obstetric care in Syangja. I visited different health facilities in the district like health posts, sub health posts and birthing centers to ensure that the services were given according to national protocol. I also had the opportunity to interact with women from all walks of life from politicians to housewives. We would also attend local mother's club meetings, visit schools and interact with young girls. It was during this period I witnessed the misery in which the women in my country live. Problems like sexually transmitted diseases, unsafe abortions, repeated and high risk pregnancies and malnutrition were so rampant and blooming due to the simple fact that they are unaware of ways to prevent them, never sought medical help or were denied access to medical services.
Each of these experiences shaped my understanding of how even in modern times like today; my brothers and sisters from remote villages still lack the opportunities for better healthcare. I became more and more motivated to provide for them to the best of my ability. It doomed on me that providing treatment is not the solution, these problems could only be solved when people in my country themselves realize how important their health is and that health is a fundamental right which deserve. These challenges could only be solved through a well designed public health program. In my effort to contribute and learn more, I started to actively participate in all public health programs in the district like safe motherhood program, HIV AIDS program, integrated management of childhood illness, nutrition program, training for Skilled Birth Attendants, immunization program to name a few. Tons of ideas came to my mind. I established a fund called "The Tej Foundation" to help the poor and especially women with obstetric problems, conducted a weekly class for women coming for ANC check up to make them aware about the complications that could occur, form groups of young girls from local schools and educate them about reproductive health. Having studied public health courses in medical school and knowing how much research has been done in such an important area, I felt the need to formalize my raw ideas through an advanced and dynamic degree like MPH (Master of Public Health).
Having considered my options for further studies to aid in my professional growth, I feel MPH is the course that best fits my interest for it will help me approach health in a population based manner so that I have the opportunity not only to treat the patients with diseases but play a role in preventing those from occurring, allow me to be better positioned for a leadership role in health promotion and changes in health behavior in my country, facilitate me to learn state of the art qualitative and quantitative skills needed for developing multidisciplinary strategies for a sound public health program in resource poor settings like in Nepal, hone my communication skills to reach out to a larger and diverse population and gain research skills on issues of public health.
Furthermore, I have studied the core courses of MPH like biostatistics, epidemiology, health behavior, maternal and child health, health management and environmental health for seven semesters in medical school and passed the subjects with honors, and hence academically I will be able to adjust to the advanced course that MPH entails. I have had the experience of working within the health care system of Nepal for two years so I will be able to relate to the theory I learn to the practical experiences I have had. I have been a team leader, member and volunteer for community programs so I can use these experiences while working on projects in graduate school. I also had the opportunity to work as the medical superintendent of a Syangja District Hospital for three months, hence have a firsthand experience of health administration, planning and policy implementation. The environment I studied and practiced medicine was a unique one from socioeconomic and cultural perspective, and having been employed in a government hospital interacting with a large number of patients with public health issues present everywhere, I now have a very clear understanding of the health problems, their patterns and the social stigma associated with diseases prevalent in a developing country like mine. I believe I can bring these experiences to the class and contribute a lot to the class discussions, research and case studies.
I am interested in joining the Master of Public Health program at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, not only because it is the most prestigious school offering the best, highly integrated and flexible public health courses, but also because I know learning in such a diverse and intellectually challenging environment from the most acclaimed professors in my subject matter along with best candidates all over the world will prepare me to be an outstanding leader in public health that my country is in need of today. I am particularly keen on taking up the women and reproductive health concentration of the MPH degree in your institution as it will allow me to address and solve key challenges in public health particularly those of the discriminated gender in my country, develop skills required for strategic planning and program implementation, prepare me for working with national and international agencies for better healthcare system and potentiate myself to be an advocate for encouraging better health practices in the community. I strongly feel I should contribute to the improvement of health behavior towards women in my country and your program will offer me a chance to undertake an in-depth study in my field of interest eventually increasing my competencies for making that contribution. My career goal is to work with national and international agencies for better health services in rural Nepal, especially for women and to bring the much needed awareness about issues of health, joining your program will be a stepping step towards achieving this goal. I am aware about the several researches carried out and contributions made by the Bloomberg School of Public Health in my country which one day I hope to be a part of.
"Be the change you want to see" .I have lived my life following this very simple rule. I believe that I have what it takes to take a step towards bringing the change in aspects of health services and health behavior I anticipate to occur in my country. It is my dream that teenage pregnancies like that of my own mother, gender discrimination in health issues and lack of awareness about health matters become a history in Nepalese society. My country is waiting for transformation, which can only be brought about by passionate and dedicated experts. Being accepted into your program will help me be one of those experts, able to make a significant contribution to the radical change Nepal awaits.
Thank you for considering my application.
Sincerely,
Dr. Anju Ranjit