CFHI « OSU Abroad

Laurie Armatas has been a Registered Nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital in the labor and delivery department for 20 years. Her daughter, Hilary, is following in her footsteps in becoming a nurse. While majoring in Public Health at OSU, Hilary went on an IE3 Global Internship to Durban and Cape Town, South Africa, to be part of the Child and Family Health International program. In this entry, Laurie writes about how it felt to send her child to South Africa, and provides a mother’s perspective on education abroad.

Hilary in Cape Town l Hilary Armatas — Hilary in Cape Town, South Africa.

When Hilary heard that she had been chosen to go to South Africa on a medical internship with IE3 Global she was ecstatic. She had spent a year working to accomplish the goals she had set for herself that would make her a desirable candidate for the program. As her mother I was incredibly happy for her, but I must confess that there was some trepidation. She was going to be traveling half way around the world, and immersed in a culture she knew very little about.

Working in the health care field myself, I worried that practices in a developing country may not be what I believe to be safest for the practitioner. Would they teach her to wear protective covering when needed? Would there be resources available to provide the protective covering for her? I also worried that she might not realize what she needed to do to be safe, not just in the hospitals and clinics, but out in the communities as well. What would the families she would be living with be like? Would they support her if she needed it? I gave her far more instruction than I’m sure she wanted or needed, and then I left her with probably the most important advice…get all she possibly could from the experience, open her eyes as well as her mind, and enjoy herself!

She followed my suggestions and had what she describes as the “best time in her life”. She was pretty sad when it was time to come home. The adjustment once home seemed to be hard. Her situation is likely different from others because she came back to hear she had been accepted into nursing school and would be leaving her friends at Oregon State to pursue her nursing degree. In any case, she came home a more mature and self-confident person, with clearly defined goals in place. The experiences she had in South Africa really helped her fine tune the path she wants to travel and the goals she wants to meet.

My advice to other parents whose children are heading off to experience the world on an IE3 Global internship would be to learn what you can about the culture they will be immersed in so you can help them to be safe (they will probably think you are being overprotective), stay in contact with them (we used Whats APP on our cell phones ), and they will likely need (want?) more money than you think. Hilary earned all she took with her, but ended up borrowing some so she could do the once in a life time things that came up (bungee jumping and caged shark diving!!!). Finally, I would advise parents to send them off to have the “best time in their life”.

When I was in nursing school there was no treatment other than supportive care for HIV/AIDS. Hilary’s internship opportunities taught me that it is now considered a chronic condition that can be well managed with available resources and education. I think it would be fulfilling to help provide that, and to be a tiny bit instrumental in improving the health status of a population in need. Because of the amazing experiences Hilary had, we are talking about the possibility of going back together once she has finished nursing school to volunteer in a medical venue.

Oregon State University graduate Rebekah Smith majored in Public Health and minored in Psychology. As spring term was coming to a close in Corvallis, Rebekah was nearing the end of her internship in Quito, Ecuador with Child Family Health International (CFHI). As an IE3 Global Internships scholarship recipient, Rebekah participated in an internship involving medical rotations, and was able to reflect on her experience while still abroad.

I am now ending my seventh week in Quito, Ecuador. I have three more weeks in this amazing country and am in no way prepared to leave. To provide some insight into how huge of a development this trip has been for me, let me explain just how new international travel was to me just seven weeks ago. Prior to this trip, I had never left the United States, nor even had a passport of my own before applying to intern with CFHI and IE3. Understandably, these factors led me to have a ton of anxiety, which combined with the fact that I did not speak any Spanish. Despite the many “firsts” I’ve tackled recently, I have grown not only comfortable overseas, but have developed a huge passion for traveling and experiencing other cultures.

My internship involves attending clinical rotations and taking Spanish classes with incredible instructors in Quito on weekdays. I’ve found that having some responsibilities in the city makes me feel as though I have a purpose here and am bettering myself professionally. My biggest words of wisdom when spending time in another country’s healthcare system would be to remember why you are there. This can be very difficult, especially with regards to healthcare because systems can vary so greatly between countries. Remembering that you are solely there to learn will help when experiencing things completely different from the U.S. It will only cause stress to think that you are there to fix issues or judge another country’s healthcare system. Our purpose as interns is to act like sponges, learn everything we can, and return to the U.S. with a better perspective and deeper compassion for health care. This concept will help you in all areas of interning with this program. When I was volunteering in the schools I also had to remember this because they teach different subjects and use different techniques than we do in the states.

