Alumni
Course: 2023-2024
I’m Silvana Hajdari, a Medical Student from Bari, graduating next month. I have been raised between two different countries, languages, religions and cultures, always curious about diversities and how they shape people and societies. I have been an active advocate for social inequalities and human rights since I was a kid, I have been a Scout girl for 6 years and I have workedwith different volunteering associations and ONGs, especially those working with migrants. I have been part of the italian association of medical students (SISM – Segretariato Italiano Studenti in Medicina) since 2016 which has majorly contributed to my growth and awareness of the social and political role of doctors in society. I have so far been involved in many projectsregarding the accessibility to the National Health System and have developed a great interest in Global Health and the access to Primary Health Care thanks to my internships in Turkey, Lebanon, South Korea and Germany. I’m a great supporter and advocate of the Italian Health Care System and I hope in the future to be able to contribute with my work to the strengthening of similar Health Care Systems and the drafting of health policies which aim at guaranteeing universal health coverage all around the world.
“These past few months since the beginning of the Master have been a real journey, where time was not measured by minutes but by experiences shared, readings, assignments, debates, opinions and many questions with many more insights to follow and other infinite questions all over again. It’s been creative, it’s been inspirational but most of all, personally, it’s been empowering. I started this course in this specific moment of my life because I still feel like an open canvas concerning my career and this course has been greatly contributing to shaping my future with netter marks than I expected. So far, I can say to be proud of the skills acquired in statistical analysis since this was the most technical part of the master.
I’ve been able to easily overcome the initial intimidation I felt of being the only one without working experience but thanks to the general easygoing environment I can contribute to the discussions with my personal insights and reflections. I’ve been astonished by some lessons, by their insightful and critical approach, which challenged my mental process combining conceptual and pragmatic thinking at the same time and so far, I have loved being able to go beyond what is generally taken for granted when talking about health. Another great achievement is the kind of group we have developed, a safe space with no judgements, where we can interact, discuss, chat and grow all together by motivating and encouraging each other, which has enriched me enormously and I now envision as the archetype of how working in GH should be. This ha also greatly contributed to my commitment in studying and participating in classes and group assignments; I have been able to actively dedicate my time to the Master and enjoy myself during the process of learning which has helped me in seeing GH more clearly and have a better understanding of what I can do.
What I discovered to be the great power of GH is the ability to look differently at problems everyone sees or presumes to see. With GH I could finally answer questions I’ve had for a long time and gain tools for tackling those same questions. I learned that this path is a continuous process, which involves a constant commitment, versatility and creativity. It’s like a relay race where the goal is not to solve all the problems of the world right this instant but to lead to a future which can keep pursue constant improvements. In the long run, we are all individually needed in order to achieve a more global approach, which is definitely not a linear path.
MGH decidedly open my eyes or better yet change the lenses with which I was looking at the world, now with a different approach in mind: knowing how to call problems by their name and more specifically how to call them out”.
My future engagement in Global Health
During the lessons I realized what an immense incentive in pursuing this path were the professors themselves, with their passion, struggles and achievements. This course not only made me see what was possible achieving but showed me how to do it by meeting people by whose work I can be inspired and to whose carrier I can aspire. My goal is to bring GH in everyday practice and life, making it real, tangible and concrete for everyone.
The course has decidedly consolidated my motivation for pursuing a path in GH and I can see myself more and more part of this world. I will pursue the specialty in Infectious Diseases and after that I’d like to do a JPO and a PHD. As an ending point, I’d like to be a professor one day and bring the GH view to as many people as possible.
I’ve been asking myself for a while what I would be able to commit to for the rest of my life. I think I’ve found my answer.