Internships in Kabale, Uganda

My time in Kenya was one of the best experiences of my life. Interning in the hospital taught me so much about myself, nutrition, and the world. The clinical mentor Nashon in the ICU was one of the more helpful nutritionists I worked with—and while he challenged me, he also taught me so much. Each individual, from the mentors to the chefs to the interns, was so kind and made the experience so fun. The Masai Mara safari was definitely a highlight as well. The tour guide, Shadi, was so kind and really made the experience. I did feel that the program was geared a lot more toward pre-med fields, with mandatory sessions about suturing and clinical skills like that. As a nutrition intern, I sometimes felt out of place and that my time was not as well organized—but I still got so much out of the experience and would not trade it for the world! My recent nutrition internship with International Medical Aid in Mombasa, Kenya, was nothing short of transformative. Throughout my three week internship, I had the opportunity to experience hospital rotations in the pediatrics, oncology, and ICU units, participate in community health clinics about hygiene and women's health, and participate in cultural treks that gave me an expansive view of Kenya and its healthcare system. This experience opened my eyes to new aspects of healthcare delivery, nutrition practice, and political and cultural dynamics that will forever impact my career in nutrition and my approach to healthcare equity and global health overall. During my rotations at Coast Provincial General Teaching & Referral Hospital, I encountered a variety of nutrition-related conditions during my rotations in pediatrics, oncology, and the medical and surgical ICUs. The healthcare professionals I shadowed were working in an environment constrained by limited supplies and strained infrastructure despite having patients plagued by advanced malnutrition, dehydration, and complications resulting from infectious disease and poverty. However, I was most stricken by the lack of basic nutrition information from patients, especially during my rotation in the pediatric department. Formula feeding is very stigmatized in Kenya because breast milk is considered a safe feeding option for mothers battling with HIV/AIDS. Due to the stigmatization of formula feeding, mothers face excessive stress to ensure that their child is being fed properly, especially within the first six months of life. I saw many cases of children who were malnourished from the start of their life with symptoms such as muscle wasting, edema, weakened immune systems, and cognitive defects. On top of the stigmatization of breast feeding, mothers often failed to have adequate knowledge of breastfeeding despite it being the predominant form of feeding for their infants. The other nutrition interns and I performed breast feeding information sessions to large groups of mothers in the pediatrics unit to inform them on the proper way to hold their child when breastfeeding, how to get the child to suckle, and more. Being able to educate patients is the first step in making a change so being able to do this felt very impactful. Another example of limited access to nutrition education was during my rotation in the oncology department. Nutrition interns were given a pamphlet that outlined how to take care of yourself with cancer through methods like food, exercise, and sleep. While working in the oncology clinic taking the height, weight, and BMI of patients I left the pamphlet on the desk. An older man came in and shared that he had prostate cancer and had about six months left to live. He picked up the pamphlet and was immediately taken by the information inside. I told him he could keep it and he was incredibly grateful. I wondered why he was not given a care guide like this alongside his diagnosis and if he had, would his outcome have been different? Coming from America where the predominant nutrition related issues are obesity and chronic disease, I was shocked by the amount of kids facing food insecurity. According to the article Preventing and Treating Maternal, Adolescent, and Child Malnutrition written by UNICEF, “11 per cent of children are underweight, with four per cent wasted. Wasting and severe wasting are linked to increased and preventable deaths among young children,” (UNICEF). This was very prevalent in the pediatrics ward at Coast General Hospital and with just one nutritionist for the whole ward, this posed a challenge. Treatment options for these cases included vitamin supplements such as F-75, F-100, AminoGuard, and more in addition to counseling patients on how to increase their caloric intake. I found it challenging to see that even though a patient may have the proper nutrition information, a lack of monetary stability didn’t always make it possible for patients to have access to the food or supplements that they needed. This was new for me because in America, it is more common to have access and money to ensure that the changes a healthcare professional is providing can be implemented. Despite this, the problem solving techniques and resilience demonstrated by the medical professionals in these scenarios taught me that nutrition interventions can be creative and require deep contextual understanding. Kenya’s healthcare system operates under complex political dynamics. Areas such as Mombasa are historically underrepresented and underfunded. I saw firsthand how malnutrition in marginalized communities are deeply tied to such structural inequalities. For example, during my rotation in the surgical ICU, we saw a patient that needed liquid feed during his recovery from an Ileostomy because he was not able to properly break down micro and macro nutrients. These feeds were too expensive for him to purchase, however, so the nutrition team had to come up with a creative solution to this problem: Mala. Mala, fermented milk, naturally breaks itself down into glucose and galactose due to its enzymes. Therefore, Mala is very easy to digest and a cheap option for individuals