On the weekends, I am TRAVELING! Traveling has been such a huge aspect of my experience here and has taught me about the culture and country just as much as the program itself has. Traveling to the different Ecuadorian cities is such an incredible experience because within a few hours you can be in the Andes Mountains, on the beautiful coast, or deep in the jungle. Traveling forces you to practice Spanish and allows you to meet an outstanding amount of people, both foreign and local. I have traveled to a cloud forest in Mindo, the sunny beach in Montanita and Canoa, and am soon traveling to a gorgeous volcano in Cotopaxi. I also have plans to yonder on to an adventure-filled town called Banos, as well as the jungle in Tena. Traveling around is affordable and easy, as well as gives you opportunity to develop a great sense of independence and cultural competency. Traveling is also the way to make everlasting memories with other students in your program! You are stuck on buses together, staying in amazing hostels and going through both stressful and exciting times together.

Being abroad in Ecuador has taught me many things so far. One of the most impactful things I have learned is patience. America is very “Type A” and extremely punctual, these things are not a priority in Ecuador. I have waited over an hour for one of my preceptors to arrive at a meeting, I have had doctors show up twenty minutes late to appointments and many other experiences. You are also very commonly juggling your wants and needs with those of the other students who you are working with, and this requires a large amount off adaptability and patience. These experiences have taught me patience, and how to adjust to other cultures. For example, I don’t go anywhere without a book here! It is your job to adjust to them, the entire culture does not need to adjust to you, so learn to adapt! It’s been nothing but beneficial because I have finished two books just traveling and waiting for meetings, It’s GREAT!

Some final advice I have is, to bring more money than you expect. You will never be able to be totally prepared for traveling abroad or be able to know what you will be doing. Having money hold you back from being able to engage in a great opportunity would be upsetting so just budget extra! I also advise to release any expectations you have or restrictions you have in the U.S. For example, two of the guys in the program were vegetarians for ethical reasons in America and came to find that it restricted them so much here in Ecuador, and they wanted to be able to experience the culture so they put their expectations aside and decided to return to being vegetarian when they returned home. I really respected their choices because they fully immersed themselves in the culture and benefited from it greatly. As far as avoiding cultural mistakes, I was so lucky to have a friend who had been here for a long time before I arrived, and I was constantly asking her questions and observing how she interacted with locals. This was really helpful for me because I was able to learn polite mannerisms and safe tactics while in Ecuador.

This experience has been life-changing. As cliche as that may be, it truly has been an experience that has helped me grow and develop my independence and cultural competency. I only want to continue the experience, I am NOT ready to go home in three weeks!

This blog was originally published on the IE3 Field Notes Blog. For a link to the original entry, click here.

Cody Buongiorno is a Senior at Oregon State majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry. During Fall 2012, Cody traveled to Ecuador through IE3 Global Internships and participated in a medical rotation internship for Child Family Health International (CFHI).

Making the decision to travel to the astonishingly beautiful and diverse country of Ecuador was a remarkable and immeasurably beneficial experience. I achieved a longtime dream to study and live in a different region of the world. Throughout the three months of my Child Family Health International (CFHI) medical internship in the fall of 2012, I completed an intensive intermediate Spanish course focused on language and medical terminology. Additionally, I was privileged to work alongside and learn from seven doctors in various specialties, and interact with countless other doctors, surgeons, medical students, nurses and, of course, many patients. I was immersed in both the rich Ecuadorian culture and healthcare system. I lived with another Oregon State student and three other CFHI interns participating in different programs who were all interested in studying medicine.

The programs varied, reflecting each student’s level or experience with the Spanish language, the medical field and prior world travel. The medical coordinator, a local family medicine doctor, organized the clinical rotations and weekly progress meetings while also providing excellent advice and making the students feel comfortable. I spent seven weeks of my program in the city of Quito, and three weeks in between on the coast. I started off at a pediatric clinic and maternity hospital with my fellow OSU intern. We travelled by trolley or bus to the clinic and the hospital where we worked with doctors for four hours each morning. We then returned to the Spanish school for four hours of language classes. With this general schedule I rotated through a pediatric clinic, a maternity hospital, a surgery rotation, a family medicine clinic and a specialized hospital for oncology and hematology.

Cody Buongiorno - IE3 CFHI Ecuador

After the first five weeks, I ventured to the coast of Ecuador where I lived and worked in the rural town of Chone. The pronounced and distinct change in climate, culture, language and my personal lifestyle both refreshed and challenged me after becoming accustomed to the massive city of Quito. I lived with a loving and caring host family that assisted my assimilation into the culture and accepted me as a part of their family with open arms. I worked alongside a very caring and intelligent pediatrician with whom I spent the majority of my time. We worked eight hour days in the hospital, running between the inpatient cases and the outpatient clinic while continually referring to surgery, the ER, the ICU, radiology and other specialty areas of medicine. This portion of the program was more hands on and intense as I learned from many medical professionals, worked with my doctor one-on-one, dealt with patients while under supervision, and interacted with the entire working community of the hospital.

