Planning your elective: Tibet
BMJ 2004; 328 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.040273 (Published 01 February 2004) Cite this as: BMJ 2004;328:040273
- Mark Wilson, author of The Medic's Guide to Work and Electives around the World1
- 1University College Hospital, London
This month's elective report is truly fascinating, and I take my hat off to Kieren for being the first person I know who has been able to do an elective in a Tibetan monastery hospital. This does of course make it rather difficult to give advice on planning an elective in Tibet. Before Tibet opened up, I studied Tibetan medicine at Men-Tsee-Khang in Dharamsala, north India--the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. It was an amazing experience, and an elective studying Tibetan medicine would be a fantastic way to experience Tibetan culture.
The region
Tibet is in the Himalayas, bordered by India, Nepal, and Bhutan to the south. It sits on the highest plateau in the world, averaging a height of 3700 m. This remoteness kept Tibet separate from the rest of the world. People lived peaceful lives and the Tibetans developed their own sciences and systems, such as Tibetan medicine. In 1949, however, this all changed. China decided to invade Tibet claiming that it was “liberating” the people. The Dalai Lama …
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