WEBVTT

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There's a saying in Dari, 
my liver is bleeding.

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(speaks Dari).

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So they're not literally saying
 their liver is bleeding, they're saying

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I am experiencing extreme grief.

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And having that cultural context
 was really powerful

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and I like to think helpful

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to the medical teams.

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In the fall of 2021,

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I was completing my internal medicine
 wards rotation,

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then we found out kind of everything
 that was happening in Afghanistan

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and specifically the Kabul 
airport bombing.

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At that time, they didn't have
 any in-person translators.

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And that can make medicine very difficult, as you can imagine,

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both frustrating for these patients
 who were going through a lot

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as well as the medical teams
 and their ability to provide medical care.

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It's hard to do a physical exam

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on a patient who doesn't understand what you're saying.

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I got to help translate
 for tons of patients.

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I think the patients felt more connected.

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They felt like they had someone
 on the medical team who could hear their words,

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could ask more personal questions
 and understand that

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when they said certain things
 that there was more behind that.

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I felt extremely fulfilled
 during that time.

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I was very busy.
 I was working crazy hours.

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I was doing everything a medical student
 does on an internal medicine rotation,

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but I was doing it in Dari.

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There were times when it was very sad.

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Obviously, you're dealing with 
a lot of patients

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who'd just undergone extreme trauma.

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I also got to work with American Marines
 who had been injured in the blast,

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so that was also very fulfilling.

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It was awesome.

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It was great.

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I think my biggest takeaway
 from that experience was just

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how amazing military medicine is.

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I know that's, you know, really cheesy.

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I don't think that my skills

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would have been utilized in the same way
 if I were at a civilian medical school.

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So it really reinforced my resolve
 to serve as a military physician.