International MPH Student Gains First-Hand Experience in Urban, Rural Health Care During Independent Study in Mysore, India

Gustavo Galárraga listened quietly as the physician broke the bad news.

The doctor told a local family that their mother would soon have breathing problems. It was common given her situation: her terminal illness, coupled with her age, meant these complications were inevitable. Before long, the doctor said, she would succumb to her disease. 

What was supposed to be a quick palliative care visit turned into a half-hour session. The doctor walked family members through what would come next. You should start contacting your loved ones, the physician said. You should spend as much time with your mother as possible.

The doctor’s frankness and compassion struck Galárraga. 

“He wasn’t only healing the patient, he was healing the whole family,” said Galárraga. “Once we left, the family members were calm; they were ready for the next step.”

These are the experiences that resonated most with Galárraga during his time in Mysore, India. The School of Public Health student said he learned the most when clinical practice inevitably collided with the human compassion necessary for effective health care.

Galárraga was in India as part of the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility’s independent study program. He traveled to Mysore, located in the southwestern state of Karnataka, in January of 2025.

CGHSR’s independent study program allows students to focus on a topic of their choosing and work with faculty mentors to develop course curriculum. The program is available to University of Minnesota graduate students and provides a tailored educational experience steeped in interdisciplinary collaboration and self-directed learning.

The opportunity provided Galárraga an immersive experience in global health – taking in the food, culture and rich history of Mysore while homing in on its health care systems and shadowing local practitioners.

Shadowing a Palliative Care Mobile Unit

Galárraga, an international MPH student who lives in Ecuador, was embedded with a mobile palliative care unit. He spent his days shadowing the mobile unit’s crew members – a nurse, physician, psychologist and driver – as they provided care in both urban and rural areas.

Millions of people in India require palliative care, but only a fraction of them have access to it. The mobile unit Galárraga rode along with was run by The Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM), which CGHSR partners with to offer its global health course in India.

Galárraga described days shuttling from one appointment to another. Patients had a variety of ailments; one complained of back pain, while another needed treatment for tuberculosis. Some were patients with AIDS in need of medication.

The scenery changed quickly, too. One second Galárraga found himself in a dense, urban area. A subsequent route brought him to the backcountry.

Galárraga works at an oncological center in Quito, Ecuador. His time riding along with the mobile health unit in India provided lessons that are pertinent to his education and career.

Galárraga said it was interesting to see the mobile unit’s staff members interact – every person, from the physician, to the nurse, to the driver, played a key role in ensuring residents received the care they needed.

“The driver knew how to calculate the routes and get meals for everyone. The nurse knew how to get the medical records and quickly grab the right medication. Everyone worked as a team, and that was excellent,” said Galárraga.

A Tailored Educational Experience

CGHSR’s independent study program provides novel educational opportunities for graduate students.

The experience allows students to choose a focus area and work with faculty to develop a curriculum that meets their specific needs. Galárraga enjoyed the independent study’s flexible structure, saying it allowed him to take part in experiences he likely wouldn’t have had in the classroom.

“When you’re taking a class, everything is structured, and you don’t veer from the plan. With the independent study, I could structure the class in a way that ensured I got the most out of the opportunity I had,” he said.

That opportunity came in different forms. Sometimes, said Galárraga, it was the chance to have a candid conversation with the mobile unit’s van driver about the Indian health care workforce. Many Indian students move abroad to pursue more lucrative careers in technology or other areas, the driver said. Medicine isn’t always a sought-after profession. 

This exacerbates existing problems of health care access already present in Karnataka, including expense and the long distances rural residents need to travel to receive care.

Halfway Across the Globe, Similarities Outweigh Differences 

Galárraga took a 22-hour flight to get to Mysore from Quito. The time difference took a while to get used to – he was always a day ahead of his friends and family in Ecuador.

Travelling across the globe to a country you’ve never been to before will, of course, present culture shock. Galárraga took in new foods, landscapes and rituals. He was fascinated by India’s religious history and Mysore’s palatial structures.

“India, it can really amaze you — what you can learn, what you can see, and some of those stories are going to be with you forever,” he said.

But the similarities to his home in South America were present, too. Mysore’s markets and artisans reminded him of the crowded streets he grew up with in Quito. He made small talk with the mobile unit drivers about shared connections, including similar tastes in music and movies.

The trip made clear to Galárraga that some things stay the same, no matter where you are.

After all, the compassion he witnessed from the doctor preparing a family for the end of life would’ve resonated just the same with Galárraga if he were in Ecuador. 

“In the end, we’re all human. We all have the same goals,” he said.