who cannot afford the medication they need. This experience taught me that as a future nutritionist, it isn’t enough to focus solely on nutrient science. I must understand, and whenever possible help improve, the political, administrative, and infrastructural systems that determine supply chains, health education, and equitable program implementation. One unique experience that I had during my time in Mombasa was that I was present during a medical personnel strike. According to Daily Nation, “Doctors were promised salary adjustments and payment of arrears spread across different financial years, to be implemented in phases. However, the implementation has been plagued by delays, with healthcare workers pointing to bureaucratic inefficiencies and a lack of political will to honour the agreements,” (Daily Nation, 2025). This leads to healthcare workers' payment being delayed and them not getting the money they need in time. Many student nutritionists that I spoke with during my time at Coast General explained how even though you can be educated, it is extremely hard to get a job in Kenya. This is because it is necessary to have a connection to the place in which you are trying to get a job through family or status. This corrupt system leaves educated people working under-paying jobs and a shortage of healthcare workers overall. Political and structural issues directly impact a patient's access to care and this became evident during my time at Coast General. I found myself in a hospital lacking attending nutritionists, while hundreds of patients still needed basic care. This experience revealed the relationship between labor relations, government, and healthcare access and highlighted that effective nutrition care depends not only on clinical skills but also on policy stability and the rights of workers. My experience at IMA was more than just clinical exposure. It provided me with the opportunity to participate in community outreach. Being a part of the Women's Health Clinic and Hygiene Clinic were some of the highlights of my time in Kenya. Co-leading information sessions to educate kids about their bodies and how to take control of their health was such a unique experience. We were able to tell how genuinely interested they were about what we had to teach them and how much this information meant to them. Although it was hard to see the lack of basic knowledge when it comes to hygiene and health, we were really able to make a difference in the lives of these individuals. A particular moment when I felt really affected was during my first Women's Health Information Session. While we were handing out menstrual pads, girls were taking multiple and hiding them under their chairs or in their desks in order to get more. Although this could be seen as a practical joke done by the kids, I took it as an indicator of just how limited resources are in this area and what a need there is for help. Cultural norms, oral tradition, and location all affect access to accurate health information and resources so being able to set the facts straight with these populations can make a great impact. One thing that I was not anticipating to be such a challenge during the internship was the language barrier. While English is an official language in Kenya, many patients and community members are more comfortable speaking in Swahili. Communication required patience, empathy, and occasional translation support. I learned a greater message in this struggle, however. I learned that the basis of healthcare is always built on trust, mutual respect, and cultural humility. It is so important for nutrition professionals to be culturally competent and understand how to interact with those different from us because nutrition is such a personal topic. Things like religion, socioeconomic status, and environmental factors have a large impact on nutrition care and it is necessary to have a grasp on a patient's history before providing care. One thing that I found interesting was that on the front of each patient file was the patient's religion. Religion greatly affects how patients will respond to care in Kenya. For example, Muslim patients do not eat pork which is something that you would not want to overlook when having a conversation with a patient or creating their food regime. Even though I did not fully understand each religion or tribe in Kenya, I learned that moving forward in my career it is necessary that I stay curious and aware of the differences in patients. Before Kenya, public speaking was not one of my strengths. Although it is still not my favorite thing, my time in Kenya taught me to be a lot more confident in myself. From traveling halfway across the world on my own, to leading women's health information sessions, teaching about hygiene in schools, and having group discussions with nutrition professionals and interns my confidence improved exponentially. Teaching during health education sessions made me feel more confident in the field of nutrition as it combined nutrition science and food hygiene with community engagement. I learned to enjoy sharing health information with large groups of individuals which is something that I can definitely pursue in America especially as I get further along in my nutrition career. Healthcare environments at Coast General Hospital showed me the power of resourcefulness and problem solving. I learned new techniques and ways of looking at nutrition issues that I would never be able to find in a textbook. I learned how to listen to patients and complete urgent and challenging tasks with limited and underwhelming resources. One example of this is how all medical records are hand written. Charting took much longer than it would in America because everything was done on pen and paper. There was also a plethora of missing information on many charts because they were not available to Coast General or they were just never updated. Additionally, I saw nutrition professionals pivot when supplements ran out. In the pediatrics ward, one of the main supplements for malnourished children ran