Mongolia 2018 Reflection: What can a third world country offer? (Khuslen Enkhbold)
by Khuslen Enkhbold
I had two main goals in mind when deciding to join this trip to Mongolia. The first was to get firsthand experience of healthcare in a third world country and learn from those who have more knowledge than me about a wide variety of topics.
Through the clinic days I was able to learn how to take patient history and how to conduct physical examinations. Dr. Andreas was very thorough with Derem on how to take patient histories so that when we leave, we have left someone with better knowledge than when we came. Since two weeks is a short amount of time, we needed to leave a legacy to make our work in Mongolia long-lasting. This was met by the Mission to Heal surgeons teaching Dr. Bek how to do certain surgeries in a better way which he was happy to learn.
The healthcare is not the best in Mongolia but it definitely is not as bad as other third world countries. I realized that for better healthcare there needs to be an internal change to the system which is something we cannot do but maybe those we taught and left behind can. Through this trip I’ve learned about things from constipation to arthropod borne illnesses because of the nightly tutorials.
The nightly meetings were not the only places where I was learning. Conlan taught us how to tie surgical knots in his room on the train, Friederike taught us about anesthesia while Tina explained the operation during the cholecystectomy, and Georg interpreted and clarified what was being seen in the images the patients brought. Every second was a teachable moment and I felt blessed to be able to be surrounded by talented and knowledgeable people.
The second goal of mine was to experience my home country in a way I haven’t before. Eight years is a long time of not visiting where I was born, especially when eight years ago I would’ve been 12. There’s not much that I recall from my time in Mongolia at that age however because of this trip, I was able to explore different cities that I’ve never been to and experience living/traveling on the train.
It seems ignorant but I did not think Mongolia had that much to offer. What could a third world country offer something that I cannot get in America? I’ve realized that Mongolia has many more experiences for me to stumble into with an open mind and open heart. This trip has showed me how immature I can be at times and has really opened my eyes to what the world could offer.
Before the trip, I did not think I would enjoy it as much as I did. Every single person that I met is incredible and it would not have been the same if one of them wasn’t there. It may not have seemed like it but I can tell that I have matured a bit from this experience and I am looking forward to possible future missions in different areas of the world.
