Mobile clinic: Laguna

Today was my first trip on the mobile clinic. We packed up the car with medical supplies and drove about 20 minutes to village called Laguna. The clinic is set up in minutes in a small vacant building. We had medical students, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and doctors. Sara (a nurse practitioner) and I had some home visits to do around the village. We hiked a couple minutes to see our first patient who is doing well. Her husband came up to me and started complaining of itching and burning on one side of his back, which has been going on for months. We sent him down the clinic and sure enough he was diagnosed with shingles. After leaving their house a women came up to us and stated  her friend was a very sick and we needed to see her if possible. Sara and I agreed and hiked for ten minutes in the heat. I was dripping in sweat! We assessed the sick patient and hiked our way back to the clinic to talk with the doctors about this patients condition. Doctor Phil and his wife Sandy have lots of experience working abroad in places such as Africa. They have been extremely helpful by explaining disease processes and various medical conditions to me. We stayed in the village from 8-noon. Mobile clinic was half day today. The village was beautiful. Lots of houses with thatch roofing. I saw lots of chickens, ducks, cats, dogs, and pigs roaming around. I forgot my camera, but I will be returning to that village soon for follow up home visits.

Hillside Health Care

I survived my first week. Wearing scrubs in 90 degree weather with the humidity has been the biggest challenge for me. I think my body is starting to adapt a bit! I have been heading into town around 8 am with the nurses to start home visits. DM, HTN, and cardiovascular disease are the common issues we see. The PA students saw two cases of Leishmaniasis out in other villages. They brought back pictures to show me. It was interesting to see. I told them about one of my patients who showed me her gallstone she kept from surgery. It was the size of a robins egg! 

The patients and their families have been so welcoming. Right when we enter a patients house we're brought chairs and offered drinks. My favorite drink I discovered here is lime juice. The other day while I was listening to a patients heart a hen came waltzing right inside with her ten chicks following. Already by my feet was a puppy and cat. A couple seconds later two dogs came running into the house after the hen. The house got full quickly! Everyday is full of surprises. 

On Wednesday we had a Women's Health Fair at the park in town. We set up tent and hung up educational posters. We educated women about things such as cervical cancer, breast feeding, and pap smears. Other tents were discussing things such as domestic violence and HIV/AIDS. In the evening, some of the PA students and nurses went to a HOPE meeting. HOPE stands for Helping Elderly People Equally. We did exercises with them, played bingo, and had a discussion about "end of life" and the importance of communicating your needs/wants to family members during that time. 

I have been practicing driving here. It was really helpful knowing how to drive manual before coming. I couldn't imagine learning how to drive stick shift while avoiding pot holes. I have my "drivers test" tomorrow. I'll be checked off by the facilities manager so I can drive the cars by myself and drive students into town when needed.


Down below is a picture of my dorm called Abby's House. It's named after a fourth year medical student who came to volunteer at Hillside. Unfortunately she died in a scuba accident. In her memory they named the dorms after her. 

This is the car I've been driving!

And the journey begins..

I MADE IT! I will be here in Punta Gorda, Belize for 1 year starting now. I am staying at the clinic called Hillside Health Care Center. The clinic is staffed with medical, PA (physician assistant), and pharmacy students and currently one physician. We also have two nurse practitioners who are the directors of Hillside.  Clinic is open from Monday-Friday 8am-12pm. Everyday of the week our land cruiser takes half of the students to villages near by who have difficulty accessing health care.  In total there are about 12 students right now. Every 4 weeks a new group of students come to complete a rotation for school. Each student pays a fee of 1400 dollars for the month. With the students tuition Hillside is able to buy supplies, medications, etc. that are needed. 

Right next door to the clinic are the dorms where the students, physical therapist, and I are staying. There is a living room, long dining table, kitchen, 4 bathrooms, and four showers (with hot water!). The dorm is very clean and comfortable. The students share rooms and the physical therapist and I get our own room. Lucky us!

What is my job??

My job is to visit patients who are home bound ie physically not able to leave the house, have no family support, and/or need acute care. I am able to work at the clinic when I have free time with the students. Currently there are two nurses; Liz who is an RN and Sara who is an NP. They live by themselves in a dorm called the "Tree house" which I may be moving into soon. Liz will be leaving in two weeks. Starting Monday she will be handing over her patients to me and filling me in on their conditions and most importantly showing me how to get to patients’ houses! (There are minimal street signs here). Sara will be leaving May 1st so I will be taking over her patients as well. In total I will be responsible for 56 patients! My job is to see everyone once per month and patients with more acute conditions I see multiple times a week. I will have lots on my plate soon, but I am very excited to start! So far I have been a one home health visit for a dressing change on a man who broke both his legs and wrist in a motorcycle accident. We had an audience of family members who were very grateful of our help.

Belize is beautiful. I love that the town is right on the water. The houses are all painted in various BRIGHT colors. The people have been very friendly. Many know me as "the new nurse." I have only had one full day here so far but I love it.

The physical therapist, Monica, showed me around town today and introduced me to many people. She has already been here 6 months and will be by my side for another 6 months. Today we stopped by Dan and Maria's house which is right on the water. They're both nurse practitioners and the clinic directors who have been working here for about 3 years.

Anyway, I hope this gives you a better idea of what I am doing down here. I will do my best to continue blogging when exciting things occur!

Celia