International student leadership to enhance patient care
Jasmine Elliott was the only student from Newfoundland and Labrador who participated in a Global Vision trade mission to China this summer. The third year pharmacy student was eager to compare health care systems in China and Canada. As the only representative of the health care sector, she joined 24 other ambassadors who represented education, agriculture, and entrepreneurship – to name a few.
Ms. Elliott also took part in a mission to Panama and Colombia in 2012, and was eager to embrace another opportunity to hone her global leadership skills.
“The ability to be adaptable in any situation is vital when participating in the mission, she said. “We visited four cities in China – Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. Each city began with a briefing at the Canadian Embassy or the Consulate General (depending on the city). We met with Chinese companies and organizations and had to complete tasks assigned by the founder of Global Vision, Terry Clifford. As a team leader, coordination and team building activities were a big part of my responsibilities.”
Her aspirations to take on a leadership role could someday, somehow focus around traditional Chinese medicine – one of her major interests.
“Integrative medicine is a growing field – I would love to be in a position to facilitate an exchange of information with the goal of enhancing patient care. Although westernized medicine is the standard in Canada’s health care system, North Americans are becoming more aware of this type of medicine so I think it’s important that pharmacists have a good understanding of both.”
She added that most of her team had strong backgrounds in economics and political science, which enriched her learning experience.
“Coming from a health sciences background, it was very enlightening. I’m now able to better understand how politics and business affects health care, and vice versa.”
Ms. Elliott is currently recruiting interested youth to attend an upcoming Global Vision conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which takes place from November 20-22. Interested students can contact her.