Subcentro in Puerto Lopez

Thanks to ELI, I ended up interning at a subcentro de salud in the small coastal town of Puerto Lopez for a time period of 8 weeks. During these weeks I was able to expand my medical Spanish vocabulary, work side by side with emergency doctors, help gynecologists deliver babies at the clinic, participate in youth outreach programs, and so much more! I was able to interact with patients of all ages and learn a lot from the general practitioners about community healthcare in Ecuador. A typical day consisted of working in the laboratory preparing and analyzing blood, urine, and feces samples and gram-staining slides in the mornings and I would spend the afternoons either in the emergency room or in the general care section. All of the staff members were welcoming and made me feel very comfortable--they quickly became my mentors, teaching me about medicine and Ecuadorian culture!