out, F-75. The nutritionist swiftly found another supplement, F-100, that could be used instead with a few modifications. This taught me how to deal with contingencies that are bound to happen in the medical field and emphasized the importance of problem solving that I will carry into my future career. My experience in Mombasa cemented my desire to become a nutritionist who also understands the social, political, and infrastructural drivers of nutrition. I envision a career that designs culturally adapted nutrition education for all individuals. It is important to recognize how factors such as funding inequities determine nutrition and healthcare access. In Kenya, there is a large difference between the public and private sectors of care. Public healthcare is government funded leading them to be understaffed, poorly equipped, and lacking supplies. Private hospitals have much better funding and facilities and they can handle more rare and serious cases of illness. According to The Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, “The wealthy may be able to access high-quality private care, for many, particularly in lower-income areas, the private sector offers low-quality services that may be inadequate or unsafe,” (The Center for Human Rights and Global Justice). It is unfair that individuals have to be wealthy in order to receive quality care. If I had to sum up my nutrition internship with two words it would be life changing. I learned that science and medicine are only powerful when paired alongside cultural empathy, political awareness, and peer collaboration. I saw that structural inequities greatly affect lives, that clinical skills must be flexible, and that meaningful change often begins with listening, adapting, and teaching. Going forward, I will build a career that incorporates both nutrition science and health equity. I am committed to respecting culture, navigating resource limitations, and advocating for policies that ensure every community has access to the nourishment they need to not only survive, but to thrive. While Kenya is very different from America, these are messages that can transcend continents, languages, and lives.

I absolutely loved my experience with IMA. The IMA staff were so kind and welcoming right from the start when they picked us up at the airport. All of the peer mentors and IMA staff were constantly there to support us in any way in order to make sure we had the best experience. Their dedication to us was incredible. While there were many staff members at CGTRH, I still felt that I had great mentorship from the nutritionists at the hospital. They were so kind and always made sure I got to learn as much as possible during my time at the hospital. In addition to these amazing clinical experiences, we were truly able to make an impact on members of the community through our weekly education sessions and medical clinics. I am forever grateful to IMA for giving me the chance to experience so much from my time in Kenya, as well as allowing me to meet so many other amazing interns from around the world. It is often said that the best learning happens outside of your comfort zone. One of the greatest ways to do this is to explore other countries or cultures outside of your own. I’ve felt this first hand time and time again through my experiences traveling and studying abroad for my undergraduate degree. Throughout my degree, I studied abroad three separate times to different countries. Each of these trips being different from the last, and allowing me to stretch my comfort zone further and further with each experience. My first experience was my first semester of freshman year. While most of my peers were moving across town to our local university, I was moving all the way to New Zealand to study at the University of Auckland for my very first semester of college. I was again pushed outside of my comfort zone during my junior year when I left my home university again to study abroad in Denmark. These two trips were very different from each other, and I discovered a newfound confidence in my ability to live and study in a place so different from home. Once more in my senior year I pushed the boundaries of my comfort zone when I participated in a study abroad program to South Africa. This trip was different than both of my previous ones, and allowed me to appreciate the world so much more. Needless to say, I’m comfortable being outside of my comfort zone. In fact, I’ve grown to love being outside of my comfort zone. Thus, when I found International Medical Aid and the opportunity to go outside of my comfort zone through this internship in Kenya, I thought I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. While many aspects of this experience were what I expected, I did not expect to fall in love with and learn so much more about my future career in dietetics. In my other experiences studying abroad, I learned so much about myself and skills such as intercultural communication, resilience, adaptability, and problem-solving. And while these skills were definitely in use for this internship experience in Kenya, I specifically feel that I gained a better appreciation for my field of study and future career. Prior to university, I did not have an extensive education on nutrition and did not realize what I wanted to do for my career. I truly struggled trying to decide a career path that I was passionate about. However, the more nutrition classes I’ve taken in my undergraduate experience, the more I have grown to really love the field of nutrition and dietetics. This led me towards my current goal of becoming a Registered Dietitian. Ever since I made this career choice, I have been exploring different domains of dietetics that I may want to pursue further. Since I myself did not get a good nutrition education growing up, I was initially drawn to community nutrition and nutrition education from a public health perspective. Additionally I have explored nutrition counseling and sports dietetics as areas that are interesting to me. This being said, the one area I