I had set the following learning objectives for this internship at Manos Abiertas prior to leaving:
- To explore and achieve some practical experience in the field of maternal and child health.
- To improved my conversational Spanish.
- To further understand how culture plays a role in women seeking medical care.
- To gain a better understanding of alternative medicine.
- To become more confident in how I interact with my peers and patients.
Through the course of this internship I truly believe that I accomplished all the above listed learning objectives. While I started off slow, as time passed, I was entrusted with more responsibility, and therefore got to achieve a lot more practical experience that I originally thought I would. By the end of the internship, I was administering almost all of the birth control injections, answering basic questions about the clinic and their daily operations, all in Spanish, and even advising patients in consultations (within reason!). I also learned the importance of nature in the process of childbirth, how natural remedies like teas and herbs could speed up the process, initiate contractions and so much more. And just how important it is to give the body time, be minimally invasive and that childbirth is a natural process that should involve medicine only when it is absolutely necessary. After my month in Guatemala, I can say that I’ve come back to New Orleans with a whole new level of confidence that living on my own in a foreign country doing an internship in a field completely new to me has instilled.
With all that I’ve learned from Manos Abiertas, I am very sure that I want to continue on the path of international public health and I’ve gained a much better understanding of maternal and child health, which I am now considering as a future career path. I will try to take as many Spanish classes as I can at Tulane and just try to improve my Spanish as much as I can. After Tulane I hope to pursue a Masters in Public Health (MPH) and hopefully work in a Spanish speaking community for a while.
To other students interested at interning at Manos Abiertas, or in the healthcare industry, I recommend:
- Brush up your Spanish! You will primarily be speaking in Spanish as most of the staff at the clinic only speak Spanish. And take Spanish classes while you’re there as well, they really help, especially with improving your clinic specific vocabulary.
- You will experience so many new things there, and I think it is most important to keep an open mind about what you see at the clinic. This is a huge opportunity for personal growth and being mindful of your surroundings will really benefit that.
During my last two weeks at Manos Abiertas, I created a step by step handout that midwives at Huehuetenango (a village not far from the clinic), would use in times of emergency for postpartum haemorrhaging and fetal resuscitation. The workplace environment at Guatemala is actually very similar to that of India. So while it was a bit difficult for me to actively observe how my ideals and philosophies of gender and social justice have been reinforced, I can say that working in a completely female owned and operated OB/ GYN clinic was a very positive experience. All of the midwives were so encouraging and supporting. I always felt accepted and respected and hope to carry this forward in my college and professional career as well.
