I recommend A Broader View!

I volunteered through A Broader View’s medical program after completing year three of four years of nursing school and was placed in a government run clinic in Alotenango. I highly recommend this opportunity to anyone who has a basic medical background and a proficient level of Spanish. A Broader View was very helpful in setting me up with the appropriate placement. The communication with staff was always quick and informative and the experience was well worth the price. My host family was very welcoming and caring. We were fed well and the house itself exceeded my expectations. I had my own room with a full sized bed and we even had wifi in the house. I developed great relationships with my host family and the health care staff at the clinic. I am still in contact with them and know that I want to return in the future. I was able to offer my skills and talents and in return received experiences and knowledge that I would not have been able to receive in the United States. Every day when I arrived, I looked forward to seeing the healthcare staff already beginning the day with the clinic filled with patients waiting to be seen. I love the staff because they are all so caring for their people. They could easily start their own private healthcare practices and earn much more money; however they are so compassionate and choose to work in public health. Once I developed a routine at the clinic, I usually began the morning completing the pre-consultations with another nurse, another volunteer, or by myself if we were short on staff. We usually had about thirty for the first half of the day. Often after finishing that task, I would be directed to whichever special clinic within the larger clinic needed some extra help. Sometimes it was to the vaccination clinic, the women’s clinic, the pharmacy, or to shadow the doctor. Through the variety of experiences, I was able to learn so much about healthcare in Guatemala and notice the differences and similarities with healthcare in the United States. The staff taught me how to do so many things so that by the end of my stay there they trusted me with running the clinics on my own. The nurses frequently went to various health education conferences and they were thankful to have me to fill in for them. This was something that I certainly did not expect, but felt honored that they trusted me with these important roles. Other times, I would go with several nurses into the village looking for the children who still needed to be vaccinated in order to meet the government’s quotas. As I spent more time there, the staff developed some additional roles for me. Because the pregnancy rate among girls and teenagers is so high, I would teach the girl who came into the clinic about issues related to reproduction and pregnancy prevention. The education regarding sexual health is lacking significantly so I was glad to be given the opportunity to discuss these issues with them. There is something really beautiful and significant about being able to share part of your life with different people--so much to teach and share with each other. I am so incredibly thankful for all of the people who made this opportunity available to me and those who were part of my experience in Guatemala. I recommend that anyone considering participating in this program do it. I loved every moment--it is life changing and certainly gave me a broader view of the world. Thank you ABV!