Getting Started!

So today was our first actual clinical day where we were caring for patients. General consensus is that it was exciting and overwhelming! Having limited Spanish knowledge definately is a challenge that many of us are dealing with, and even those that do have pretty good Spanish skills still seemed to find it difficult. But overall it was a great day! In the morning I started out doing home visits where we went to a small village that is barely accessible by car to visit some patients. Hypertension (high blood pressure for all you non-medical people) is an epidemic around here! Almost everyone is suffering from it, so blood pressure management is a huge part of care here. We were able to visit four homes managing blood pressure, arthritis, and care for a few wounds. Overall it was amazing to see how much the patients appreciated our help even though it was minimal care provided!

Dr. Weis and Yackie walking to the first home

Some random chickens outside a home

Adorable boys enjoying some Smarties 

Man drying rice to be taken to be sheathed and sold

Outside of a house

Final visit of the day

After siesta time (yes we get a siesta) I went to the ER at the nearby hospital. There weren't too many patients, but it was interesting to see how different the healthcare system is here versus at home. Also one of the student nurses took us around looking at all the equipment they have and comparing it to what we have. I hope I get another experience to go back to the emergency room!