Our trip this week was very busy as always, with a team of 3 medical students, a radiologist from Arizona, and Dr Samras.
The students were divided into two groups: one group worked with orthopedic surgeons in the OR and also on rounds in the orthopedic wards, and the second group work in Internal Medicine on the wards, clinic, and in the ER. Both groups spent time evaluating patients and participating in patient care.
Much thanks to the great team for all their hard work toward the successful trip!
My trip to Nicaragua is a humbling experience that will make you realize how blessed you are to be living in the United States. The hospital system here is championed by hard working clinicians who rely on their physical exam skills and intuition rather then unnecessary and expensive imaging and labs. As a 4th year medical student I was treated like an intern and was given full autonomy with seeing patients. Interacting with the medical students and reviewing patient charts improved my medical Spanish knowledge exponentially. I can’t wait to come back!
The students gave lectures and received lectures on topics specific to the diseases in country.
We also partnered with HRD Corps headed by the wonderful Dr. Berndt Schmidt for a needs assessment of ultrasound donations to the two hospitals and communities. We arranged for meetings with various Ministry of Health representatives and also the dean of a medical school to discuss partnering in this long term ultrasound project.
We look forward to facilitating the donation of these machines to increase the hospitals’ ability to diagnose complex medical conditions. We developed a plan for the long term maintenance and possible replacement of the devices as needed. We also began discussions with our Nicaraguan governmental partners about training for new radiologist and also special training for existing physicians in ultrasound techniques and interpretation.
