Resident Scholar Reflections

Dr. Marc Bjurlin, DO - Bhopal, India

Through the generous sponsorship provided by the North Central Section of the AUA, Dr. Marc Bjurlin traveled to Bhopal, India with mentor Dr. Gopal Badlani. Dr. Bjurlin and his mentor participated in a free urology camp organized by the local Indian organization Jeev Sewa Sansthan (“Service to the Living”). During the camp, over 140 patients received much-needed urological care.

Reporting on his experience, Dr. Bjurlin stated:

“The urology camp patients of Bhopal came from miles away to receive their care. Graciously they would await their turn, one at a time, slowly moving up in the line, until it was time for surgery. There was no complaining of the long wait, no one complained that they wanted to be operated on first. There were no irritable patients being hungry from not eating prior to surgery. Everyone sat patiently with a face that expressed their gratefulness even though I knew no Hindi to communicate.

“The hours of surgery were long but the time passed at the blink of an eye. The pathology, scope and variety of urologic cases was remarkable. Equally remarkable was the efficiency of evaluating patients preoperatively based almost entirely on symptoms, urine analysis and a select intravenous pyelogram.

“Over the course of the urology camp, I learned much about the urologic diseases of India, their ailments, and surgical treatments. I expanded my knowledge of urology in a culturally sensitive manner. Yet, as my knowledge of urology grew through interaction with patients, my understanding of the human spirit matured. Instead of simply operating on patients who had urologic diseases, we provided respect, dignity, and compassionate urologic care to a community that taught me an indispensable lesson.”