Pasricha filming at a makeshift rural clinic
According to the World Health Organization, Sub-Saharan Africa carries 24% of the world’s burden of disease, but only 3% of the world’s healthcare workforce. The solution could lie in a sustainable investment: the establishment of new medical schools in the continent. By some estimates, 100 medical schools will open across Sub-Saharan Africa within the next decade. But will they succeed?
The documentary A Doctor of My Own explores the emerging stories of students at the newly opened University of Namibia School of Medicine in Windhoek. Fresh out of organic chemistry, these students will trek to the rural North of the country for the first time, training with patients who have never met a doctor from their own country. The challenges are enormous–and so is the pressure: some students will leave in the brain drain, never to return. Yet buried in the sea of endless patients and faced with unexpected responsibilities, a few may rise to find their calling. And if they do, medical education could revolutionize healthcare in Africa.
Trisha Pasricha
Trisha Pasricha is a medical student at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She graduated from Harvard University with a B.A in film production. Her work was awarded at the 2012 Oscar-qualifying Nashville Film Festival. Prior to studying medicine, she worked for CNN with Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and for Golden Globe-winning movie director Mira Nair. Pasricha’s latest documentary film, “A DOCTOR OF MY OWN: The First Medical Students of Namibia,” explores the health care emergency and global impact of medical education in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Visit Trisha's website to view the movie trailer: http://adoctorofmyown.wordpress.com/