Prarthana Vasudevan

Prar Vasudevan is an international health graduate student at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. In Autumn 2015, she conducted a field placement in Pune, India, at BJGMC under Dr. Vidya Mave, where she worked on the study titled Maternal Inflammation, Diet and Gut Microbiome in HIV: Impact on Infant Outcomes. 

She is a 2015 recipient of the Global Health Established Field Placement Grant.

From Prar Vasudevan's Field Report:

At BJMC, I had the opportunity to make rounds in the hospital’s ART Clinic, Labor & Delivery wards, and children’s wards. I was immediately struck by the fact that Sassoon Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital are complete opposite sides of the spectrum.  Whereas Hopkins Hospital is large, bright, airy, pristine, and filled with state-of-the-art equipment, Sassoon Hospital is smaller, overcrowded, and resource as well as personnel limited. And yet, despite all these challenges, clinicians at Sassoon successfully care for thousands of underserved patients every day. The sheer volume of patients reaffirmed my belief in the importance of prioritizing preventive measures like vaccines in the Indian healthcare system. I also observed that a majority of patients were also severely malnourished, reiterating the importance of proper nutrition and the tangibility of the Vicious Cycle of Poverty.  Being a doctor is an inherently noble cause; being a good doctor while enduring a challenging work environment is all the more noble. Thus, I respect how Sassoon Hospital provides important services and care to a very vulnerable segment of India’s population.