Elena Rogers is a rising 2nd year IU School of Medicine student who spent the summer in Eldoret, Kenya, as a Slemenda Scholar with the AMPATH partnership. While there, she learned about various facets of the 30-year partnership between IU and Moi University and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and participated in a research project about gynecologic minimally invasive surgery.
When I was six years old and learning to ride a bike, my father gave me the advice, “Point your eyes where you want to go, and the wheels will follow.” A decade later when he taught me to drive a car, this was the same advice he offered. Beyond operating bikes and vehicles, I’ve used this advice for any new problem or adventure: focus my attention where I want my efforts to go, and my metaphorical wheels will follow.
I was both nervous and excited to learn that I would be spending two months living in Eldoret, Kenya, doing global health research at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) as part of the AMPATH partnership between my first and second years of medical school. I hit the ground running, getting involved in a number of projects in the OB/GYN department.
One of my primary focuses was on collecting and analyzing data about how ectopic pregnancies are managed at MTRH, and collaborating with physicians, nurses, and statisticians to improve the health outcomes for these women. Like always, I leaned on my bike-riding metaphor to help me get things done. I made myself goals and checklists and wrote detailed notes in my planner, thinking this would be the best way for me to make the most of my time here.
So when I met my Kenyan counterpart (and now dear friend) Doreen for the first time, I immediately wanted to start talking shop, reviewing data and outlining our presentation.
But Doreen suggested we spend some time sitting outside together, enjoying the sunshine before getting started on our work. Sitting on a bench outside of Riley Mother Baby Hospital (the maternal & newborn health unit at MTRH), we talked about where we came from, the best restaurants in Eldoret, and the difference between Tanzanian and Kenyan Swahili (Doreen grew up in Tanzania).
At first, I felt slightly uneasy. Wasn’t I here to work? But gradually, I began to understand that this time together was also part of the work. Trust, context and connection aren’t distractions from research, they are the foundation of it.
Taking tea, going on walks, and making jokes in the back of the operating room with Doreen not only made my summer more fun, but highlighted what I most needed to learn about global health research: doing work without building relationships can never sustain a lasting partnership. Global health research is doing science in a different language. I don’t just mean doing science in Swahili, but instead understanding the importance of the people and connections that give meaning to the data and the numbers.
Doreen taught me a lot – not just about medicine or the right amount of sugar to add to my chai – but about grace and adaptability. She reminded me that we weren’t just doing a project, we were building something together.
So, what my summer in Eldoret and my time working with Doreen has ultimately revealed is that I may need to refine my bike-riding metaphor. While it is true that my focus will dictate my efforts, maybe sometimes there is beauty in letting my eyes gaze off of the path. Perhaps my most meaningful relationships will come from the times when I’m not so focused on the road ahead, but rather on the people riding next to me.
As I return to my second year of medical school, I’m bringing back more than just data or a project summary; I’m bringing back a new way of seeing. I’m more comfortable with uncertainty, more appreciative of collaboration, and more mindful that the most meaningful work in medicine happens when we slow down and connect. And while this is my first bike ride into global health research, I certainly hope that it won’t be my last.
