Making a Difference

Between the first and second year of med school, during summer time, I had done a medical rotation in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was mostly in Ob/Gyn with some sprinkling of General Medicine and what an outstanding experience it was. I got to deliver a baby under supervision of the resident to a very malnourished woman, do physical exams on pregnant women who had come to that hospital's outpatient clinic from far off distances by bus for that clinic is all they could afford and got to stand in on hysterectomies and cesearean sections. But, most importantly I got to see a functional system of health care delivery despite its very obvious shortcomings and lack of resources. As I moved on in my medical career, I have always have reverbrated back to that experience and thought about how I can contribute to Indian healthcare system. Today, in the fourth year of medicine, as I get closer to graduation with each passing moment, that burning desire to make a difference in the Indian health care arenas has grown even stronger. Luckily for me there are people who are far ahead on the curve on this subject and, I just wanted to make a note of a couple of groups who have really taken up on the objective of making a difference and marched forward with it:
http://tomakeadifference.net/
http://targetingtheroots.blogspot.com/
These groups have not restricted themselves to just healthcare, but rather are all encapsulating. As I come across more groups I will add them here. I wish these groups the best of luck.