Himalayan Health & Wilderness First Responder
Location: Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India
May – June 2019
Program Director: Joseph Alter
During the summer of 2019, I studied abroad in Mussoorie India, which is in Northern India in the Himalayan mountain range. The program was six weeks and during that time, I took two classes for 9 credits. The first class was Mountains and Medicine in the Himalayas and the other was a Wilderness First Responder course. We were based at the Hanifl Center for Outdoor Education and Environmental Study in Mussoorie, which is on the campus of the Woodstock School, an international boarding school for middle and high school students. Each day, we walked to class from our dorm, which was about a 20-minute walk through a mountain trail. During the first two weeks we took Mountains and Medicine where we learned about how the environment plays a role in how its citizens get health care. We also learned about the different kinds of healthcare options they have in India, and how they cater to the vast class differences. In the afternoons, we would go on hikes to the nature reserve, or through different villages to experience how the geography, weather, and wildlife impact and shape the public health and medicine in the mountains of northern India. We completed a three-day trek through Nag Tibba, a close by mountain range where we camped and backpacked to the top of the highest peak in the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, the state where we were located. During the trek, we would pause for impromptu “lectures” on our way up the mountain. We visited the temple near the top, which was dedicated to Nag Tibba, meaning serpents peak. On our days off, I ventured into the town of Mussoorie to eat at the different restaurants and coffee shops, or to go shopping at the local stores. One weekend I went into the city of Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, and visited different temples and landmarks where I learned about the history and culture that encompasses Buddhist religion. Another weekend, we went to the city Rishikesh, for white water rafting on the Ganges River.
The Wilderness First Responder (WFR) Course was a more intensive class that focused on health, medicine, and the environment in the Himalayas. WFR is the standard training for backcountry travelers in the United States. I spent the mornings in the classroom learning different life saving tricks and techniques, and then went out into the wilderness to apply what I learned through role-playing scenarios. We also had the opportunity to shadow at a community hospital and see part of the Indian health care system in action. One day, we packed up and drove two hours to a nearby village and set up a health clinic for the villagers. We worked with a local NGO and doctor from the hospital to make this clinic run smoothly. We set up three stations, in which patients first would have their vitals taken and an initial assessment completed. Next, they would see the doctor, who would diagnose their problem and prescribe them medication. Finally, they went to the pharmacy table where we filled their prescription and educated them on how to use it. For most villagers, this was the only clinic and doctor they would see all year. The most common medicine we prescribed were eye drops, Benadryl, different antibiotic lotions and creams, Pepto-Bismol, Tylenol, Advil, and other medications that would be readily available to us in the United States, but because they live in such remote locations, this is their one chance to get what they need.
In the final few days of the trip, we went to Agra and New Delhi to visit the Taj Mahal. For dinner one night, we went to a restaurant run completely by acid attack survivors. While listening to their unique stories, I learned a how big of a problem acid attacks are in India, especially with women. We also visited a marble making factory and learned the history of how the Taj Mahal marble was built and laid.
The time I spent in India was extremely eye opening, and six weeks that I’ll never forget. I not only learned a significant amount about the health care system, but I also learned how culture and environment plays such a huge role in how health care is delivered. It gave me a broader perspective and appreciation for everything that this world and different cultures have to offer. If you ever have the chance to visit any part of India, I highly recommend!
