What we learned in Belize

At the Clinic in August Pine Ridge, April 11, 2006

I really don't know where to start with this post. The problem with writing all of this down now is that it is all in retrospect, and I'm afraid of losing some of the emotion that was felt during the whole experience. Suffice it to say, going to Belize was an amazing and inspiring experience of self-reflection and personal growth, and really solidified some of my beliefs, desires, and understanding of myself.

On the one hand, I am fully aware that the one week trip cost up to $70,000 not to mention hundreds of hours of collective time and effort put in by the students who went on the trip, and in the end, very little was actually done on a tangible level for the people we saw and treated in Belize. What they need is far more than what a group of 50 students and doctors from the U.S. can give in a week's time-- they need what everyone living in apparent poverty in developing countries need: economic and human development, access to care, and the education to take care of themselves and their communities. Still, all the interactions that I had with patients while we were there makes me believe that we made a contribution, even if it is no more than just a dent: the 2000 patients we treated both in Orange Walk and in San Ignacio responded to us with nothing but appreciation and thanks, giving me the impression that a.) they are in desperate need of some coherent health care system, and b.) every little bit helps. I don't think I am wrong about that. I left the trip feeling optimistic not only because it came off more or less without a hitch, but because I felt like there was an exchange, albeit skewed heavily in our favor.

Working in the clinics in Belize was everything that I live about medicine. The medicine was simple, and the intention was clear: to provide some care to people that would normally have a much harder time obtaining it. We weren't curing anyone of anything-- in fact, in general all we could do was alleviate some of the pain with over-the-counter drugs. I think on some level though, they also wanted us to hear their stories and try to be sympathetic.

Last week was the first experience I had had where I felt like I was actually "taking care" of people. I know that what I did wasn't much, but there was something about the history taking, brief physical exam, presentation to the physician, and dispensing of the medication that made me feel like I was involved in the whole process of treating people. And by the end of the week, I actually felt like I was actually able to diagnose most of the patients I spoke with, and had an idea of what to prescribe. I think this is nothing short of amazing considering all of my exposure to medical treatment is from EHHOP and from my ASM clinical sites.

More importantly though, I think this trip has helped me to make my own interests a little bit clearer. My experience in medical school thus far has been by and large to decide I am not interested in the fields that we are exposed to rather than to really enjoy them. There was a moment on the first day of clinic in Belize when I was walking from lunch back over to the clinic that I realized that I was really enjoying what I was doing, and that it was something that I could actually see myself doing in the future. That has happened very few times in my life.

In the end, I know I didn't cure anyone of what really ails them. But I did learn a little bit about myself. And I got to know some great people a bit better too. The people on the trip are some of my favorite in my medical school class, and it was really great to spend that week getting to know them. I have a feeling that we all had a shared experience that will make us closer.