you're doing what now?

Thanks for stopping by.  Here we go.

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"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." -Neale Donald Walsch

I ran across these fine words sometime, somewhere in the last month.  I feel that to grow is to make an effort to understand others, to try new things, and to think in different ways.  I am undeservedly fortunate to have an opportunity to do these things.  For the month of February 2013, I will be serving at a hospital in Lubango, Angola.

Here, I hope to catalogue all that is this opportunity lying before me.  I will try and update often and honestly.

Alright, let's get the bricks and mortar taken care of.

Who: Zach Rossfeld.  Yeah, that's me, pleased to meet you.  I was born and raised in Elida, OH.  In the pursuit of higher learning (and a good time), I travelled down to Columbus for undergraduate and have remained at The Ohio State University for medical school.  I like to think I'm a pretty affable dude, avid sports fan (i.e. the Buckeyes, Reds, Grizzlies, and Federer), and listener to all musical genres.  I am applying Internal Medicine/Pediatrics for residency and am in the thick of interviewing.  So, basically, in the words of the Sugar Hill Gang, "ya see I'm six foot one and I'm tons of fun, and I dress to a T."

What: Global Health Elective.  As part of my fourth year medical school curriculum, I have opted to complete one of my elective months abroad.  I am very thankful for the Office of Global Health at the College of Medicine.  There are tens of fourth year Ohio State students who embark across the globe every year.  The folks, especially program manager Jessica Small, have been very resourceful and endlessly supportive of my trip.  It has been especially interesting considering that I am the first Ohio State student to visit Lubango.  Establishing a new clinical site for future students and adding to the Office's Rolodex have proved mutually beneficial for all parties.

When: February 2013.  Wheels up from Columbus on February 3rd and returning March 4th.  Much more on my travel arrangements later...

Where: Evangelical Medical Center of Lubango is the clinical site I will be visiting.  It is a tertiary referral hospital with about 40 beds.  Affiliated with a rural, "bush hospital," CEML serves an urban population of over 100,000 people.  There is quite a bit of information on the website and I encourage you to look around.

Why: A perfect marriage of need and interest.  Angola is a country in great flux.  After gaining its independence in 1975, civil war ravaged the country and its people until a lasting ceasefire in 2002.  Get this, the life expectancy is 54.6 years which ranks 201st in the world.  The top killers are influenza, pneumonia, and diarrheal illnesses.  CEML sees some of those 50% of Angolans without other access to care!  Obviously, the medical need in Angola is much more vast than I can hope to fully appreciate.  I am, however, motivated to learn and apply myself where there is such need.  I have heard the overwhelmingly positive study abroad experiences of many friends and am saddened that I was unable to do so in undergraduate.  Consider this global health elective me finally checking something off that educational and life to-do list in a meaningful way...

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Much more to come.  Happy New Year everyone!  -ZR