Dominican Republic Trip Reflection
This January, I participated in the University of Cincinnati’s 10 day medical service trip to the Dominican Republic. Our team consisted of undergraduate and accelerated nursing students, along with UC facility members, translators, and doctors. We partnered with Timmy Global Health, a non-profit organization out of Indianapolis, and together we conducted a 5-day health clinic at different batey sites, or banana plantations in Monte Cristi. Each of these locations is an adopted community that Timmy Global Health has chosen to work with and visit during each medical service trip made to the Dominican Republic. The clinics were the main focus of our trip, and through each of them we were able to provide direct medical care to the local community members. Because this town is rather poor, and since there is not easy and reliable access to medical care, the community members especially rely on us to care for and treat their medical needs.
Each day of clinical followed a pretty typical routine. Upon arriving at the batey, there were already community members lined up outside waiting to see the medical providers. We worked collectively as a team to set up each station and then began to see clients. The patients would move in an orderly fashion through registration and history, to the vital signs and lab station, then to patient consult, and lastly to pharmacy. As a nursing student, I spent each day working at a different station and from this I was able to learn many valuable things that I will be able to carry with me when I begin to work as a nurse. Also, some of our clinical days were longer than others depending on how many community members we saw. On Friday, our last day of clinical, we saw 111 patients, and collectively over the 5 days we saw a total of 440 patients!
The days in which we did not have clinical were spent doing other activities. Two days consisted of traveling and one day was spent completing Timmy orientation. We also spent time preparing for the health brigade by organizing equipment and counting various medications that would be distributed in the pharmacy department throughout the week. During the remaining days of our trip, we were given the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful city of Monte Cristi. We took multiple walks into town, spent time at the beach, went hiking, took a boat tour of the mangroves, and visited Isla Caraba. In preparing for this trip, I expected that the majority of our time was going to be spent working. But to my surprise there was a great balance between the time we spent working and the fun activities we were able to do while in the Dominican Republic.
My time spent in Monte Cristi more than exceed my expectations. Before this January, I had never participated in a medical service trip or volunteer trip similar to this one, therefore I was uncertain of what to expect. I was able to learn so many valuable things on this trip though that could never be taught in classroom, and for that I will be forever grateful. A quote that truly sums up this trip for me is, “You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” The people that I met while in the Dominican Republic were by far the most influential part. The kids there instantly stole my heart through their innocence, kindness, and laughter. Although the community was very poor, the people there viewed life in a way that was inspiring to me and they were so grateful for all of our help. The service that I provided while in Monte Cristi was not what I would consider work though, because how can something that you truly love doing be considered work.
Throughout my trip, I worked to meet the community engagement outcomes identified in my proposal. I have gained awareness regarding the purpose of this medical service trip through the firsthand experience I received. I was aware that the living conditions in Monte Cristi were going to be poor, but when you see people living like this with your own eyes it takes on a whole new affect. After being directly immersed into the community, I could see that the people living here did not readily have access to healthcare, and why the work that we did was so important to their health and well being. For example, one woman who came through our clinic was sent for further evaluation regarding the possible diagnosis of breast cancer. The fact that this lump was not present or identified 3 months previously during the last Timmy Health brigade shows how important health care and continual screenings really are. It is our hope that this woman could then be seen for further diagnosis and treated accordingly. Throughout our time spent in the Dominican Republic, we worked collectively as a team towards sustainable social change. We did this by continuing to partner with Timmy who provides medical care to the community members of Monte Cristi every 2-3 months, with the goal of improving the community’s health overall.
While in the Dominican Republic and throughout our 5 days of clinical, I found myself directly immersed in the community as I worked to serve and care for the people. It was my goal to help those living in Monte Cristi and to make a difference in their lives. I was able to do this by using my medical background to attend to their health problems, while also showing them genuine love and compassion. Although I contributed in providing these citizens with proper health care, they were able to teach me so much more about the simple things in life. I gained an understanding of my role as a member in their community as I learned about their daily lives and the disparities they are faced with. Working with the local community members on a one-to-one basis really allowed me to open my eyes and further understand the Dominican culture.
This experience helped me to affirm that I had chosen the right career path. While I have always known that I wanted to become a nurse, this experience once again reminded me how much I love serving and helping others. Although I believe that I would like to work in a pediatric setting as a nurse, this trip has opened my eyes to a whole new side of nursing. The experience that I had while on this trip was life changing, and I hope that in the future that I can participate in more medical service trips like this one and have the opportunity to serve others across the world. My passion for helping others has only grown stronger from this experience.
