Internships in Manila, Philippines

THE PROGRAM The Global Health in the Philippines program has been a one-of-a-kind experience for me! I was assigned to Carabao Island, San Jose, Romblon, Philippines, for a 4-week program that started last June 21, 2025, and ended yesterday, July 19, 2025. From the first week of the program in Manila, the local coordinator and the medical director gave us a quick overview of the historical context of health systems of the Philippines through visits to museums, hospitals, and public health discussions with primary care physicians. That gave us a context before our assignment on an island to have a grasp of the public health systems of the Philippines. From our 2nd to 4th week of the program, I shadowed our local preceptor doing general check-ups for the residents, and observed maternal and child health check-ups. It was truly eye-opening as it gave me a first-hand experience in seeing how the patients and the healthcare workers work hand-in-hand to deliver healthcare in the island. EXPERIENCES IN THE ISLAND I really hope more people will be assigned to Carabao Island! The locals are very kind, friendly, and warm, and will really check up on you from time to time to see how your experiences on the island have been so far. The healthcare workers, particularly the Barangay Health Workers (BHWs), midwives, and nurses, are very hands-on as they always teach us new information about the locals’ perspective in healthcare. Moreover, the Municipal Health Officer, Doc Ian, is also very kind and hands-on. He is very friendly and tries to involve us through shadowing him in consultations with patients and check-ups with pregnant women to see how it works on the island. This became our weekly routine, and we truly enjoyed it. I miss everyone on the island! The location of the island is also very pretty; we always watch the sunset and walk by the beach after our duty to appreciate the beauty of the island. In the afternoon, we eat local snacks and delicacies to have a legit taste of Filipino food. One of the best things in the island is the halo-halo and barbeque, which I never tried before anywhere else in the Philippines. I wish I had more of those before leaving. FEEDBACK I would highly recommend the program to anyone who is looking for a Global Health experience! If you are looking for a sign that this is the program fit for you, this is the sign! It gave me a new perspective and exposure in viewing primary healthcare, local health delivery, and local ethnomedicinal practices engraved into the island's culture in the Philippines. As a Health Sciences graduate, this public health experience is one of the best I have had that I will never trade for anything else. I hope more students, both local and international, get this experience at least once in their lives! I truly loved every single day and the people behind the success of the program. Thank you so much, CFHI, the local team, Doc Lopao, Doc Joel, Doc Kat, Doc Ian, and the generous sponsor of the Friends of the Philippines Scholarship for making this experience possible! I’m forever grateful!

Participating in the Philippines–Remote Island Medicine Internship with Child Family Health International (CFHI) has been personally transformative and eye-opening experience that surpassed my initial expectations. I’ve learned opportunities of studying abroad because of the fellowships I had in my community college. As a transfer student, I spotted a UC Davis flyer promoting the Philippines–Remote Island Medicine Internship in 2022 and envisioned it as a possible goal. At the end of 2022, I found there could be scholarships such as Kerr-Lacy Study Abroad and CFHI Scholarship which we can apply for as an Aggie. I chose the Remote Island Medicine internship in the Philippines to broaden my global health perspective as a dual citizen. I chose it not only because I will have a chance to see my families but reflect on what I can do today to address health disparities in rural and urban areas. I aspire to find ways to integrate professionally. But most importantly, to learn what public health means to me as a global citizen and learn together with my co-interns. The interactions we had could be a way to forge relations with students like ourselves who may someday lead their programs internationally. My internship abroad turned out to be the last class I had as an undergraduate—solidified my future plans of participating in public health as an aspiring nurse. The words of Dr. Joel Buenaventura's sharing on his seven years of community medicine on the island resonates deeply: 'It is not the island that’s changed, it’s me.' This sentiment echoes CFHI’s powerful slogan, 'Let the World Change You.' The immersion and interactions I had in the Philippines and their healthcare system profoundly impacted my perspectives on global health and nursing as a student, seeing essentially how our connections with one another is. We stayed in Metro Manila (capital of the Philippines) for about 2 weeks. From here, one of the experiences that provided me insight into public/global health was walking through UP-PGH (Philippine General Hospital) with Dr. Paulo “Lopao” Medina while talking about a part of the Philippine health system where there is more subspecialty than generalist doctors (inverted primary to tertiary). This topic has been included in the healthcare