by Varun Verma, M.D. | Aug 11, 2014 | Global Health
“I won’t be here next month.” Ten years ago I walked into my very first patient’s room as part of my medical school physical diagnosis course. I was momentarily confused- but thankfully I did not naively blurt out “why?” I noticed her pale skin and her bald head and...
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Jul 21, 2014 | Global Health
After my 23-hour New York-Doha-Kathmandu flight, I was lucky enough to have two days to decompress in Nepal’s capital. It reminded me of Delhi with its traffic congestion; where scooters and bicycles make 6 lanes where 3 should exist, and the unavoidable baseline...
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Mar 12, 2014 | Global Health
“There is no hope for me here anymore.” It had been a month since I had spoken to J.D. and I felt guilty because working hospital night shifts in San Francisco had temporarily removed me from the world of daily Haitian struggles. He sounded more despondent than usual...
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Feb 19, 2014 | Global Health
Originally appeared in The Hospital Leader: http://blogs.hospitalmedicine.org/Blog/two-worlds/Anyone who has worked in Haiti quickly realizes that injustice abounds. I had rushed into the cramped curtained off area and found the pregnant woman with her eyes rolled...
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Dec 4, 2013 | Global Health
There can be no global health without local staff. There are words in many languages that have no good English equivalent. During my work in Haiti, I’ve noticed my Haitian colleagues on occasion exhaling a phrase — “tet chaje” — which literally means “head charged.”...
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Nov 11, 2013 | Global Health
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King, Jr. This post is a question, an invitation and a challenge. How can we bring technologies we take for granted back home to those in the developing world? Many before me have...