never really thought I would enjoy was clinical nutrition. Despite my initial disinterest in clinical nutrition I decided to give it a try when I found this internship in Kenya, and I cannot express how grateful I am that I did. This experience really opened my eyes to clinical nutrition as a field that is more interesting than I originally gave it credit for. The reason I have always been drawn to more outpatient settings such as community nutrition or counseling is because I like focusing on prevention efforts more than reactive treatment such as in inpatient hospital settings. During my time shadowing at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital, I realized how difficult prevention efforts are in Kenya. On the other hand, when patients are being treated in the hospital, they are often receiving nutrition care and diets that better meet their needs. This is because many of the patients can not afford certain more nutrient dense foods. This makes counseling and outpatient services much more difficult because the patients may not have access to the foods that you would recommend to them. One example of this was during my rotation with the nutritionists in the pediatric department. One of the children was diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition that developed after the child reached 6 months of age. During discussions with the mother, the nutritionist discovered that at 6 months old when the mother was weaning the child to food, the child was not having sufficient protein intakes. When questioning if they could include more eggs into the child’s diet the mother indicated that it was too expensive given her husband’s income. This was very eye opening to me because in an outpatient setting it would be very difficult to find protein options that the family could afford. In the inpatient setting; however, we were able to supplement the child’s intake with high protein formulas and ready to use therapeutic food. In this case, the inpatient setting felt much more helpful for the child than an outpatient counseling setting would have been. While the inpatient setting in Kenya can really help improve an individual’s nutritional status, many Kenyans have very poor health care seeking behavior. Many individuals from lower economic status avoid essential care services due to the cost burden associated with these services (Ilinca et al., 2019). These financial difficulties; however, only increase when these patients later return due to chronic and severe illnesses developed. Thus, the patients in the hospital often had very progressed conditions because they would only come to the hospital once their condition had worsened to the point where care was absolutely necessary. These poverty related issues explain why there were so many cases of preventable diseases such as malnutrition seen in the hospital (International Medical Aid, 2023a). In addition to the learning opportunities at the hospital, I thoroughly enjoyed the educational sessions run by International Medical Aid. While these programs were not related to nutrition and dietetics, they were great for reaching a larger audience and spreading important health knowledge and education. My two favorite experiences were the mental health education session and the women’s health education session. During both of these sessions, the students were very engaged and asked lots of great questions. These topics were also of great importance as at least 1 in 4 individuals in Kenya suffer from a mental disorder during their life (International Medical Aid, 2023b). Additionally, women in Kenya are more vulnerable to HIV infection indicating a stronger need for women’s reproductive health education (International Medical Aid, 2023b). It was very rewarding being open and speaking with these students because they had a limited knowledge on these basic health concepts, and it truly felt like we had made an impact on them. One reason that this experience with International Medical Aid was different from my past experiences studying abroad is because this was the first experience that was directly related to my future career in nutrition and dietetics. While some of my experiences allowed me to study public health and community health in a new setting, none of them were specific to nutrition. This was also my first experience with clinical nutrition. Prior to this experience in Kenya, I have not had the chance to really apply the nutrition knowledge that I have been obtaining in school to real life situations. I loved getting the opportunity to apply this knowledge and see firsthand how the concepts of nutrition are applied in a clinical setting. For example, one day the nutritionist and I finished our rounds fairly early and had some extra time together. During this time, we discussed renal patients and nutrition care for renal cases. This was so exciting because I have taken an anatomy class as well as my nutrition classes, but this was the first time I had to think about how impaired kidney function could impact nutritional status and what types of food would be recommended for these patients. I did not even rotate through the renal department that day at Coast General, but I felt like I learned so much about clinical nutrition care for renal patients that day. To conclude, clinical nutrition was never an area of nutrition that I thought I would enjoy. If it wasn’t for International Medical Aid allowing me to push the boundaries of my comfort zone once more, I would not have discovered this newfound appreciation for clinical nutrition. While I still have a very strong passion for nutrition education and public health efforts, I have gained such a great respect for clinical nutrition throughout this experience. In fact, I am much more excited about my clinical courses that I will be taking this upcoming academic year because of my time in Kenya. Even if I do not pursue a career in clinical nutrition, my outlook on my career and passion for nutrition have been reinforced and I am even more excited about becoming a Registered Dietitian.