Study Abroad Programs Blog

My Salud Experience

By Ana - Guest blogger studying in Heredia, Costa Rica I am a fourth year medical student specializing in Family Medicine with Intermediate Spanish speaking ability. I was given the unforgettable opportunity to observe the socialized medical system in Costa Rica for two weeks and two days. This was made possible through the coordination and hard work of the school in .Heredia I was given an introduction of the three parts of the Costa Rican public medical system "Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social" (CCSS) which is referred to as "La Caja" for short by Dra. Quiros. The system is like a ladder which treats patients and transfers them to the facility best able to beat their ailment The first rung of the ladder is the Ebais, the second is the Clinica, the third and top of the ladder is Hospital. Hospitals are separated into classes A through C based on their resources and equipment available to treat different ailments. Most class A hospitals are in San Jose, Costa Rica and are the most well equipped. In my short amount of time I was able to observe/assist all three rungs of the CCSS and two different classes of Hospitals. For two days I shadowed Dra. Quiros, a Neonatologist and Pediatrician in San Jose Costa Rica. One day was spent in the Hospital Dr. R A Calderon Guardia, the other day was an overnight stay in San Juan de Dios. I was able to view the facilities and departments through a personal tour of the hospital and observed first hand the management of patients in the Neonatology unit while improving my Spanish and expanding my medical Spanish vocabulary with the patients of Dra. Quiros. I was able to observe a birth in the labor and delivery unit of Calderon Guardia and the immediate neonatal care of the baby. This was a rewarding and familiar experience and was a great introduction for the weeks to follow. I spent the mornings of five days of first full week in the Bernardo Benavides Ebais with Dra. Cespedes and Dra. Santamaria. This was an opportunity to see the entry point of the CCSS in action. There were a steady flow of patients with many of the basic medical ailments and some with more grave states which were transferred to the Hospital for evaluation. I was able to listen to the patient/doctor dialogue closely and experience the similarities and differences in primary care between this sampling of the Hispanic population and those patients in the United States. I brought basic medical supplies and over-the-counter medications from the United States as donations to the Ebais which has the fewest resources of the three parts of the CCSS. In the beginning of the first full week I also spent afternoons and evenings (until 6pm or 8pm) in 'San Vincent De Paul" Hospital in Heredia with Dr. Quiros (brother of Dra. Quiros) and Dra. Alfaro. I was given a personal tour of the facilities and was explained the differences in resources and equipment in comparison to a Class A hospital such as those in San Jose I visited the week before. Dr. Quiros is an Emergency Physician who was stationed in "La Capilla" during my week there. La Capilla is the chapel in the hospital where patients admitted to the Hospital through the Emergency Department are kept until they are found room in their corresponding unit in the hospital. I was able to follow the management of patients in a non-acute setting and perform an Ingreso (patient interview) in Spanish. I was able to observe/participate in the San Vincent De Paul Triage room with Dra. Alfaro, Emergency Department Director, for two nights at the end of the week. I was able to experience first-hand how patients are evaluated and channeled as either requiring medical care in the Hospital or the Clinica depending on the severity of their ailment With the assistance and the observation of Dra. Alfaro and Dr. Quriros I further improved my Medical Spanish vocabulary, and given the opportunity to witness the management of Dengue. My second week was spent in the Heredia Clinica where I observed, examined, and interacted with patients with Dra. Mendez, an Internist at the Clinica, as my Medical Spanish has much improved at this point. I attended regularly scheduled Medical Forums with the internists and discovered that the grievances of patient noncompliance, and the hurdle of trying to encourage lifestyle changes are consistent with the grievances and obstacles of those physicians in the United States as well. I was able to grasp more of the nuances of patient/physician relationship with this second half of the experience as well as expand my understanding of the CCSS system and practice my Medical Spanish. This experience has changed my perspective of the medical system in America. I can now clearly see the differences and begin to understand how a socialized medical system serves a community, This new understanding will help me serve my patients in the future and I hope to return to Costa Rica again as a physician to learn and serve some more. Thank you for this excellent opportunity!

