VIDA Medical Costa Rica and Nicaragua

VIDA is extremely organized. You have a group leader who makes sure everything runs smoothly and doctors and interpreters who travel with you and educate you on the countries' history, government systems, ecosystems, and anything else you want to know about the culture. They provide clean drinking water at all times and plenty of meals during clinic days.

A huge issue for me was feeling safe. I can honestly say that I felt safe 100% of the time. When we had free nights to explore the towns near our hotels, the interpreters were kind enough to come with us and help us communicate with the locals. I never felt like my suitcases were in danger, either. The hotels we stayed at were really nice.

The clinic was the best part of the trip. You don't need to have any prior medical experience. I personally did, and it felt great to be able to teach my peers what I already know. There is a crash medical course the first day, and the doctors walk you through every step of the way. You will learn a lot about patient-care: how to take a health history, vital signs, and determine if they are normal or not. After interacting with the patient, you get to come up with a diagnosis, which you will present to the doctor. The doctor will then walk through all of the symptoms with you and explain what the real diagnosis is and why. The doctors are amazing teachers! I learned so much. Its an amazing feeling when you can start relating things from your science classes to actual patient care. The doctors help you to connect the dots.

This trip was enlightening and I feel like I came back to the US with a whole different perspective on my life and what I want to do in the future. This experience made me want to continue volunteering abroad with VIDA. I will definitely recommend VIDA to everyone and anyone.