the best!!

In the Dominican Republic, I spent most of my mornings observing in the hospital at Restauracion. This hospital was much smaller than American hospitals, and it seemed more like a small clinic or doctor’s office. For anything other than minor treatment, the doctors sent patients on to the bigger hospital an hour away in Dajabon. Many of the patients are from the DR, but there are also many who cross the border from Haiti seeking better healthcare. Last summer (2014), there were many cases of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne disease, and other routine maladies. One of my favorite parts of this program was running mobile clinics. For those, we brought Dr. Ricardo (the Dominican doctor who works with FIMRC) and medicines to isolated communities and saw nearly every member of each community. These clinics are a great way to provide care to those without much access to healthcare and to teach preventative medicine. I am particularly interested in infectious diseases, and I saw a broader variety of these diseases while running clinics. We
also taught a health class for pre-teen boys and ran a diabetes club (teaching about diabetes and its effects and then doing a blood pressure and sugar check the next morning). I felt a strong connection with the
community and efforts of FIMRC DR so returned for my fall break. Another of my favorite opportunities as a French-speaker on this trip was the opportunity to travel to and teach in Haiti. We wrote and gave a lesson plan about germs for preschoolers in Tilori, Haiti. We also visited the health center and a witch doctor’s home. Diana is a very dedicated and great leader and role model. She is great at translating and explaining everything going on. Since I was only in the DR for a little more than a week last summer, I didn't expect people to remember who I was since there are so many volunteers rotating in and out. But, everyone remembered me and was so excited to see me back in the fall! My Spanish went from nonexistent to a basic, functional level from the language immersion.
Overall, it was an amazing experience and I learned so much from going outside my comfort zone. I have a much better idea about what global health work is and what needs to be the focus, which, in my opinion, should be education and the creation of a sustainable system for the people who live there (rather than just doing things for them and then leaving).