Last Week

Yesterday, I was almost able to see a delivery. However, it was a false alert, but some of the other students were able to see a quick delivery! It was still exciting to see a baby almost get delivered. We also saw a couple of indigenous women in labor and was informed that they do not show obvious emotions of pain verbally. So the nurses have to highly observe the indigenous women because they may be under-treated with pain medication (if they even consent to using any pain medication) and/or they may not notice that it is time to deliver.

We have 2 more nights in Panama. It certainly has been a great experience. There are some major differences between the Panamanian and American health care. I believe one of the biggest difference is that everyone in Panama can receive health care for free, which is highly beneficial. Everyone in Panama has health care. But we have more resources in America. For example, the biggest hospital in Panama City did not offer peritoneal dialysis. Also, the nurse-patient ratio in America is smaller compared to a rate of about 1 nurse to 30 patients in Panama. The amount of patients a nurse receives in Panama is quadrupled compared to America.