While on my trip, I relied on the knowledge I had gained from reading the novel In the Time of the Butterflies. The book was an account of the Mirabal sisters who were committed to making a political effort to overthrow the government and is set in the time of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. Through reading this book, I became more educated on the political issues present in the Dominican Republic and gained further insight on the cultural aspects of the country. Having knowledge about the culture and political issues in the Dominican Republic was very helpful to me throughout my time spent in the country. It also the allowed me to deepen my understanding of the culture while I was there because I already had a foundation that I was able to then build upon.
After participating in this experience, I have gained a further understanding of my role within the community. As a nurse it is our mission to work towards improving health, no matter if it is on an individual or community wide basis. Through working in the community of Monte Cristi, I have personally seen how important the role of the community health nurse can be. Even if I do not end up working as a community health nurse in my career, I still know that it is my duty as a citizen and as a nurse to work towards improving health and educating others on ways in which this goal can be accomplished.
The biggest regret that I had while on this trip was not being able to speak Spanish. Although I took Spanish in high school, I did not remember much which made it very difficult to communicate with the local community members while in town or at the clinical sites. This was very frustrating for me, and if I could reengage in this experience again I would take time to relearn the basics of Spanish so that I could more effectively communicate with the locals. To anyone going on this trip in the future, or going on a different medical service trip out of the country, I would strongly encourage them to review words and simple phrases of the appropriate language.
In our everyday lives, we meet all kinds of people from various backgrounds, and when interacting with these people it is very important to show respect towards their practices and beliefs. After traveling out of the country I have gained a deeper understanding for cultural differences, and the experience that I received while in the Dominican Republic is one that I can connect to my future work as a nurse. I have developed a greater sense of the differences that occur between various cultures, and how the healthcare practices for people of diverse backgrounds can change. Although we have been lectured on topics such as this, it is different when experiencing something like this first hand. I feel as if I am now better prepared to care for patients of a different background or culture and remain sensitive to their traditional practices and beliefs.
I have disseminated my work by creating a blog documenting the experiences of my trip. I have explained the mission of this trip and the value it holds to me, along with sharing my daily experiences. The various posts describe the work I did on a day-to-day basis and the impact we had on the community. I have also publically shared my learning experience with others by connecting my blog to my learning portfolio and adding the link in order to show others what I have done. I will also share my personal experience with younger UC Nursing students in the beginning of February. It is my hope that through telling stories from our trip and showing pictures, that I will be able to express to the students how eye opening this experience was for me and encourage them to participate in future medical service trips through the college of nursing.
Below is the link to my blog. Please feel free to take a look!
http://molliewilliamshonors.blogspot.com
Each day of clinical followed a pretty typical routine. Upon arriving at the batey, there were already community members lined up outside waiting to see the medical providers. We worked collectively as a team to set up each station and then began to see clients. The patients would move in an orderly fashion through registration and history, to the vital signs and lab station, then to patient consult, and lastly to pharmacy. As a nursing student, I spent each day working at a different station and from this I was able to learn many valuable things that I will be able to carry with me when I begin to work as a nurse. Also, some of our clinical days were longer than others depending on how many community members we saw. On Friday, our last day of clinical, we saw 111 patients, and collectively over the 5 days we saw a total of 440 patients!
The days in which we did not have clinical were spent doing other activities. Two days consisted of traveling and one day was spent completing Timmy orientation. We also spent time preparing for the health brigade by organizing equipment and counting various medications that would be distributed in the pharmacy department throughout the week. During the remaining days of our trip, we were given the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful city of Monte Cristi. We took multiple walks into town, spent time at the beach, went hiking, took a boat tour of the mangroves, and visited Isla Caraba. In preparing for this trip, I expected that the majority of our time was going to be spent working. But to my surprise there was a great balance between the time we spent working and the fun activities we were able to do while in the Dominican Republic.
My time spent in Monte Cristi more than exceed my expectations. Before this January, I had never participated in a medical service trip or volunteer trip similar to this one, therefore I was uncertain of what to expect. I was able to learn so many valuable things on this trip though that could never be taught in classroom, and for that I will be forever grateful. A quote that truly sums up this trip for me is, “You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” The people that I met while in the Dominican Republic were by far the most influential part. The kids there instantly stole my heart through their innocence, kindness, and laughter. Although the community was very poor, the people there viewed life in a way that was inspiring to me and they were so grateful for all of our help. The service that I provided while in Monte Cristi was not what I would consider work though, because how can something that you truly love doing be considered work.
