Chitre

We are all alive and well in Chitre. This week started the¨"work".. but honestly I have been loving it! We have all been split up into groups of 5 or 6 to visit 4 different clinics. The clinics here are much different than in America. I thought we would have to rotate to different places in order to see everything, but pretty much each place has a dentist, gynecologist, pediatric, mental health, and adult health unit.

There is definately a difference in the health care systems between Panama and the United States. I immediately noticed that the nurses hardly ever wear gloves when working with the patients. Also, there are no alcohol swabs anywhere. To clean the tops of medicine bottles and the area prior to injection, they use plain water. The medications themselves are kept all together in a small cooler, like one you would take to a picnic. They have nothing like a Pyxis machine here, so you really have to double check that you are giving the right medicine! The sharps container is a cardboard box, unlike the hard plastic ones in America. I was nervous all day about someone getting poked because the offices were full with so many people all the time.

We got to tour the two types of hospitals they have here as well, a health ministry one and a social security one. This was another big shock to me. Most of the hallways between units were open air so it definately didn´t have the¨"sterile" feel that most hospitals in America do.. I felt really bad for the women on the maternity ward who were pregnant without air conditioning! All the doors to the patient rooms were open so as we walked through we were able to peek in and see what they were like. About 4 to 6 patients shared one room without any curtains or dividers. Privacy definately was not as big of a deal here as it is in the states.

I thought it was a great experience and I definately felt more confident after all the opportunities I had to practice. Tomorrow we head to the beach because the government is changing presidents so the whole country has the day off. Then we are back at the clinic another day and to the school on Friday to do a health fair. I have really enjoyed this week and can´t believe how much I am learning! I am so glad to be here.

-Kaley