KUMCIO Spring Break 2015:

Panajachel, Guatemala

RobertFunk

AddiaDe Allie

AndreaKieffer

MalloryKrahN

AmyJohnson

CharlieDavis

KurtZacharias

AdamMcCann

BrianBarnes

RyanNorman

TannerIsaacson

SarahTaliaferro

HaleyBowers

FrancesClifford

Patanatic Centro Educativo y de Salud

Panajachel, Guatemala

Personal Goals

- Provide medical care for a large number of underserved people- Strengthen our physical exam taking skills- Have an impacting encounter with patients despite the language

barrier - Enhance our cultural awareness through daily interactions with

patients- Improve our ability to understand and speak Spanish - Practice providing quality care for patients in a time efficient

manner

The ClinicMost days were spent at Patanatic Centro Educativo y de Salud

- clinic provides care for surrounding communities

- NO hospitals in area- mostly staffed by other rotating international

volunteers- plans to add permanent physicians and

nursing staff in the future

We also spent one day at a local school in San Juan- checkups for elementary-aged children

Health Issues & Challenges

- Native Translators- Medical Equipment- Patient Privacy- Lack of Laboratory Testing- Water/Food Contamination- Recurrent Injuries- General Care

Health Issues & Challenges Cont’d- Available medications and supplies we provided:

- Over-the-counter and prescription medications- Essential medical supplies (alcohol, gloves, tape, medical scales, tools, and scopes, etc)

- Unavailable:- Lab Testing

- Not able to get a standard blood work-up

- Radiological imaging- Difficult to diagnose musculoskeletal injuries

USA: Confirm diagnosis, then treat.

Guatemala: We often had to treat patients prophylactically and based upon physical exam rather than confirmation from a lab value or image.

- Only 30-60 day supply of medications before patient will need to see another provider.

Noche de las Tortillas:A Profound Academic Experience

“All throughout our week in Guatemala we worked with three doctors to perform children and adult examinations as well as work on our history-taking skills and presenting important clinical findings to the doctors. We diagnosed a wide variety of patient medical issues that included: scabies, torn radiator cuffs, a few broken bones, allergic reactions, blindness. We pulled teeth in children and adults that were causing gingivitis and also distributed children’s vitamins and prophylactic anti-parasite medications to all children. It was incredible performing patient examinations. By the end of the week, each one of us had performed at least twenty. We learned to give eye examinations, use an otoscope correctly, palpate for lymph nodes on the neck and chest, percuss and palpate the abdomen for signs of swelling or ascites, perform an oral examination to look for signs of an infection or enlarged tonsils, take patient temperatures and blood pressures, height and weight in an efficient manner and even take blood glucose levels. All these examinations occur almost every time a physician sees a patient, so being given the chance to improve our familiarity with them will no doubt contribute to an increased clinical professionalism during rotations our third and fourth years and during clinical skills labs and time spent with physicians seeing patients outside of class.”

- Robert Funk

Recommendationsfor future trips

- Contact and be informed about local dentists and physicians in the area before any patient interactions so referrals can be made to specific providers

- Encourage as many group meetings as necessary throughout the week to organize and resolve any unexpected hurdles as they arise

- Prepare Need-to-Know translations for basic medical interviews and prescription directions before going to the trip

- IMPORTANT: Be flexible and prepared for the unexpected

Noche de las Tortillas:A Profound Cultural Experience

- One night in Panajachel, we had the opportunity to learn how the popular corn tortillas of this region are made.

- This kind woman began working in the store as a teenager with her mother, and continues to do so daily.

- Each of us got the chance to mold a tortilla with our hands, drop it onto the hot grill, and taste our work once they were done.

- She was decidedly better than all of us!

- Charlie Davis

La Escuela:A Profound Cultural Experience

- Open air, concrete.

- Restroom was a small outhouse in the back.

- Located at the very top of town.

- Large concrete soccer “field” in the back.

Still, despite the poorer infrastructure, some things feel remarkably familiar: walls are decorated with posters of animals and cartoons depicting the alphabet and basic grammar, much as you’d see in an American school.

- Kurt Zacharias

La Escuela

Looking AheadThe Impact on our Future

“As future physicians in our first year of medical school, this is an experience that we will carry with us throughout our careers. For many of us, this was the first time that we were able to interact with patients in a hands on setting for an extended period of time.

This adventure provided us with a foundation for patient care that we will continue to build upon throughout our education. We picked up a lot of new skills and techniques, but most importantly we were exposed to a culture that was foreign to us. I would hope that our experiences in Guatemala will inspire us to continue to apply ourselves to the best of our abilities so that we can continue to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most.”

- Tanner Isaacson

Additional Photos

Sorting medications and children’s vitamins to give to

approximately 200 schoolchildren on day 4 of our week-long trip in Panajachel,

Guatemala.

Using some local transportation to

get from lake Atitlán to a

mountain town to give pediatric

examinations to school children

A busy day in the clinic, taking temperatures, measuring height, and testing vision!

Enjoying Fresh Coconut Juice, freshly carved with a machete seconds before!

PHOTOS ON THESE SLIDES

Street art in Antigua.

During Semana Santa, or Holy

Week, leading up to Easter, the

streets decorated with intricate

alfombras or rugs made from brightly

colored sawdust.

A small selection of the beautiful landscapes surrounding us throughout the duration of our time in Panajachel.