Health Care Work - Report from the field

For my last three weeks in Nicaragua, I volunteered through www.nicaraguainternships.org in a clinic in Granada, that primarily serves pregnant women in both urban and rural communities. My activities included shadowing doctors, triaging patients, and preparing educational events and brochures. The most memorable outreach days were when we went to Las Isletas and Volcan Mombachu. I lived my fantasy of hiking (or boating) door-to-door to deliver health care. We only brought basic meds and a kooler of vaccines for infants. I noticed that both urban and rural people, in the US and Nicaragua, face some of the same health challenges- hypertension, diabetes, etc. And similarly, the cause is genetics and lifestyle choices, the latter of which is very preventable! When not at the clinic, I also shadowed my host father, a Pediatrician and the Vice Director of the city's hospital. I had the pleasure of observing births and weighing newborn babies for the first time. Did I mention that most of the pregnant women were single and 14? oy vey! the other horrifying thing is that everybody burns their trash on their front stoop, resulting in crazy respiratory issues at young ages. There is so much work to do and I found that people are very willing to help you acheive your goals. I don't know when I"ll return (this summer?), but Nicaragua could definitely be my 'medical home away from home'.
Rachel Geffen