Day 7

Hello everyone!

Today is our second last day in the Cusco clinics. After having 3 days of Spanish lessons it is starting to become easier to understand people.

In the CLAS TTIO clinic James and myself (Austin) were placed placed in general medicine with a very nice doctor.

We seen numerous patients with many different diagnosis; but what shocked us the most was that we could understand a lot of the conversations and the medical aspects of what was going on, even though there was a language barrier.

I believe it was a mixture of having the Spanish lessons, being in Peru for a few days now and the fact that medial jargon does not change much, even when spoken in a different language.

After seeing a few patients the doctor then had us fill out some information on the billing charts where it displays a general overview of why the patient was there, who they are, their age, weight, height and diagnosis.

Annabelle was placed in the mental health clinic today. She seen a few patients with the doctor in the clinic but then they went and performed a home visit.

There was a Brother and a sister fighting over land and the judge ordered a psychological assessment.

Annabelle and the doctor travelled to the house by taxi that was paid for by the client.

When she arrived to the home; there was a large gate at the front of the houses. The home was attached to other homes kind of like apartment buildings. In the courtyard, just outside the home there is a toilet and sinks, as well as a washer and a clothes line (that she thinks is shared among all the houses in the area/courtyard).

When she walked inside the home there was a very small kitchen, and a hallway that led to a tiny bedroom that mainly consisted of just a bed. Around the corner of the kitchen was another bed. There was no living room or shared common area besides the kitchen that she could see.

When they arrived at the home they took a look a look at the house and the environment to see if it is safe and if the person living there is responsible and capable of owning the land.

The doctor told her that the other party (the girls brother) is getting an assessment done elsewhere as they are not getting along.

If this assessment is not done the outcome could be bad. Sometimes if mental issues or illnesses are present the people involved could become severely hurt or they could severely hurt someone.

The client then paid for some bus tickets (public transport) for them to get back to the clinic.

Due to this being someone’s home there was no pictures taken.

Furthermore in mental health, Annabelle and the doctor assessed a teenager that was referred to adolescent mental by his principal because he was missing so much time. They were trying to see if there is anything underlying; like depression, anxiety, etc. As to why he was missing so much school.

Today for triage Kelsey Muller and Sonya Wambolt helped with weights, blood pressures, heights, etc.

For triage you sit outside the clinic then when called you enter and are given “ticket” to wait and go see a doctor.

In the Dentist’s clinic Kaitlynn Hayes experienced a very touchy moment despite a language barrier.

A little girl walked into the clinic and she was very scared. Kaitlynn, not being able to talk to the girl as she only knows a little Spanish and the girl can’t speak English; was still able to comfort her by reaching out and holding her hand. Kaitlynn told her to squeeze it she feels the need to. The little girl understood and was instantly comforted.

We leaned that there are multiple insurance companies that help cover the costs of procedures and medical supplies; especially for the poorer populations.

For the SIS insurance company- someone goes into the clients home and assesses the home, their income, living situations, etc. to say that they can’t afford to buy medical supplies or pay into procedures.

Most insurances cover all sexual health items- condoms, IUD, birth control, etc.

If you work for certain areas in the government like the police your insurance does not cover sexual health items.

Some students in the other group at San Jeronimo had an experience with attending a day care/ nutrition centre.

“ On Thursday, Melanie and I (Hannah Gartland) went to a nutrition centre for mothers and their children. While there, we had the opportunity to sit in on a cooking demonstration where one of the nutrition staff from San Jeronimo taught the mothers how to make a meal that was high in iron to help manage and prevent anemia.

Following the preparation of the meals, we got to watch the staff and mothers get the children ready to eat.

Before their meal, they prayed, sang songs about food, and learned table manners during mealtimes.

Following the meal, we got to play with the children and sing songs with them while the nutrition staff and the mothers cleaned up the table and the kitchen before the centre closed for the afternoon.” -Hannah Gartland

Brianna LaRusic and Hannah MacKeigan were also placed in a day care where they gathered some information about anemia and nutrition from their clinic at San Jeronimo and brought it to the day care to teach them and their parents about healthy eating habits.

They also played with the kids and helped make them a healthy snack and help feed them if needed.

While some students were at the daycare others stayed at the clinic.

At San Jeronimo clinic Kelsey Brown assisted the staff in the wound clinic with simple dressings on a 15 year old boy’s leg who had road rash (fell and scraped his leg).

She also seen an older gentleman have a catheter inserted but was unsuccessful. He got sent for some further testing.

Furthermore she seen a dressing get removed of a man with a dog bite.

Kelsey has also seen a lot of injections in the dorso gluteal muscles (which is an older practice back home).

Some other students and the instructors at San Jeronimo clinic passed out some colouring supplies and talked to some children outside the clinic.

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Some students also got some pictures with George the information guy at the clinic who treats us like we are family.

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After our clinical today we had Peruvian cooking lessons at the Spanish School across from our hostel.

The dish was called Causa- it is a cold potato cake with many different layers.

The dish originated back in 1921- it was a dish that the independent army once ate.

The chef/cooking teacher made a dish and showed us how to make it step by step and then we made our own version of the dish.

We all had a fantastic day!

Permission was given for all photos

Buenos Noches everyone!

Stay tuned for a new update tomorrow!

-Austin Chapman and Hannah Gartland