Bringing Dental Health to the Underserved: A Privilege for Me

and being able to contribute to the mission of the National Health Service Corps in helping the underserved community will be a great pleasure.

Experiences and activities I have participated in that have prepared me to work with underserved populations

In India, I have studied hard at the Jamnagar Dental College and this gave me the opportunity to realize my childhood dream; that of bringing dental healthcare to my hometown. Since the day I lost my father to oral cancer, it suddenly dawned on me that my hometown needed an expert to teach them about oral healthcare. I have served many people in my hometown since the day I started studying at the Jamnagar Dental College. I have offered important health expertise to the people in my home town and village for free. In addition to that, I helped form a group of young dentists from the college and our work was to move around in villages spreading word about the importance of oral health and ways through which the same could be achieved. Furthermore, we served people with dental and oral problems around the villages for free and invited them to attend free seminars in the college. Through the various round check-ups we conducted with the group, I have come across many people suffering from fluorosis due to lack of dental awareness and enough dental clinics. We have worked with these people multiple times and I am proud to say serving these people has given me the greatest satisfaction. After I graduated from the Jamnagar Dental College in India, I opened my own dental clinic in my rural area and I provided free dental treatment and

other services to the poor.

It has always been my dream to serve people and my dream seems to be more than fulfilled because I have learned that I could do that in more productive ways. Being able to serve the underserved population gives me pleasure and peace of mind knowing that even the poor and the marginalized are being brought closer to quality healthcare. Moreover, here at the United States, I use my spare time to get actively involved in community affairs especially when it comes to organizing cultural and spiritual programs like volunteering at temples. I have also been involved in activities such as fundraising for charities like Walkathon for the American Cancer Society. Additionally, I have been volunteering in free dental camp, in free clinic and community service here in the United States. Helping people has always been a call to me and getting the opportunity to enhance my skills will be the best tool that I will ever need to serve the undeserved population. Besides, through my experience as a volunteer in India and also here in the United States, I have gained a lot of patience and gratitude and most importantly a better understanding of different cultures.
My commitment to pursue a career in primary health care

I understand that the ultimate goal of primary healthcare is to ensure better health for all. Better health is one of the critical factors towards building a society that embraces the idea or belief that health is more than merely the absence of disease. My home town where I grew up is an underserved area and that’s why I have commitment and lifelong goal to serve

the underserved community. I have seen with my own eyes the suffering the underserved people are experiencing as a result of poverty and being unable to access quality healthcare. This is one of my drives towards ensuring that everyone gets primary healthcare. That, with the burning passion in my heart to help others, makes me a committed and determined person to pursue a career in primary healthcare.

When my father died of oral cancer it suddenly dawned on me that if he had access to primary healthcare maybe we could have prevented his untimely death. Through the traumatic experience that I went through following the death of my father, a positive and optimistic perspective developed. I realized that I can make a difference to the world if I commit myself to making others become aware of the importance of primary healthcare and also pave a way for them to gain access to the same. My strongest wish is to see the future generation enjoy benefits from my hard work and the experience I would have gained after pursuing a career in primary health care. I believe that if I help one person, and have that one person enjoy being healthy and becoming a contributing member of the society, then it will be a better world.