UVA Today, February 20, 2018
A Lawn resident, Ted Obi, won the Paige Pre-Medical Scholarship, which recognizes a fourth-year student who has taken all his pre-medical requirements and plans to attend medical school.
If Ted Obi has his way, the taxed healthcare system in rural Ghana will be streamlined by a telemedicine program conceived at the University of Virginia.
The fourth-year student traveled to Koforidua, a rural community in Ghana, last summer with a team of UVA students. Funded by the Center for Global Health and the Parents Fund, Obi and the group, with project leader Emmanual Abebrese, a third-year UVA medical student, spent seven weeks in Ghana.
"Our research objective was to assess the feasibility of establishing a telemedicine platform in Koforidua, Ghana," Obi said. "Telemedicine is the remote diagnosis of patients with the use of telecommunication technology like Facetime." While not a new concept, this specialized version of telemedicine would be unique to Ghana.
There is a shortage of doctors in the West African country because many leave the country for better paying jobs. Because of this, patients are often faced with the difficult decision of waiting long hours to get health care or delaying treatment so they can continue to work and earn money for their families.
Obi, who is in the psychology distinguished majors program, and his partners spent two weeks at a regional hospital, where they spoke with patients outside a waiting room.
Read the full story on UVA Today >>
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Ted Obi is a 4th year majoring in Psychology and pursuing a career in medicine. He is a member of the Pre-Health Student Leadership Advisory Board. Ted's advice to pre-medical students:
"Pursue your own pre-med path and be persistent because a career in medicine requires a great deal of delayed gratification."
