“People were so kind, warm, welcoming, and excited to see us because they knew that we were there to help.” Belize Last January, sixteen students and one alumnus participated in the College’s first medical mission to Belize. “There was no expectation of getting any sort of credit, just life experience and a desire to help others,” explains Kevin Hickey, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Humanities and Communication, who accompanied the students on the trip. The mission originated from a desire by students Rebecca Nashett and Katelyn Rochester to organize a medical oriented trip to Belize on behalf of the College. Through the assistance of ProWorld, an organization that helps coordinate such trips, the students were placed in villages and clinics throughout the country. Each day the students would see 60 or more patients in “pop up” clinics or go door-todoor into local communities with translators to offer health screenings. A typical screening would include blood pressure, weight check, blood samples, vitals, and patient counseling. If there was a case too involved or complex for the team of pharmacy students and Belizean nurse, a van was waiting nearby to transport the patients to a local hospital.
“We would drive anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to set up clinics in different underserved rural areas,” Katelyn explains. “Sometimes we set up in an empty community health center that consisted of just a concrete floor and four walls. At one clinic, an outdoor class graciously squeezed together on one half of a cement pad while we used the other half. Luckily, there was a tin roof that kept us fairly dry when it began to pour!” Students also spent one day teaching at the Cristo Rey Elementary School, where they presented lessons to elementary school children on hypertension, hygiene, asthma, and the importance of brushing one’s teeth. “Proworld said that ACPHS students were among the most organized groups they had seen,” Dr. Hickey shares. “We were integrated with college students from other missions and our students stood out as particularly well prepared.” The biggest takeaway for Dr. Hickey was how the students were changed by their experiences and what they learned about themselves and the world around them. “A trip like this to Belize is important because you’re learning so many things. It’s a rich
educational experience, not solely about medicine or pharmacy practice,” Dr. Hickey says. “Our students all stayed with local families so they were having breakfast and dinner with them, sleeping in their homes, and celebrating with these families. They become real, not just anonymous Central American people you hear or read about. They are people who have lives, just like the students.” Rebecca agreed to the benefits of this multifaceted approach to learning and felt transformed by what the experience taught her. “I never expected to become so attached to a country I was only in for two weeks, but I found it difficult to leave the people I had met, lived with, and worked with,” she says. “It is one thing to read about poverty and extreme conditions, but another to actually experience it. It changed my understanding of everyday life.” Looking ahead, there is a group of 18 students who will visit the Peruvian Amazon this summer to help native peoples without access to health care and conduct research on local medicinal plants. Trips are already being planned for next year to places that include Vietnam and Senegal.
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