system/situation lecture at the university along with the reiteration of the disjointed healthcare system where we sat with 4th year medical students. While being mindful of the values of CFHI, another local team experience I appreciate was walking at the 'Quiapo Medical Center' (complementary/alternative medicine) tour and the National Museum of Natural History tour, where Dr. Jerry mentioned how topography (typhoons) affects healthcare distribution and the lifestyles of a culture. In a piece of information in a public health class, I read a women's health article “Why The Philippines Has So Many Teen Moms” informed me about rising teenage pregnancy, access to abortion and the need for sex education. It is a topic I yearn to know more about. One of the most significant experiences I had was learning more about it in Manila and at Tablas Island, Romblon. In Manila, Dr. Jomer led us to see the Red-light District and rotations at the HIV clinic where CFHI opened me to see sensitive patient-doctor interaction, and how affordability could affect referrals/quality of interventions. I remember Dr. Jomer shared that he has been doing an outreach similar to HIV clinics since high school, to community college, at UC Berkeley and meeting him today at CFHI as an Aggie. Another thing that stood out to me in Manila is our CFHI Debriefing Session/Exit Conference at the University of the Philippines where we are presenting what we learned as well as being in conversations between leaders at RHU in Tablas Island and in Manila—how they creatively communicate, collaborate, and value the work that they do in their respective fields in public health. I recall “How the book isn’t always what could occur in actuality and how there could be times of what is needed should be the action. Trial and Error with the importance of guidelines in Public Health. And always remember that at the center of public health are the people”. These immersive experiences reminded me of the significance of words: “pagpapakatao” (humaneness and the importance of narrative humility) and kapwa– “(I) self in the other” in patient care. At CFHI Philippines, I also realized how politics and healthcare are tied together. In our last 3 weeks at Tablas Island in the province of Romblon, we stayed at Mama Le’s home where she also takes care of her granddaughter—it made me reflect on the advantages of close-knit family ties. The “everyday” after our clinicals looks like walking near the pier with my co-interns, where we sometimes stargaze or watch lightning from a far. One of the fun aspects of the program here is having our orientation at the beach, going to Bon Bon Beach and taking boat rides, hiking near the Blue Hole, and exploring another Romblon island—walking more at the Marble Capital of the Philippines with Dr. Jobin Maestro. In addition to that, I am thankful for being invited by the Municipal Health Officer (Dr. Jobin) on his Birthday joined by families and the RHU staff (forever karaoke). On the island, there are clinical observations on the dental clinic and observation of procedures done mostly by the nurses including circumcision, removal of birth control, immunization and outreach/communication on HPV vaccine (since 2023) on HS students. At the Rural Health Unit, observations of what midwives do such as newborn screening tests, assessing mother-child who gave birth at home in a remote place, and vaccines/supplementations given to pregnant women (if luckier, will witness birthing). I noticed that Dr. Jobin and the mayor (she’s a doctor too) have a positive relationship. We also got to visit the DOH Regional Office. I had the chance to observe more about: rural vs urban resources and compare it in global health, private vs public hospitals, the fragmented/disjointed healthcare system, and the task shifting of their nurses and other healthcare workers. Another thing that stood out to me is visiting the Looc Marine Sanctuary with my co-interns on Tablas Island (my first time jumping, ofc with a life vest) and reflecting with Drs. Ged and Ken on the reproductive health presentation to a high school population by the RHU that had a “wasted” acronym. But most importantly, I am grateful for CFHI Philippines because it reminded me of my WHYs. I was also flabbergasted by meeting the CHFI Philippines lead, who is part of the Department of Health International Relations (migration health), as an undergraduate. I learned how they have secured OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) health insurance to the country they are about to arrive. The information of fitness goes to the country of arrival or where they will migrate to. I specifically asked this because I heard there are less studies tracing mental health for migrants and the different types of Visas they hold from the Philippines to the US. In here, I perceive that there might be loss of data for analysis of health outcomes and I speculate that transnational ties are already embedded in global health. I am grateful for Child Health Family International for the latitude of insights in global/public health and valuable experiences it provided me. Moreover, I am reminded of the two time zones I have had since growing up. As an Aggie, I’m asked about my hometown that I’ll go home to–-here and there after the program. My internship at CFHI became a journey back home while I am at home.