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[Frankie Burg-Feret] This past reading week,
a group of interprofessional students, and doctors,
and members of our team in Guatemala,
were able to work together to see over 375 children
on this immersion experience.
The students were able to do a variety of things,
including health assessments, many health assessments,
working alongside with the pediatricians and the GP,
and working with the children in both rural and urban communities.
[Mandeep Kaur] Our day kinda started really, really early in the morning,
to set up the medical clinic
with the medications and the staff we had.
So through, throughout the day, it was like a mini emerg,
where children will come and we will, um, call their names.
And there were different sections where some of the students
were assigned to give medication administration,
whereas other did more
and then some of them were paired with doctors,
so giving medications, and also doing health history,
and health examinations with the doctor.
And also finding out which are the student
that are high risk and they need more care.
[James White] When we went into some of the rural communities,
there was another dialect.
So we had two interpreters – one from English to Spanish
then Spanish to their own language.
So just that kind of relay between the different languages
was probably the most difficult.
When you're in the zone, you really don't think about it.
So a lot of, like, the, the sexual assault,
and that sort of thing, it would just, it hits you after the fact, right?
And we also went to the Guatemalan dump,
uh, and kinda seeing how some of them lived.
They, they lived among some of the garbage there,
and they lived off of the garbage of some of the wealthier people.
And when you're kind of there and helping the children,
you didn't really think about it, but it was after the fact
that you really kind of sat back and understood.
[Frankie] This is a unique opportunity for our Humber students
to immerse themselves in another culture,
as well as to learn about health care in a developing country,
and to work collaboratively on an interprofessional team.
So this year, we had practical nursing students,
paramedic students, and bachelor of nursing students,
as well as two pediatricians, and a GP.
But what's important to remember also,
is that we also have a team in Guatemala,
and we've developed that relationship over the years,
over the last three years that we've been going.
So we had the opportunity to work with, uh, one of the doctors
who cares for the children at Valle de Los Angeles,
as well as working together with community leaders,
especially with the indigenous population in Sololá.
Um, so that was, uh, really developed,
and they were so happy to see us again,
and we know that, uh, we made a, a positive impact.
[Mandeep] I think it was a really, really good experience
to work with a team.
Um, because y- when you're working together
from a different health professions,
you get to learn about their scope of practice,
and, in the end, you all work as one unit.
[James] It's nice to see that Humber College is,
us continuous in going down,
we're seeing a trend towards these children being healthier.
I think the biggest thing that surprised me
was the poverty there.
Frankie talked about it quite a bit before
in some of our pre-departure meetings,
and, and some of the, the cultural norms.
And I think that was the biggest culture shock for me,
is that the second we drove in,
um, you could turn left to the equestrian club
and then right to one of the red zones.
And just seeing the difference in populations there.
They have, they don't have any of the middle class.
They have people who have quite a bit of money
and then people who have no money at all.
They're, they call them squatters.
They just kind of set up a shack wherever they possibly can.
And it was, I think that was the hardest part for me
is just seeing that poverty.
You kind of have to step back and, and think about
some of the things that they go through,
and s- it's quite different than the things that we go through every day.
So you kind of had to look in their perspective.
I think that was the biggest thing about cultural humility
is that you don't wanna judge anything that they're doing,
'cause everything they're doing is for a specific reason.
It's their beliefs, and their cultures are different than ours.
So I think that was the whole thing going in.
We kind of had to have a open mind, imposing no judgement whatsoever,
but also just being able to help them whatever way we possibly can.
[Mandeep] All of us had a really positive impact.
Um, and most of us, when we were, um, doing the reflections,
we said it changed our life –
in a way that, just for myself,
I think you take so much in your life as granted.
Um, so when you go there and you see people,
and you see how mu- less they have,
and they're happy, and they're willing to give and share
of whatever they have, it just gives you real happiness.
So I think it was a really real positive impact.
And for me, it affirmed that I wanted to do this
for rest of my life and be a nurse.
[James] These people loved us.
Every time that we would actually drive the bus into this, these communities,
they'd all stop and stare, and be waving at us,
and you'd never see that here really, right?
So it was, it was really cool.
When we'd pull up into the community, all these kids
would run and just give each of us a hug.
[Frankie] As a teacher in the bachelor of nursing program,
of course my focus tends to be the learning of my students.
But with this particular, uh, immersion experience,
for me it's a balance.
I wanna make sure that my students are learning,
but also our priority has to be the children that we're caring for.
And I really think that we were able to balance it well.
And I think from the feedback from the students,
uh, they learned a lot,
but they also felt that they were able to give.
[James] My advice to anyone
who would actually wanna come on this trip....
If this is something that you've ever thought about,
or it's ever been something of a dream of yours
to kinda travel with your profession,
jump on it.
It is something you kind of have to save up a bit of money for,
um, or do a bit of fundraising.
I know a lot of us did fundraising.
But jump on the opportunity.
It's, it is a lot of work, and you're working quite a bit of hours,
but it's a huge learning opportunity, and it's something
that you'll never really get an opportunity to do again.
It was amazing to actually learn
from kinda the best pediatricians in the country really.
It's, so it, it was amazing
that Humber College gave us that opportunity
to really learn in that aspect.
[Mandeep] I just feel very blessed and fortunate that I was chosen.
[James] Honestly, it was the greatest experience
that I've had in my academic life.
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