![With Dr. Kwame Adu- Bonsaffoh, my mentor at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (Amy A. on right)](https://tarheels.live/globalhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/1695/2022/07/With-Dr.-Kwame-Adu-Bonsaffoh-my-mentor-at-Korle-Bu-Teaching-Hospital-Amy-A.-on-right-300x300.png)
Two days after I returned from Ghana, the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) finally sent me the selenium concentrations of selected Ghana foods run by spectrometry and I could now begin my data analysis. Interestingly, I thereafter became the cause of my own delay—in my attempt to calculate the total selenium intake of the population of pregnant women my research team surveyed, I unknowingly went about a long path to analyze the data. As I see it, it was part of the learning process. Furthermore, the purpose of my practicum research was to carry out a feasibility study to make recommendations for a pilot study to be carried out in the future. This structure freed my mind to accept every part of the process as not a success or failure, but instead a lesson for improvement.
Seeing all of the moving parts of my project come together left me desiring to continue this work into the career path that I choose as a physician. Studying the relationship between micronutrients and pregnancy is a path where there is a lot of room to grow and discover. Policy changes and clinical counseling recommendations can come from this kind of research. Potentially, I can turn this foundational work into a career-long pursuit that helps to improve the lives of women not only in Ghana but also around the globe.
I am grateful to each mentor, preceptor and advisor who helped me complete this project. I could not have done it without their support. I look forward to seeing what my future holds in this field!
![With Dr. Godfred Egbi, my mentor at Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) (Amy A. on right)](https://tarheels.live/globalhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/1695/2022/07/With-Dr.-Godfred-Egbi-my-mentor-at-Noguchi-Memorial-Institute-for-Medical-Research-NMIMR-Amy-A.-on-right-576x1024.png)
-Amy A.