How Exchange Abroad Has Helped Global Health Student Laura Jamieson Prepare for a Future Career in Medicine

As McMaster MSc Global Health student Laura Jamieson nears the end of her exchange at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, where she has spent the last few months, she feels confident knowing that the communication and critical skills she has gained will serve her well in her future career.

“The exchange has mimicked what I anticipate the field of global health will be like: working with individuals from multiple (and sometimes contesting) disciplines, cultural backgrounds, value systems and experiences,” Jamieson says.

Jamieson, who was born and raised in Toronto, began the Global Health program after studying Life Sciences at McMaster. With the opportunity to specialize in a global health priority area during the program’s winter term, she was drawn to the Innovations track offered at Maastricht. “I chose this track because of the centrality of the patient-centered approach,” says Jamieson, who hopes to become a doctor.

“This area of concentration has allowed me to build on my critical thinking, person-centered and collaboration skills – all attributes I believe are of utmost importance for a care provider,” she says.

As well as challenging her to be creative and collaborative, the Innovations track has taught Jamieson how to be realistic with regards to innovation implementation. “I have come to realize that there are no simple solutions; global health issues and their underlying causes are so difficult to ‘solve’ because of the political, economic and societal intricacies that shape them,” she says.

Jamieson’s research interests include the displacement of political, economic and environmental refugees, the ongoing struggles of Canadian Aboriginal persons, and the rapid growth of the elderly population. Moved by her grandmother’s struggles with dementia, she is interested in specializing in geriatric medicine, perhaps managing access and quality of care for older people, or designing a long-term care facility that challenges conventional ways of thinking about aging. “Considering the cultural, economic and geographic diversity of our country, I think it would be appropriate – even necessary – to apply a global health perspective in planning to meet the future health needs of our aging population,” she explains.

Come September, Jamieson plans to live and work in Australia for a year, and is currently researching non-governmental organization and non-profit opportunities. After that, she will apply to medical school, with an aim to begin studying in 2018 – and she feels prepared for what lies ahead. “This program has already given me the tools to not only imagine a better world, but to inspire change and make it a reality,” she says.

 Global Health News