Unfortunately this past weekend, I contracted a sore throat, headache, fatigue, and allergy symptoms. During the peak of illness, my homestay mom had me participate in a series of homeopathic treatments to alleviate the symptoms. For the cold, I was told to heat water in a pan, take it off the stove, put eucalyptus oil/Vicks in the water, bend my head over the pot, put a towel over my head and the pan, and breath. This worked wonders! Next, I had lemon-ginger tea. Finally, our dinner was spiced with turmeric, cumin, and pepper. Through these home remedies (and quite a bit of sleep), I can happily say that I am in a steady recovery mode.
I am interested in health. Why health? To be healthy is to be fully living. And I am practically and philosophically interested in what it means for a person to purposefully and fully live. This is a list of questions that I am interested to reflect upon while I'm here:
Practically (from my background in biomedical engineering, experience, and general interest):
1. What are the current biomedical and homeopathic treatments used in medical practice?
2. How does healthcare vary between India and the United States?
3. What can the two systems learn from each other?
4. What are the socio, economic, political, and environmental impacts of healthcare?
5. How can biomed research/devices be catered towards the needs of Indians - specifically those who are of lower castes/classes? Is this more of a question of public health (i.e. access to clean water and sanitation)?
Philosophically (broader questions that may need a bit more digging):
1. When will/has public health development exceeded it's limits? (When saying 'development' here, I mean Western-influenced/biomedical-device-based healthcare).
2. Is there a right to healthcare? What does this practically look like (in India, what does this look like for each class and caste?)
3. What is the environmental health of one person at the expense of another (see brief thoughts in the final paragraph)?
As mentioned in a previous post, I have the opportunity to research public health from a rural Indian hospital setting. Through the public health track, I am primarily hope to study cardiac illnesses and diseases that impact rural Bangalore in a hospital setting while speaking with doctors about their perspective on diagnosis and treatment. Through medical device company work, I have a strong understanding of cardiac atherosclerosis and heart arrhythmias, so I hope to continue cardiac research. I look forward to observing the local biomedical engineering impact for rural Indian medicine.
I am wary of one area - the environmental impacts of biomedical waste. Because of the nature of biomedical products, they are typically one-time, one-patient use and are non-biodegradable (it'd be preferred that the materials would not degrade in the body!). Even though biomedical engineering and advancements in healthcare are exciting, innovative, and profitable, I believe I have a responsibility to understand the environmental impacts (i.e. would the creation of a device possibly making a greater negative than positive world health impact because of the production and disposal processes?). I am interested in dissecting this by practically observing the process of biomedical waste management within the hospital where I am placed. This is not a primary area of interest, but I would like to be better informed of the environmental factors of my future occupation.
Thanks for reading.
Things to check out:
1. If you are on facebook: 'berlin-artparasites' has been a great page to follow with a focus on modern art and humanities.
2. Currently listening to: Alt-J (music group). They will be playing in Minneapolis on the 17th!
3. Currently reading: Mere Christianity. Accessible, well-crafted book from a series of BBC radio talks by C.S. Lewis during WWII.
I am interested in health. Why health? To be healthy is to be fully living. And I am practically and philosophically interested in what it means for a person to purposefully and fully live. This is a list of questions that I am interested to reflect upon while I'm here:
Practically (from my background in biomedical engineering, experience, and general interest):
1. What are the current biomedical and homeopathic treatments used in medical practice?
2. How does healthcare vary between India and the United States?
3. What can the two systems learn from each other?
4. What are the socio, economic, political, and environmental impacts of healthcare?
5. How can biomed research/devices be catered towards the needs of Indians - specifically those who are of lower castes/classes? Is this more of a question of public health (i.e. access to clean water and sanitation)?
Philosophically (broader questions that may need a bit more digging):
1. When will/has public health development exceeded it's limits? (When saying 'development' here, I mean Western-influenced/biomedical-device-based healthcare).
2. Is there a right to healthcare? What does this practically look like (in India, what does this look like for each class and caste?)
3. What is the environmental health of one person at the expense of another (see brief thoughts in the final paragraph)?
As mentioned in a previous post, I have the opportunity to research public health from a rural Indian hospital setting. Through the public health track, I am primarily hope to study cardiac illnesses and diseases that impact rural Bangalore in a hospital setting while speaking with doctors about their perspective on diagnosis and treatment. Through medical device company work, I have a strong understanding of cardiac atherosclerosis and heart arrhythmias, so I hope to continue cardiac research. I look forward to observing the local biomedical engineering impact for rural Indian medicine.
I am wary of one area - the environmental impacts of biomedical waste. Because of the nature of biomedical products, they are typically one-time, one-patient use and are non-biodegradable (it'd be preferred that the materials would not degrade in the body!). Even though biomedical engineering and advancements in healthcare are exciting, innovative, and profitable, I believe I have a responsibility to understand the environmental impacts (i.e. would the creation of a device possibly making a greater negative than positive world health impact because of the production and disposal processes?). I am interested in dissecting this by practically observing the process of biomedical waste management within the hospital where I am placed. This is not a primary area of interest, but I would like to be better informed of the environmental factors of my future occupation.
Thanks for reading.
Things to check out:
1. If you are on facebook: 'berlin-artparasites' has been a great page to follow with a focus on modern art and humanities.
2. Currently listening to: Alt-J (music group). They will be playing in Minneapolis on the 17th!
3. Currently reading: Mere Christianity. Accessible, well-crafted book from a series of BBC radio talks by C.S. Lewis during WWII.