Scholarship / LEADERSHIP THROUGH DISASTER. - CHEVENING LEADERSHIP QUESTION [14]

I was a twenty two year old, fresh medical graduate still getting used to the 'doctor' label bursting with the excitement of soon working towards my dream to abolish inequity in the health care sector when I dealt with my first real world experience with leadership. On 9th July 2013, I was working in a rural health center when I heard on the radio, about a massive flood that struck the state of Uttarakhand in Northern India. On my return from work, I consulted no one, wrote to the non-for-profit organization 'Doctors For You' requesting an opportunity to volunteer for their medical relief schemes, agreed to join them in a week's time and began working. The relief project was a collaborative effort between 'Doctors for you' and 'Save the children', India. I voluntarily took on the responsibility of handling a team of three doctors, one pharmacist, one student volunteer and a disaster management specialist each one from different parts of the country with diverse professional and personal backgrounds. Everyday consisted of trekking through about 5kms of flood savaged mountain terrain to reach victims in villages, identify space to set up our camp, co-ordinate with the village volunteers to bring those in need of medical attention to the camp site, distribute medication and for all those in need of hospital care- transportation was arranged. I managed all of this along with the disaster management specialist on the team by personally talking to village volunteers everyday regarding their relief requirements, discussing with the village presidents about my observations and what will be done to improve the health standards in their village and the need for their continued compliance to the measures advised, arranged for ten minute sanitation awareness campaigns to be held before the start of the medical consults, involved the villagers themselves in crowd control measures and communicated to the officials all necessities and inadequacies experienced. I held a meeting everyday with my teammates wherein each of our concerns and observations were addressed, suggestions for improvement were communicated and the plan for the following day was confirmed. I spoke with the medical officer of the local allopathic dispensary and arranged to have some of my patients from the villages, admitted in their facility to meet their medical needs until they could be transferred to a tertiary care facility. For the critical patients I spoke with the Head of department Emergency and Trauma care in the government hospital, Dehradun explained the statuses of the patients and called ambulances for their safe transport. At the end of my month long service the presidents of the villages my team and I visited arrived at my residential annexe to seek detailed advice on how to better the overall health status In their respective villages which I was more than happy to provide. I also made an analysis report of the health and environmental conditions in the villages we worked in citing my observations and possible solution strategies for the organization.

Scholarship / "The Period Company" CAREER and returning home PLANNING [3]

Chevening is looking for individuals who have a clear post-study career plan. Outline your immediate plans upon returning home and your longer term career goals, considering how these relate to UK priorities in your country.

ˇ Energy security
Climate change
Urban development
Defense
Security
Foreign policy
Trade and investment
Economic reforms
Research and innovation

My immediate plan upon returning home is to expand "The Period Company", the social organization I have co-founded. It focuses on spreading female health awareness, as well as advocating the use of Menstrual cups, among the urban and peri-urban populations. Considering the discrepancy in healthcare quality in India, our plan is to implement broad-based awareness programs aimed at providing accessible and economical reproductive health services for women. The plan is to release the program in stages, starting with the urban population. We will then tackle the countless without shelter that dot the Indian cityscape, before moving on to the peri-urban and rural sectors.

To be more precise, the first implementation once I return will be to establish the research and development team in our enterprise. Thus far I have conducted a survey of 350 women regarding their knowledge of and experiences with menstrual health. Once I analyze my data thoroughly with the appropriate methods, I intend to approach the government with two proposals. The first will be the institution of urban public facility plans, catering specifically to menstrual hygiene concerns. Once this task is accomplished, my next goal will be to present a proposal recommending a provision of an online platform for the procurement of contraceptive pills, backed up with statistical validation for the need for such a service. In order to execute this I require Policy formulation and health care management qualifications, which is exactly what a masters' degree in Public Health will give me.

In addition to bringing seismic changes in women's health and hygiene facilitation, my long term goals include addressing the discrimination in India's palliative care system. Palliative care, neglected by policy-makers for decades, has finally made palpable progress in recent years. However, many challenges still remain such as poor infrastructure, limited outreach, understaffed clinics and under-trained caregivers. I am currently working on a research protocol for 'outcome assessment of chronic illness management at home'. I intend to translate the information of this study and the ones to come into meaningful field work, with the help of research training my masters' degree will provide.

With my passion for macroscopic, population-impact oriented work, I endeavour to formulate research-driven health impact modules to reduce the barriers towards healthcare, be it geographical, cultural, socio-economical or lingual. In the long run, I hope to utilize my entrepreneurial platform to formulate effective policies for health facilities for women, in conjunction with expanding the palliative care system available to initially the urban and then rural poor. Urban development with Research and innovation are vital parts of the UK's priorities in India, and considering my career plans are targeted towards health and hygiene provisions in urban settings through research and innovation, this scholarship will help me in working towards achieving these priorities cherished by both our countries.