Ensenada, Mexico - 8/13/03
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Nicola Fynn receives an official welcome from 73-year-old Anacleto at Casa Hogar de los Ancianos, a local nursing home. Nicola practiced her clinical interviewing skills and medical Spanish with Anacleto. |
After three weeks of studying medical Spanish at the University of Xochicalco and living with a host family, my Spanish language skills are noticeably polished. As medical students accustomed to strict schedules and diligent work, our group had a hard time getting used to last-minute instructions and consistently tardy arrivals. Nevertheless, we managed to accomplish a number of projects in the community after completing one week of classroom work.
In the classroom, we covered clinical interviewing and physical exams utilizing Spanish and learned a long list of vocabulary necessary to communicate with patients. Our experiences in the community were varied. We were able to practice our clinical interviewing skills at Casa Hogar de los Ancianos, a local nursing home, where we were paired up with residents of the home to put our medical Spanish to the test. I was paired with Anacleto, a jovial 73-year-old male suffering from diabetes. Anacleto shared as much about his social life and sense of humor as he did about his past medical history. In fact, we talked so long that I almost missed the bus home.
We then spent a few days interviewing families in a poverty-stricken neighborhood just outside Ensenada, and we were able to share information with them concerning access to health care and hygienic practices within the home. After obtaining a family medical history and information about any current illnesses in the house, we were able to provide them with free medications. Residents of the neighborhood initially seemed skeptical of our presence, but welcomed our visit once we’d explained the purpose of the interview.
At the Puerta de Fe (Door of Faith) Orphanage, we were met by 87 energetic orphans. Despite some significant obstacles, we documented and filed their medical histories for the orphanage. Many of the orphans didn’t have any knowledge of their exact ages or of the identity of their families; and some had yet to receive last names. At least nine of the 87 orphans were under two years of age, the youngest being seven-month-old Alejandro. The biggest challenge to obtaining information, however, was the tempting distraction of a big soccer game in the courtyard, chicos versus chicas. We returned the following day to provide vaccinations to the large number of children who lacked up-to-date vaccines. Most of the popularity we’d gained the day before withered when the kids heard they would be receiving shots.
My last three days in Ensenada were spent at Ensenada´s Cruz Roja (Red Cross). The Mexican Red Cross is supported exclusively through donations, and it provides free urgent care to anyone requiring medical attention. The facilities are clean, but the clinic is sparsely equipped with only five beds and two rooms for consultation. Medications are given only when absolutely necessary and only via IV. The most critical patients are sent by ambulance to the city hospital where there are a number of physicians, including specialists, and more clinical supplies such as blood.
While accompanying the two physicians on duty, we encountered a variety of chief complaints including diabetic feet, dog bites, lesions, bacterial and fungal infections, and burns. We also practiced placing IVs and examining patients. Interestingly, the physicians we came to know at the Mexican Red Cross were just a year or two older than most of us, and we’ve still got a ways to go! In Mexico, students enter medical school immediately following high school. In order to become physicians, they must complete four years of study at the university, one intense year of hospital work, and one year of outreach work in an underserved community within Mexico. As for me, it’s back to Ohio State in a few days to experience life as a Med II and to provide improved translation for Spanish-speaking patients at the free clinics where I volunteer.
Gracias por su interes en mi experiencia en Mexico. Es un pais lindo y vale la pena explorarlo!
Nicola Fynn, Med 2 (Class of 2006)