We returned to the same community today and once again there was a line of patients waiting for our arrival. After 251 patients seen in less than eight hours on Tuesday, we worked another seven hours today to get through the entire group that showed up! It was amazing not to have anyone be turned away from treatment.

When I asked some of the students about their favorite part of the day this is what they said:

• Opportunity to learn extensively from the doctors traveling with us
• Children’s “Charla” (educational talk) and teaching the kids proper hygiene while connecting with them!

Posted in Global Health, Student Bloggers | Leave a Comment

Wednesday in Honduras was the first day of medical brigading. We had a 5:30 a.m. wake up call, breakfast and then a three hour bus ride before arriving to the first community of Cofridia Metro. With people already lined up to see the doctors, we quickly got set up and started seeing patients. The patients get entered into the system by local community members and then head to triage where all their information is collected. After this they are sent to see one of the doctors, they are prescribed any medications they may need and then they attend an educational session for both the adults and children. We also provide a dental station for cleanings, extractions and fillings if needed. As it seems to happen every day at some point, there were also several pick-up games of soccer! I won’t mention who probably won.

Posted in Current Students, Global Health, Student Bloggers | Leave a Comment

Everyone crashed pretty hard last night after a long trip, but we were bright eyed this morning ready to get our first real day underway. After a wonderful breakfast and some amazing coffee we started counting, sorting and packing medications that we brought down. To put the amount of these supplies into perspective we brought down 38 extra-large duffel bags full. Below are some pictures of our team hard at work!

Posted in Global Health, Student Bloggers | 1 Comment

After months of planning the day has finally come to take off on the trip of a lifetime. We boarded the bus at DMU on Saturday afternoon for a ride to Chicago’s O’Hare International airport. The six hour trek included a stop at the world’s largest truck stop, team bonding and many chapters of The Hunger Games being read. Our flights left in the wee hours of Sunday morning and routes through both Guatemala City and San Salvador were taken into our final destination of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Posted in Current Students, Global Health, Student Bloggers | 5 Comments

Christie Scott, D.O.'14 works in the Dental Room on last year's trip.

Thirty-three Des Moines University students are skipping the traditional spring break hot spots for a week in Honduras. Instead of spending their time off in the sun or on the slopes, students from all three DMU colleges will be addressing the health care needs of the less fortunate March 17-25.

This is the second year in a row that Des Moines University students, faculty and alumni are making the journey to Honduras. New this year is an emphasis on bringing together students and professionals from a variety of medical backgrounds.

Posted in Current Students, DMU Events, Global Health | 2 Comments

It’s well-documented and well-known that the United States spends more on health care than any other developed nation. Many assume these higher costs are caused by Americans’ widespread over-consumption of medical resources. Similarly, many assume the U.S. has a boundless supply of physicians and hospital service capacity.

Both assumptions are far from being accurate, however. In fact, while the U.S. does spend more on health care, as a percentage of its Gross Domestic Product, than any other country, we have the fewest licensed hospital beds among the top seven developed countries, our physician availability is quite low and our numbers of medical school graduates is comparatively modest. How will we accommodate increased demand from newly insured patients?

Posted in Current Students, DMU Events, Global Health, Health Care Administration, Public Health | Leave a Comment