GEI: Global Virtual Internship

I had an excellent experience working with GEI during my virtual internship. I am a fourth-year medical student, going into obstetrics and gynecology, and was very excited to learn more about maternal and fetal health in another country. The best part of my experience was working one-on-one with a medical student from Vietnam. I was able to ask many questions about medicine/medical school in Vietnam and Vietnam in general! This partnership added context and color to the virtual experience. I am very grateful for this opportunity, and would definitely recommend it to other students!

At the time I apply to this program. I don't have any expectations about it. I just think it's simply like a journey which I can travel on a field never known. But after its end, I realize that I lack many things and this is a chance I can change myself and be a new me!

I choose preeclampsia and eclampsia is my topic. This is a common topic but it is challenge me a lot. I also thanks Aubrey, my partner who help me so much! Thanks to the support from our supervisor, Dr.Bao, and the GEI team support I so great!

Thanks for everything and hope to see all of you soon ^^

I found my time participating in this program and virtual internship to be highly beneficial for my interpersonal communication and professionalism skills. Aside from that, it provided me with the opportunity to expand my worldview and take on a deeper understanding of the perspectives of a culture different from my own. Overall, I found it to be a unique and engaging experience where I received tremendous support from those guiding me. I would recommend it to anyone interested in expanding on their academic learnings and developing real-world experience.

In addition to the expertise, there are 3 affairs I ascertained and appreciated most in this internship.

The first was the teamwork skills, notably the esteem of partners and opinions of partners working with us. Because of the knowledge of a firth-year medical student like me and being not so passionate about Obstetrics, I did indeed not expect to earn esteem from "the best partner ever" "the resident physician" Kelsey much like that. Undoubtedly,  the sentences I listened to most during team meetings or video calls were "What do you think? What are your thoughts? Why do you want to do that? ..." and most of my ideas were adopted 😋😋😋. Or any alternations in handout, PowerPoint or poster, she always consulted with me and asked for my permission before any decisions. And from the beginning, we had the intention of altering the topic to Neonatal Resuscitation (which was also attributable to my manipulation and ideas). And in the end, the guidelines of Neonatal Resuscitation between US and Vietnam was rather analogous and we applied general recommendations from an association. Hence, we elected to reselect and keep at the previous topic. Nonetheless, Kelsey asked me a question not erased from my mind. That was "Is there another neonatal topic you are interested in?". Actually, until now, when I am writing this review, I still find that question respectful and a little bit affecting. Heart-felt thanks for all, Kelsey.

The second lesson I ascertained was be bold enough to step out of my comfort zone. I always wish and realize I ought to explore capacities beyond my comfort zone. But it's easy said than done. As Obstetrics did not fascinate me earlier, what I always reckoned in my mind when participating in this internship was "neonatology, neonatology". I was fairly embarrassed while recieving the topic of Postpartum Hemorrhage, although it was truly stimulating and practical. However, since my partner was adorable and respectful of her partner's opinions, my mentor and the organizers was caring and zealous, so I still did it. Subsequently, I considered my topic (or Obtestrics) so attention-grabbing. I assume it was merely because I did not research on it earlier and at the end we had a thriving presentation which was beyond my expectations at the beginning.

And the last was absolutely English and communication skills. I did not opine I would have a great deal of language barriers when taking this internship but in reality I confronted numerous obstacles on the first days. For instance, I made my partner frustrated and upset because of not grasping her meanings and I was unpunctual because of misinterpreting 🤣🤣🤣. Nevertheless, we eventually surmounted all, endeavored to remedy and advance day by day to have an ultimate fruitful presentation. Moreover, at first, I attempted to use advanced vocabularies in Ielts while I was talking or texting but no one could totally fathom, later on, I learned how to use vocabularies which were simple, easy to understand, contextual and more natural 😬😬 😬 ...

And it is certainly indispensable that I express my gratitude, even though I already said and texted all of you. Please permit me to thank you again. The first is to permit me to thank Mr. Bao, thanks a million for your assistance and furthermore during this internship. Although I perceived you to be hectic especially during the quality verification program, when you saw our messages, you immediately replied and obviously elucidated and even recommended documents for us to research more. You are actually caring and zealous. Next, I would like to thanks, Ms. Thuy and Ms. Amy, for always assisting us with all our heart, rescheduling team meetings in accordance with our wishes, sending emails announcing team meetings every week to motivate us. Although I do believe that these was your responsibilities and work, I have to thank you very much, especially spending almost 2 hours on weekend night listening to 2 time-consuming specialized topics. Thanks, Mai, for endeavoring together, comforting, confiding and encouraging in overcoming deadlines. "Together we can". Thanks, Phú, Phúc, Vinh, Minh, for assisting me a lot when writing my CV and during my internship. And last but not least, thank you so so so much, "my best partner ever" Kelsey, for being my partner till the end, always esteeming me, being responsible, working together and supporting each other during this internship. Thank you, everyone. Thanks for everything!

I had an amazing time during my internship. Everyone was really welcoming and accommodating with the virtual limitations. I was able to gain more research, writing, and public speaking experience with my teammate under Dr. Bao's supportive guidance. Furthermore this internship experience provided us with social and cultural experiences as well to expand our global outlook. The internship challenged me to expand beyond my field of study and look at social implications of my work. I believe this experience has better prepared me for my career.

This is the first time I have ever joined in a virtual internship. At first, I was a little bit nervous because I was afraid of my language barriers and lack of medical knowledge. Thanks to the support from our friendly supervisor, Dr.Bao and the great teamwork with my cute American partner, our team finished our work successfully. Moreover, when I had any problems, the GEI team was very supportive which helps us a lot to get through the program. After joining this virtual internship, I can expand my knowledge in my field of study, improve my English competency and some soft skills. Thank you everyone for an unforgettable and amazing experience. I am looking forward to working with you guys in the future.

One of my best opportunities were engaging in the Virtual Internship. Though it's solely been a month, both me and my partner, Lauren, have been operating very effectively together. 

My project is really interesting and shows me how to prevent unintended pregnancy and the best methods of birth control - something to which I have not been previously introduced. Throughout the whole process, Dr Bao has been extremely supportive, always supplying my team with contraceptive methods guidance anytime we run into problems. If you never try, you will never know. Consequently, I feel more self-confident after the Virtual Internship because I came out of my comfort zone.

Take every chance you get in life because some things only happen once

I did a virtual internship through GEI specifically for research related to maternal and newborn health. It was a good experience, although online, it helped me learn more about Vietnam & its culture. It also gave me the opportunity to do research with other students from Vietnam. We produced a paper and a presention. My research was directed by a local professor/doctor and helped me learn much more about vietnamese culture than i anticpiated. The staff at GEI were very friendly and helpful through it all. Overall, I am glad I did this and would do it again!