As I finish my time as an intern at Healthwatch Hackney in London, United Kingdom
(UK), I cannot help but look back with appreciation for all that I have learned and for all of the
people that I have met. I conducted work for Healthwatch in their office as well as throughout
the community, allowing me to learn about the UK health system from both the public health
professional side and the community’s perspective. Both of these types of experiences led to
meet so many kind and passionate people.
While I did learn a lot of factual information about the UK’s universal healthcare system,
the National Health Service (NHS), through my office duties, most of what I learned came from
the residents within the community that I had the chance to speak with. I was exposed to the
wide diversity of London, meeting people from many different countries of origin living together
in a very integrated community. In addition, I was able to experience the slight differences in
culture between the United States (U.S.) and the UK, such as greetings and attitudes towards
helping the most vulnerable in society. Socialistic ideas towards aiding those less fortunate and
ensuring basic standards of living for everyone are very prominent throughout London. This was
very refreshing to witness, after coming from a culture that largely idealizes “every man for
himself.” Ideas towards social welfare intersect with the NHS, and most patients that I talked to
respected these ideas and were proud of their country’s health system.
I am very thankful that I had this opportunity to work in London and gain skills in the
global workforce. While the London work environment was certainly an adjustment from my
previous work experiences in the U.S., I really enjoyed the change and will take away many
lessons and a greater understanding of the global health setting from this internship.