Life as a medical student comes with plenty of highs and lows. For Ben Arnold, a fourth-year medical student at UNC School of Medicine, the journey has been rewarding. Through countless hours in clinics, operating rooms, and hospital wards, he gained valuable skills and took pride in the care that he provided.
Still, something was missing. He had developed himself as a future physician but felt that he had not accomplished the goals that initially drew him to medicine. He aspired to use the education he received at UNC to share knowledge and resources with the hospitals and clinics around the world who stood to benefit the most from an international collaboration.
Throughout June, Arnold traveled to Zambia for a month-long elective with the UNC Global Women’s Health program. There, he collaborated on a research project, observed patient care at the University Teaching Hospital in the capital of Lusaka, and explored southern Africa.
“This month has all been so refreshing in terms of why I pursued this career in the first place,” Arnold said. “It’s been the most informative month in all of medical school in terms of how I want the rest of my career to look.”
The path to Zambia
Arnold had long been interested in global health opportunities. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay prior to medical school and completed a clinical elective in Peru during his first year at UNC. Arnold is also a part of the competitive Scholarly Concentration in Global Health.
With support from the Office of Global Health Education in the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, he connected with Dr. Katelyn Rittenhouse, an assistant professor in global women’s health, and learned of an ongoing research project in Zambia.
The Fetal Age Machine Learning Initiative (FAMLI) is an iPad app that connects to a handheld ultrasound device. After several standardized passes over a patient’s abdomen, the tool can accurately estimate gestational age and a projected delivery date. Piloting Integration, Knowledge and Acceptability of Baby Ultrasounds (PIKABU) works to implement the technology into Zambia’s health system by working with local community leaders, supporting and training clinical staff, and educating patients and families on the benefits of accessible ultrasounds.
In Zambia, Arnold conducted interviews with health care workers using the device. The elective allowed him to divide his time between research and clinical experiences.
Dr. Margaret Kasaro, assistant professor in obstetrics and gynecology, coordinated a schedule that gave Arnold exposure to the labor and delivery ward, obstetric operating rooms and the obstetric intensive care unit.
“For me, clinical care is something that I get a lot of joy out of,” Arnold said. “I think it’s very helpful for my education to work outside of the U.S. borders because sometimes we get this tunnel vision being in the U.S where it’s the only place or the only way to do things. It’s very nice to come here (to Zambia) and get that change of perspective.”
A clearer vision for the future
When Arnold began prepping for the elective last fall, he fully expected to apply to residency programs in OB/Gyn. However, in the months leading up to his time in Zambia, he developed a budding interest in anesthesiology. His firsthand experience with patients enduring unimaginable pain in the University Teaching Hospital labor wards cemented his idea that he could alleviate a great amount of suffering by addressing pain directly.
He learned that anesthesia residency training is still relatively new in Zambia and that access to pain management resources, including epidurals, can be limited and costly for many patients. Those experiences reinforced what Arnold finds most meaningful about medicine, helping patients feel cared for during difficult moments.
He recalled supporting a patient undergoing a C-section who was experiencing discomfort despite receiving a spinal block.
“I had the opportunity to stand there with her and say, ‘OK, lean forward. You’re going to feel like a prick and squeeze my hand.’ And she squeezed the hell out of it,” Arnold said with a chuckle. “I was able to sit with her and offer that little bit of comfort during an extremely difficult and uncomfortable situation. I get a lot of joy out of that and find that really rewarding.”
Arnold’s time in Zambia also strengthened his commitment to global health.
Several anesthesia residents told him that physicians from the United Kingdom regularly travel to Zambia to train alongside local clinicians for weeks or months at a time. Back at UNC, Arnold has met physicians who have built similar partnerships with hospitals around the world, spending portions of the year practicing internationally.
“I don’t think the goal of building those relationships and splitting a practice between the U.S. and abroad is aspirational—it’s realistic,” Arnold said. “I’ve now met physicians who are doing this, and I have the blueprint. It seems more attainable than ever before.”
Carrying the experience forward
Arnold is now in the midst of his final year of medical school. In the months ahead, he will apply to residency programs and prepare for Match Day next spring.
More importantly, he is moving forward with a renewed sense of purpose. His experience in Zambia helped him reconnect with the motivations that first drew him to medicine and offered a clearer vision for the kind of physician he hopes to become.
Along the way, he has become a strong advocate for other medical students considering global health experiences of their own.
“Going out into the world and having this real experience is incredible,” Arnold said. “You have to go to these places to see it for yourself and really have that understanding.”
UNC medical students interested in participating in global health programs should contact the Office of Global Health Education for more information.
Ben Arnold’s trip was made possible through the Daniel P. Greenfield, MD ’71 Global Fellowship Endowment. To help support future SOM student global health programs like Arnold’s, donate at: www.unchf.org/globalmeded.
Media contact: Cory Van Dyke, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communication, Offices of Medical Student Education