U of A Med Students Head to Dominican Republic to Offer Health Care
Sixteen medical students and four faculty members from the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix will embark on a weeklong journey in May that will take them the Dominican Republic. Their task? To provide basic health care to more than 100 patients each day in rural communities.
“A trip like this allows students to see how difficult it can be for some people to access medical care in other parts of the world,” said professor Dawn Barcellona, M.D., who has been organizing the trips since 2010. “They see first-hand that patients have real illnesses and real issues that they can’t access care for because they lack adequate resources.”
The trips are offered twice per year and help establish the basic need for a primary care clinic in several villages, which, in turn, creates an ongoing relationship with the local health care system and doctors. During the Dominican Republic trip, students travel to four farming villages, or bateys, where they set up mobile clinics in community buildings and backyards. Students take vitals including blood pressure, pulse, temperature, height and weight. They also record patient histories, perform physical exams and dispense medications in a pharmacy.
Second-year medical and public health student Leslie Appleton, who traveled to the Dominican Republic in the fall of 2016, said the residents were so grateful to have someone listen to them. “They didn’t care if we couldn’t cure them, they were appreciative that we were just there,” she said. “It really reminded me of why I want to go into medicine and how much of an impact we can have on someone’s life.”
Medical students who travel to the Dominican Republic must pay for their own travel. The trip costs about $1,500 per student. The Global Health Interest Group is holding its annual fundraiser for the students April 7 at the Rock Bar, 4245 N. Craftsman Court in Scottsdale. Phoenix-area rock band Flippin’ Switches will be performing and doors open at 7 p.m. Details on how to help: crowdfund.arizona.edu/project/5959.
