Today was an interesting and different first day experience at clinicals. Upon walking in to the site, the instructors and the patients were all speaking so fast in Spanish. It was very different to our clinics because there was a whole room full of patients waiting already at 7am. This room was very open and just had rows and rows of benches and no air conditioning for the patients. Many patients travel by foot to the clinic and some live far from the clinic. Luckily, Jean was there for us to translate from Spanish to English. We were able to meet students from the University of Panama and interact with them. I was able to work with Jean on blood pressures and weight in the adult immunization portion of the clinic. I communicated a lot with hand signals and pointing. It was difficult at first with the communication barrier but after a while you were able to understand.
Interesting fact: Penicillin is still widely used here but in injection form because it is cheaper than over the counter. If a patient needs this medication, they have to travel to the clinic to receive it.
After clinicals, we were able to travel back to the university on the bus and have lunch over there. It was interesting seeing all the students and how they interact with one another. I truly love it here. The people are very friendly and kind. They love to help us and are always willing to help us with our Spanish. It is beautiful here but hotter than Florida!
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For the duration of our time in Chitre, I was assigned to the Center of Health at Monagrillo. The area of Chitre reminded me a lot of my hometown of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, so I felt right at home. The clinic has a large waiting area with various departments including: pediatrics, gynecology, odontology, and adult health. We were divided in pairs of 3, and each were assigned to a diffrent department, which for me was adult health for the first day. Adults raing from early 30's to late 80's walking in to have their vitals and weight and height recorded before seeing the doctor. I was able to take many blood pressures and weights and heighs, and record them appropriately in their records. I was also able to give an IM injection of penicillin in the dorsal gluteal muscle. It was a very enjoyable and rewarding experience to be able to participate and contribute in managing and monitoring the health of the people of Monagrillo/Chitre.
ReplyDeleteThis weekend we went to El Valle de Anton for some rest and exploration. We're staying at the Residential Hotel, which has a very tropical theme to it, with even the keys to the rooms being colorfully decorated of parrots and wild fruits. The first night was spent very leisurely, calling home and buying water and snacks and such, then eating at the hotel restaurant which included a wide variety of foods, many of which are served at America as well, such as pancakes, omelets, steak, and club sandwiches. Saturday was much more adventurous, which began with breakfast at the hotel restaurant, then we went on our bus to the zip line adventure! It consisted of of three different platforms which we traversed through while hanging eighteen stories in the air and going through the lush rain forest and waterfalls. We then went horseback riding through some winding roads up the mountain, that being my first time horseback riding. After that we ate lunch and then deciding to go hiking up the "India Dormida" or the Sleeping Indian which was a very demanding yet rewarding hike with beautiful sights and waterfalls. We then cooled off at some natural hot springs and volcanic mud facials to finish off our adventurous day. Dinner was served at a local Italian restaurant which was a very tasty and enjoyable experience. Today was more of a relaxing day, spent going to the farmers market, buying some fruit and Panamanian coffee and enjoying the rest of our time at El Valle
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