All the while, I took Spanish classes taught by instructors who became friends, connected with my fellow interns, integrated into multiple host families, and traveled all over Ecuador. While abroad I expanded my comfort zone and tried many adventurous activities: paragliding, waterfall repelling, bungee jumping, and finally, zip lining. The entire program was memorable. I witnessed sixteen surgeries, recorded countless interesting medical conditions, learned from many upcoming physicians in both a clinical and a classroom environment, examined children in Chone – after being taught how to perform a complete physical – and learned how to interact with doctors, nurses, and patients. I saw cases of dengue fever, severe bronchitis, intense malnutrition in children (kwashiorkor), heart murmurs, intestinal blockages, and many more. I encountered patients with remarkable recoveries, complicated surgeries and captivating medical cases. The entire culmination of experiences in my internship confirmed my desire to enter the medical field.

In the end it was difficult to say farewell to my family and to the country that helped me grow into the person I am today. I have been affected in so many wonderful ways and have the desire to travel more and experience other cultures of the world. I met unbelievable people along the way and encountered marvelous adventures. My study abroad greatly exceeded all expectations and was far more enjoyable and beneficial than I ever imagined. I entered my internship as a junior in college and, with the help of all the life lessons and skills I gained from studying abroad in Ecuador, I emerged with the goals of maintaining my Spanish, traveling the world on a greater scale, and someday becoming a doctor.

Lauren Forbes (Biology, ’11) went to South Africa in Fall ’09 through IE3 Global Internships and participated in a CFHI medical rotation internship in Durban and Cape Town. She is currently an MPH student at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. She is in the process of applying to the Fulbright program.

I always thought I wanted to be a doctor; in college at Oregon State University I was a pre-med student and I had aspirations of going on to medical school to become a pediatrician. Little did I know the things that interested me most about the health field were more in line with public health than medicine.

In my junior year, I had the opportunity to go to South Africa on an IE3 internship through Child and Family Health International. I spent 10 weeks there, five in Durban and five in Cape Town, living with host families in both cities. This was one of my first international experiences and it really sparked my passion for global health by showing me the stark reality of global poverty and how sociocultural and environmental factors influence the health of the community. Spending time in both Durban and Cape Town allowed me to experience the best of both cities—Durban and its uniquely Zulu influences and Cape Town, an amazing city, rich in cultural diversity. While the clinical experiences at the community health posts and hospitals provided me with invaluable health experience at the front lines, the stories and factors surrounding the patients, influencing their health status was what most intrigued me. One elderly man that I attended to had a dangerously infected ankle wound and had walked nearly all day to reach the hospital for treatment. For many people like him, the cost of treatment and the fear of an undiagnosed illness causes them to avoid seeking a doctor when they get sick. These public health issues are just a few of the environmental factors that influence the health status and outcomes of the South African communities in which I worked. The experience in South Africa was life changing and it helped me to grow personally and professionally, preparing me for other international experiences.

Lauren (r.) with her peers and colleagues in The Gambia

The opportunity for me to go abroad again came last spring; Drexel University had some existing ties with the Gambia, a small country in West Africa, and they wanted to send a group of public health students there to assist at a rural hospital. Myself and four other students were selected to go; we came together and formed and organization called Leading Outreach Through Volunteer Endeavors (LOVE) Abroad to help support our mission to the Gambia. Because of my experience in South Africa, I was better able to process the things that I observed and heard about while in the Gambia, such as the blatant poverty, health disparities, and gender inequities. In the Gambia, I saw the same abject poverty, but I also saw a baffling resilience and hopefulness in the communities in which I worked. This experience abroad not only allowed me to put my public health training into practice, but it also allowed for a mutually beneficial international partnership to be reinforced between Drexel University and the Gambia.

My international experiences in South Africa and the Gambia have been incredibly enriching, and have inspired me to pursue global maternal and child health as a career. This year, I will be completing my MPH degree and I plan to pursue fellowship opportunities in these fields upon graduating. I definitely encourage anyone who is considering studying abroad to go for it; the chance to experience another country through a service-learning opportunity is an invaluable experience that you will remember for the rest of your life.

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Tag Archives: CFHI

The Best Time in Her Life: A Mother’s Perspective on Education Abroad

Reflecting Before the End

Immersion in Ecuador

IE3 Alumna Continues Her International Journey Through Graduate School

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