Medical students from UC Irvine gain invaluable insights into healthcare and community through a transformative clinical exchange program in Rajkot, India, supported by a family legacy of education and perseverance.
IRVINE, CA – Alicia Wells, a fourth-year medical student at the University of California, Irvine, embarked on a transformative journey when she entered the bustling wards of a government hospital in Rajkot, India. While she anticipated differences in healthcare systems, she did not expect how profoundly this experience would shape her understanding of medicine, care, and her own identity as a future physician.
Wells traveled to Gujarat as part of a short clinical exchange program, applying for residency in Child Neurology. Within days, her experience began to redefine not only her approach to medicine but also her perspective on community and personal responsibility.
“I thought I was going there to observe another healthcare system,” Wells said. “Instead, it made me reflect on the kind of doctor I want to become.”
During her rotation at Zanana Hospital, where she worked in obstetrics and gynecology, Wells was struck by the scale and efficiency of care. The hospital manages nearly 10,000 births annually and handles hundreds of outpatient visits each day. Procedures such as tubal ligations were completed in five to ten minutes, a stark contrast to the hours such procedures can take in the United States. Wells was impressed not only by the speed but also by the calm coordination among physicians, residents, and interns, who adapted to limited resources while meeting overwhelming demand.
“The efficiency was incredible,” she noted. “But what stood out even more was how composed everyone remained despite the volume and resource limitations.”
Wells’ time in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units further deepened her understanding of healthcare. She encountered clinical conditions she had previously only read about, such as congenital CMV, cobra bites, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. However, what resonated most with her was the role of families in the care process. Parents and relatives were consistently present, providing bedside care that would typically be the responsibility of nursing staff in American hospitals. Across various departments, families acted as integral members of the care team, united by a sense of responsibility and resilience.
“In the U.S., we talk about family-centered care,” Wells reflected. “In Rajkot, I saw it lived out every day.”
The learning experience extended beyond the hospital environment. A visit to Gondal High School became one of the most emotional highlights of her trip. Hundreds of students welcomed the visiting medical students with enthusiasm, teaching them traditional Garba dance, playing games, and proudly showcasing their classrooms. As Wells hugged a long line of girls goodbye, she felt a mix of gratitude and humility, acutely aware of the privilege that brought her there and the responsibility she would carry forward.
Equally impactful were the friendships Wells formed with interns at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Medical College. After long days in the hospital, these interns made time to show the visitors around Rajkot, navigating busy streets on mopeds, sharing meals at local restaurants, and introducing them to the local culture. What began as hospitality quickly blossomed into meaningful connections.
A small yet significant moment encapsulated this spirit of camaraderie. When Wells realized she might miss the closing time for a required yellow fever vaccine, one intern immediately dropped everything to ensure she made it on time, racing through traffic to get her there just minutes before closing. By the end of her two-week rotation, her colleagues felt like family.
Mihir Solanki, an intern at the medical college, described hosting the UCI students as both academically enriching and personally meaningful. “Their curiosity during ward rounds and the way they engaged with our professors made discussions more dynamic,” Solanki said. “It pushed us to think more deeply about our own approaches.”
Solanki reflected on how observing medical education in another country prompted him to reconsider his own training while reinforcing the shared values that transcend borders. “Despite differences in infrastructure, our core values were the same,” he noted. “Empathy, service, and commitment to patients do not change with geography.”
Outside the hospital, Solanki appreciated the informal time spent together, riding mopeds, trying local cuisine, visiting temples, shopping in markets, and playing sports. “Those moments made the exchange feel natural rather than formal,” he added. The experience left him eager for more global exchanges and hopeful for an opportunity to visit UCI in the future.
The India Summer Travel Program, which facilitates these exchanges, is rooted in the belief that medicine is best learned through exposure and humility. This philosophy is embodied by Dr. Rimal Bera, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the UC Irvine School of Medicine, whose family played a pivotal role in establishing the program.
In 2020, the Bera family donated $100,000 to UCI to permanently support medical student travel to Rajkot. This generous gift reflects a family history shaped by education and perseverance. Dr. Bera’s parents, Kanta and Babulal Bera, grew up in modest circumstances in Gujarat before immigrating to the United States in the late 1950s. They worked multiple jobs, pursued higher education, and raised three sons, instilling in them the belief that education is both an opportunity and a responsibility.
This philosophy has now carried two generations of the Bera family to the UC Irvine School of Medicine and back to India, creating a bridge between personal history and global learning. For Dr. Bera, the program is not merely an act of charity but a continuation of a legacy, preparing future physicians for a world where medicine is practiced under vastly different conditions yet guided by shared values.
For students like Wells and interns like Solanki, this exchange offers something increasingly rare in modern medical training: the time and space to view medicine through a different lens. They return with sharper clinical instincts, deeper cultural awareness, and a renewed respect for collaboration with families and colleagues alike.
Across crowded wards, school courtyards, and bustling hospital corridors, the program quietly accomplishes what education does best. It builds understanding, forges connections, and reminds future doctors on both sides of the world why they chose this path in the first place.
According to India-West, the impact of such exchanges is profound, fostering a sense of global citizenship among future healthcare professionals.