About Fred Pfenniger
About Fred Pfenniger. This sounds like a grade school assignment … I like math. I like to play outside. I like food. My dad is cool. I have a twin sister.
Lets see … I am first generation Canadian / American (my parents are swiss). I am presently a 4th year Saba medical student who will be doing a 4 week clerkship in Ghana Africa. My interest in going to Africa is simply a curiousity about the concept of international medicine and its overall effectiveness. This curiousity has been shaped by the countless news stores about world hunger, disease, poverty and lack of resources. Granted I am not sure one has to travel overseas to experience / see these social conditions. But hey, Africa and or North America… where would you go?
Am I nervous / afraid? Yes. I think my nervousness is a result of the unknown as I am not sure of what to expect. Will I make an impact? Culture? And what about the infectious diseases of Africa … yellow fever, malaria, and river blindness? (yes I got all my shots) Interesting enough and in preparing for my trip to Ghana Africa I have been searching the web on the topics of disease and Ghana Africa. Guess what I found? Hypertension, not infectious disease, has become the major concern. The articles related this rise with the rise in urbanisation. And no, there are no immunization shots for hypertension. So do I have anything to be afraid of? Probably not, but I am still scared.
What else can I tell you? I stand 5 feet 10 inches on a bad day. On a good day, I stand 5 feet 11 inches. The difference being posture. Legally, at one time or another, I could put many letters behind my name … a, b, d, e, g, m, n, p, s. … society calls it success, my parents call it over-educated, I call it discouvering myself. I enjoy the outdoors / mountains. I love the seasons and I will be starting a Family Medicine Residency Program in Edgewood Kentucky on June 16, 2008.