WHO are you again?
Megan Crofts had
always wanted to work for the World Health Organization. After an
internship there, she got a reality check that made her reconsider her
career plans
My dream,
since first starting medicine at Glasgow, had been to work for WHO, working
towards global health and health as a basic human right for all, whether
you are born in Glasgow, Scotland, or a village in sub-Saharan Africa. So,
for one of my SSMs (student selected modules), I decided to do an
internship at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Teething problems
After a lengthy application process I journeyed to
Switzerland to see how the reality would compare with my dream. I arrived
in Geneva, French phrase book in hand, ready to start changing the world. I
will be the first to admit that I arrived with slightly unrealistic
expectations.
As the enormous buildings loomed into view on my first
day, it was difficult to suppress the feelings of terror that had been
steadily growing as I mingled with the cultured Europeans on the bus to
work. Once I had my security badge hanging around my neck, a friendly
security guard gave me the directions (in French!) to my supervisor’s
office. Upon finding the correct place, a navigational challenge in the
maze of corridors that make up the WHO headquarters, I discovered my
supervisor was in Ethiopia. No one was expecting my arrival. Temporarily
relocated to a different office I was assigned a mountain of literature and
left to read through it.
The headquarters has a staff of more than 3000.
Finding fellow interns appeared a near impossible task in this overwhelming
place, and at times it was lonely. For my first ten days at WHO I hardly
spoke to anyone. A couple of days later, my supervisor returned and gave me
another pile of reading. Furthermore, I had to move office (something that
happened pretty much weekly during my time there), so I ended up sitting as
far away as possible from the department I was working for.
Luckily some days later I was in the main library and
overheard someone asking about a “library induction session”. I
decided to tag along and met three other interns—my first WHO
friends. Another fortuitous meeting in a lift expanded my circle of intern
contacts, all of whom I met by pure chance.
Multicultural and multilingual meetings do not make for
a tidy desk
Double edged sword
I did feel frustrated by some of the work I was doing
there. I subsequently found I wasn’t the only one, although
that’s not to say I didn’t learn a lot from the work I did.
During the first two weeks I was given the task of editing and correcting
the PhD thesis of a Thai doctor, as well as a few papers he was going to
publish. His work, which reported on the development of primary health care
within Thailand, was fascinating. It was a wonderful opportunity to work
with him and to discuss his thesis, and I was pleased to have my help
acknowledged in his final draft.
The second part of my month was spent designing a
spreadsheet to help budget the rebuilding of health services in areas
affected by the Asian tsunami. Researching the cost and allocation of
specific equipment impressed on me the economic considerations that WHO
faces when handling crises on this scale. Despite the laboriousness of the
work, it was rewarding to feel useful in the effort to mitigate the ongoing
affects of this disaster.
Professional dissatisfaction
Every year WHO takes in a great number of interns from
all around the world, all eager, young, highly educated individuals. Many
felt undervalued and underutilised, however, and from my conversations with
employees, this appeared to be a common grievance. The majority of people
working for WHO are on short-term contracts, a system that appeared to
spread a certain amount of anxiety among employees, many of whom had
relocated their families to Geneva. The uncertainty over contract renewal
seemed to encourage an atmosphere of competition between supposed
“team members” that was counterproductive.
A rewarding learning experience
I learnt a lot during my four and a half weeks with
WHO. It is such a multicultural, multilingual, and multiethnic
organisation, that it was inspiring just to be a part of it. To sit in the
coffee shop and hear at least five languages being spoken around you, and
to witness the ease with which speakers alternated between tongues, was a
fantastic thing in itself. I also had the opportunity to observe the
Executive Board meeting, where member countries propose issues to be
debated by the World Annual Assembly in May. WHO has a crucial role in
influencing this gathering of policy makers by providing targets for world
health such as the eradication of polio by 2008. Above all I admired the
dedication to the improvement of world health that WHO stands for.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that my time there did leave me
feeling somewhat ambivalent about a career in such a large impersonal
organisation. Those with an academic bent could no doubt enjoy a fulfilling
career within WHO, but upon reflection I am more suited to clinical
medicine. Working in the huge WHO office left me feeling detached and
helpless, instead of empowered and driven. I just don’t think
it’s quite for me.
Megan Crofts, fourth year medical student, University of Glasgow
Email: 0100049C@student.gla.ac.uk
I thank Helga Fogstad and all staff in WHO, who
contributed to an unforgettable, invaluable, and stimulating experience,
and to Alex Gladwell in the writing of this article.
studentBMJ 2005;13:397- 440 November ISSN 0966-6494