Recommendation: Ahora Hablo Medical Edition

While not a replacement for studying Spanish (or Medicine for that matter), the book, "!Ahora Hablo! Medical Edition" (Megusta Publishing, $9.95) can be a handy guide as a refresher or a reference to use while treating patients. The book includes the most important Medical Spanish terms as well as phonetic English pronunciations. This pocket-sized guide can be a medical volunteer's best friend! We here at AmeriSpan would recommend it for a SALUD program participant or volunteer working in a medical field. Even if your program includes medical Spanish vocabulary, this can certainly come in handy and will encompass things that you may not have covered during your weeks of class. The words in the book are organized by medical specialty for easy reference. You can easily find vocabulary relating to areas such as cardiology, pediatrics and general medical terms. Even the most basic vocabulary may help in a pinch: words for a medical exam, body parts, symptoms and common conditions. This book has been stirring up a lot of talk. Recently, the book has been featured in some worthwhile publications: In February it was featured in the Chicago Tribune. Two months ago, it was mentioned in The Washington Post. Other editions of he book, including the travel edition, may be helpful for any of our participants. While nothing can replace what you will learn during an immersion program, having a background knowledge of the language and vocabulary you will need can take the pressure off of a beginning student or first time language traveler.

Discovering the Real Costa Rica

By Hannah Gieseket - Guest blogger studying in Heredia, Costa Rica It is now my second week in Heredia. I think that the biggest surprise so far of this week has been the cold wind that blows through town most everyday. Before I came to Costa Rica images of beaches and intense sunshine pervaded my mind. However, I can't even begin to say how glad I am that I brought a small jacket with me. It has been used everyday. Some days there seems to be clouds with rain in the distance and even though the sun is shining here you can feel small drops of water touching you as you walk. Lately, I have been spending a good deal of time in the center of town at the park that is in front of town's large church. The park has a gazebo, many benches, and some trees to provide shade. This seems to be a major meeting point for locals and also a place to sit and pass time. After classes and other extracurricular activities I tend to go to this central location to people watch. It is interesting to watch the old and the young as they go on their daily routines. There are vendors selling drinks or desserts. There is usually a clown there that is selling balloons and children kicking around a soccer ball. It is a wonderful place to pass some time and write in a travel journal. Yesterday a friend from school and I went in search of a supermarket and found another market where fresh fruit and meat is sold. We wandered through the many different, brightly colored stalls where you can see many fruits that are familiar and others that are not. She had been recommended a “manzana de agua” or a water apple. This fruit has a bright pink skin and a white interior similar to that of a pear. She described the taste as “something like a lemon”. The fruit also has a large pit in the center. I have yet to try this fruit as I am enjoying all of the fresh bananas that as so flavorful here. Many of the stalls selling fresh meat contained the whole animal or sausages made from different meat. There were also many places that were selling tofu and other soy products. It appears that this is a popular cooking ingredient here. In the market there were also small restaurants with stools around them that many people were eating at. There were these large pancakes that appeared to be made from corn that many were eating for lunch along with some salad. I plan to return to this market for lunch someday soon to try some of the different foods that are typical of Costa Rica.

Tomatina and New Aspirations

By Bradey Rehak - Guest blogger studying in Valencia, Spain Hola, Today was a pretty laid back day. In the morning, I decided to make my way down to the Carefour store to buy some cheap pants for the tomatina tomorrow. I underestimated the distance to it and spent the better part of the morning walking to and from. However, I had the chance to see some new sights in Valencia so all was not lost. I picked up some sweats for 6 Euros. I figured this would be good enough to get splattered with tomatoes. The fest is pretty big bringing in 30,000 people to the little pueblo of Bruñol. They will have 20,000 kilograms of tomatoes and one hour of madness. I am pretty excited about this hope chuck a few tomatoes while I am there. The festival has been going on since the 1950s and is doing pretty good I'd say from just stemming from a food fight. My next ambition is to find volunteer work in the area. I know this is something that I will enjoy because I have enjoyed volunteering in the past. Also, it will do wonders for my ability to progress with the language which I need to do. However, not just with the language but volunteering gives you the opportunity to help out others while at the same time meeting new and interesting people. I love to volunteer in short. I have failed to access this as of yet, but I plan to get in contact with the local Red Cross chapter and see what they have to offer. The weather lately has been pleasant. Many believe that the stifling heat of summer might be gone for the year. The weather in Valencia is supposed to be beautiful in September and October. I am hoping that this is the case because I am tired of the heat in the past. I must go now and get mentally prepared for the Tomatina tomorrow!

