WVU professor applies global health perspective to family medicine

A horseback riding accident during high school set Dr. Katie Hill on a path to becoming a doctor. After enrolling at West Virginia University, the Wyoming County, West Virginia, native found a passion for working with different cultures and underserved populations, and the School of Medicine’s Global Health Track provided her with an added focus on healthcare disparities and comparative approaches to health throughout the world.

During fourth-year clinical rotations, Hill traveled to Sierra Leone and Fiji, and she recounts both as life-changing experiences.

“My trip to Sierra Leone was the first time I had left the United States,” Hill recalls. “I was nervous going into the trip, but everyone was so welcoming. I was struck by how caring people were as well as the sense of community.”

The confidence she gained carried on through the end of her second rotation.

"The last thing I did as a medical student was deliver a baby in Fiji and cross the international date line,” Hill said. “It felt like a real ‘Lion King’ moment of growing up and transitioning from medical student to doctor.”

Since her time as a student on the global health track, Hill completed a residency rotation in Rwanda and had the privilege of returning to Fiji as an attending physician.

“In Rwanda, the natural diversity was remarkable,” Hill said. “We got to see silver back gorillas in the wild and go on safari. The people were eager to learn from us, but also excited to teach us about their culture and history. Overall, what I remember most was how I felt welcome and a part of the global community.”

After the trips, Hill says she had a fundamental shift in how she saw the world and the people in it, and that the shift guides her professionally.

“One of the driving factors in specializing in family medicine was being able to treat any problem or patient I might encounter while abroad,” Hill said.

Hill is currently a family physician and serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Community Practice lecturing on clinical tropical medicine and traveler’s health. When training medical students during rural rotations, Hill educates on pre-travel visits, common diseases in other countries, and illnesses in patients upon return. Hill is also a volunteer firefighter and medical director for Emergency Medical Services for the Star City Volunteer Fire Department.

“International medicine made me a better doctor and human,” Hill said. “The ability to see and treat patients with limited resources has been phenomenal for my work as a family physician.”

While logistically difficult to coordinate, Hill believes the insight and knowledge gained from global health rotations is invaluable. Next year, she plans to travel to travel to Barbuda with the fourth-year medical students.

“I love seeing students come up with ingenuitive ways to treat conditions with limited resources,” Hill said. “When they return home, they have a new appreciation of practicing medicine in America. They also are better able to interact with a wide variety of patients and families that may have vastly different backgrounds.”