KNOWING AND EXPERIENCING HERD INTERNATIONAL

Mira Khadka shares her experience of the initial month of internship at HERD International.

Since my childhood I wanted to pursue medicine as a vocation and when I completed my MBBS (Bachelors in medicine and bachelors in surgery) in 2012, I began my career as a doctor with great enthusiasm. As I was working as a medical doctor in one of the central hospitals in Kathmandu, slowly it dawned on me that, though ‘one to one’ clinical care is an essential aspect of health care, it has its limitations. I felt the  doctors are the  tool in the health care machinery where he/she is to function primarily in diagnosis and management aspects. I realized that I am more interested in health in the larger context of health care system including the preventive and promotive part as well.

With the growing realisation, I was interested to broaden my scope in learning and understanding the public health area.  This led me to pursue a degree in Public Health. After completing my Masters in Public Health (MPH), I was looking for a job where I could pursue the knowledge and skills gained and the door opened for me when I got an opportunity to do an internship at HERD International.

HERD International gave me an opportunity to understand the ways through which I experienced the processes that go into conducting a programme/research. Here, I met colleagues who are progressive, supportive and friendly that made my experience of working here even more worthwhile.

During my time at HERD International, I have received considerable support from colleagues who come from diverse professional backgrounds. My interactions with them have helped me to gain better insights and broaden my horizons about various public health aspects.

I am greatly indebted to Dr. Sushil Baral, Managing Director of HERD International for giving me this opportunity for internship, my supervisor Ms. Sudeepa Khanal, and my project guide Mr. Uden Maharjan and Mr. Subash Gajurel and team members for their continued support during my stay. 

Mira Khadka