My First Week in Costa Rica

By Hannah Gieseket - Guest blogger studying in Heredia, Costa Rica It's hard to believe that I have already completed one week of classes at the school. Each Friday classes attend a graduation ceremony for those students that have completed their studies whether it be for one week or longer. Each class also takes an exam to see if those that will continue studying will move to the next level. This week was definitely one of getting to know the routine of the school and how the classes would progress. Since I began in the first level it was a lot of learning vocabulary including conjugation of regular verbs. The school not only does classes but offers many other exciting opportunities as well. On Wednesday evening I attended a cooking class that is presented by the mother of the director of Intercultura. Each week she will show us how to cook typical Costa Rican food. This week she showed us how to make "arroz con leche" which is a typical dessert found at birthdays and other celebrations. The class was also another way for us to become accustomed to hearing the language spoken and practice speaking as well. She had us discuss what we had done for the New Year holiday. This is an elective program so there were people there that spoke in many different levels. It was really neat to learn about the food of the culture, as it is another important aspect of life here. I have also been attending the dance classes offered Monday through Thursday. The instructor has been teaching us salsa and merengue. These are partner dances so on Thursday we were able to practice with some of his friends that he brought in. Each Thursday night a group from the school attends a club in San Jose, where we are able to practice dancing and have more exposure to locals. I was not able to attend this week but hopefully I will be able to go next week. My hope is that my dancing will have improved by then as well. I had to attend a meeting for those enrolled in a volunteer program. Joaquin, who is in charge of the volunteer program, wanted us to have a session to discuss culture shock and safety surrounding not only living here but also during our volunteer experiences. It is nice to meet all the other volunteers as well and he has also developed a type of support meeting for those that will have placements. Last night it was my mama tica's birthday and she a large celebration with many family members. It was really fun to attend her party though everyone spoke so quickly that I could not always follow the conversation. It was mostly ladies in the afternoon and they were really having a great time. I brought her some flowers from a local market for her birthday and her daughter baked her a delicious cake. This weekend many of the students that were in my class are leaving to go to other places to travel or study in other areas. Some of us may try to go out on Saturday evening to see some of the nightspots. It will be interesting to meet new people that will be continuing their studies.

My Weekend

By Kent Truckor - Guest blogger studying in Valencia, Spain This past weekend was a busy one but a good one. Friday night I went out with Nicolas for his last night in Valencia. He returned to Italy on Saturday. It is funny how things work out because it seemed like we bonded the last few days that he was around and then it was time for him to go. However, that is how life goes sometimes and I was thankful to have the opportunity to get to know him. Saturday I studied for the better part of the afternoon and then we headed out to the Valencia football game against Sevilla. It was kind of slow at times but the game ended up pretty good with Valencia wining 2 to 1. It was my first time at a European football match and I was happy with the experience. I had friends from other parts of Europe with me to help explain something if I didn't understand it. Sunday, a few friends and I from school went to the Oceano Grafico. It is a large aquarium recently built in Valencia. It contains eight different aquariums depicting the different seas and oceans of the world. I am pretty impressed with the aquarium and it contains many different things to look at. We also caught the dolphin show which is an always a good time. Today, I had to scramble to the Museo de la Ciencias before class. My ticket was only good for today so I made my way there at 10. I think that this was my favorite of all the attractions. The City of Artes and Sciences in Valencia is absolutely beautiful and the Science Museum is no exception. It contains three floors of exhibits and is an interactive museum. I loved it and the whole thing was designed by my favorite architect Santiago Calatrava, one of the reasons I came to Valencia. I spent three hours there but could have easily spent the day with all the different exhibits and things to see. I next made my way to the IMAX movie about Captain Shakletons Expedition to cross the Antarctic in 1919, it was pretty cool and the scenery was amazing. I then headed to school. Now I am going to go rest because I am exhausted!