Throughout my trip, I worked to meet the community engagement outcomes identified in my proposal. I have gained awareness regarding the purpose of this medical service trip through the firsthand experience I received. I was aware that the living conditions in Monte Cristi were going to be poor, but when you see people living like this with your own eyes it takes on a whole new affect. After being directly immersed into the community, I could see that the people living here did not readily have access to healthcare, and why the work that we did was so important to their health and well being. For example, one woman who came through our clinic was sent for further evaluation regarding the possible diagnosis of breast cancer. The fact that this lump was not present or identified 3 months previously during the last Timmy Health brigade shows how important health care and continual screenings really are. It is our hope that this woman could then be seen for further diagnosis and treated accordingly. Throughout our time spent in the Dominican Republic, we worked collectively as a team towards sustainable social change. We did this by continuing to partner with Timmy who provides medical care to the community members of Monte Cristi every 2-3 months, with the goal of improving the community’s health overall.
While in the Dominican Republic and throughout our 5 days of clinical, I found myself directly immersed in the community as I worked to serve and care for the people. It was my goal to help those living in Monte Cristi and to make a difference in their lives. I was able to do this by using my medical background to attend to their health problems, while also showing them genuine love and compassion. Although I contributed in providing these citizens with proper health care, they were able to teach me so much more about the simple things in life. I gained an understanding of my role as a member in their community as I learned about their daily lives and the disparities they are faced with. Working with the local community members on a one-to-one basis really allowed me to open my eyes and further understand the Dominican culture.
This experience helped me to affirm that I had chosen the right career path. While I have always known that I wanted to become a nurse, this experience once again reminded me how much I love serving and helping others. Although I believe that I would like to work in a pediatric setting as a nurse, this trip has opened my eyes to a whole new side of nursing. The experience that I had while on this trip was life changing, and I hope that in the future that I can participate in more medical service trips like this one and have the opportunity to serve others across the world. My passion for helping others has only grown stronger from this experience.
While on my trip, I relied on the knowledge I had gained from reading the novel In the Time of the Butterflies. The book was an account of the Mirabal sisters who were committed to making a political effort to overthrow the government and is set in the time of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. Through reading this book, I became more educated on the political issues present in the Dominican Republic and gained further insight on the cultural aspects of the country. Having knowledge about the culture and political issues in the Dominican Republic was very helpful to me throughout my time spent in the country. It also the allowed me to deepen my understanding of the culture while I was there because I already had a foundation that I was able to then build upon.
After participating in this experience, I have gained a further understanding of my role within the community. As a nurse it is our mission to work towards improving health, no matter if it is on an individual or community wide basis. Through working in the community of Monte Cristi, I have personally seen how important the role of the community health nurse can be. Even if I do not end up working as a community health nurse in my career, I still know that it is my duty as a citizen and as a nurse to work towards improving health and educating others on ways in which this goal can be accomplished.
The biggest regret that I had while on this trip was not being able to speak Spanish. Although I took Spanish in high school, I did not remember much which made it very difficult to communicate with the local community members while in town or at the clinical sites. This was very frustrating for me, and if I could reengage in this experience again I would take time to relearn the basics of Spanish so that I could more effectively communicate with the locals. To anyone going on this trip in the future, or going on a different medical service trip out of the country, I would strongly encourage them to review words and simple phrases of the appropriate language.
In our everyday lives, we meet all kinds of people from various backgrounds, and when interacting with these people it is very important to show respect towards their practices and beliefs. After traveling out of the country I have gained a deeper understanding for cultural differences, and the experience that I received while in the Dominican Republic is one that I can connect to my future work as a nurse. I have developed a greater sense of the differences that occur between various cultures, and how the healthcare practices for people of diverse backgrounds can change. Although we have been lectured on topics such as this, it is different when experiencing something like this first hand. I feel as if I am now better prepared to care for patients of a different background or culture and remain sensitive to their traditional practices and beliefs.
I have disseminated my work by creating a blog documenting the experiences of my trip. I have explained the mission of this trip and the value it holds to me, along with sharing my daily experiences. The various posts describe the work I did on a day-to-day basis and the impact we had on the community. I have also publically shared my learning experience with others by connecting my blog to my learning portfolio and adding the link in order to show others what I have done. I will also share my personal experience with younger UC Nursing students in the beginning of February. It is my hope that through telling stories from our trip and showing pictures, that I will be able to express to the students how eye opening this experience was for me and encourage them to participate in future medical service trips through the college of nursing.
Below is the link to my blog. Please feel free to take a look!
http://molliewilliamshonors.blogspot.com