A year ago today, I studied abroad to Guadalajara with my school..
5/10/2014: Day 1-
“We’re here!”
We arrived
in GDL today and rode in a van from the hospital to the Universidad of
Guadalajara to meet up with our housing hosts that we would be living with for the duration of our stay. Each student is assigned to a house with one other classmate. Traditionally, the hosts are the matriarch of the household. Our host preferred to be called "ma-ma". Upon arrival at our mamas we met the family
members of the household and ate lunch which consisted of pig’s feet soup and
tortilla chips. We consumed the same for dinner followed by ice cream and cake.
Today I learned that family is a big aspect in the Mexican/Latino culture. Many
families can live in one household with the mother being the sole caretaker of
everyone whereas, in my household it’s just me my mom and my dad and we all try
to help each other out. I have been practicing my Spanish in communicating with
the family.
5/11/2014: Day 2-
“Time to see the city”
Today we
went sightseeing on double decker tour bus. Our final destination led us into
the city of Tlaquepaque where we were able to shop at a number of kiosk located
along a strip. There was also a live mariachi band that played in the middle of
the strip as we traveled through. The women had on huge, colorful, flowing
dresses and the gentlemen wore these suits with colorful quilts on their
shoulders. Following our shopping expedition we ate lunch at a restaurant
called El Parian, ordering a several large dishes for eating from the group. It
was delicious! Later that evening, there was a music concert by a group called
Negro Gato and they performed about six different songs. Afterwards we went for
dinner at a restaurant nearby that also had live music and caught a taxi home.
5/12/2014: Day 3- Hospital
de Civil/Universidad de Guadalajara
Today was
our Orientation day at Hospital de Civil. We were led by a Carina, our host.
She started us off in a room watching a video via projector on the history of
the hospital. We then sat in on the commencement of the Nurses Day ceremony
singing hymns and celebrating the field of nursing as it is expressed in
Mexico. Shortly following the ceremony, we traveled to the floors to select
which floors we were going to work on. The elevators were not working today so
we had to take the stairs to Piso (Level) 12. I chose to work on Piso 12, the Medica Interna (Internal Medicine) floor, with a few other students. Following the hospital,
we go to Spanish class at Universidad de Guadalajara.
5/13/2014: Day 4-
Hospital de Civil/Universidad de
Guadalajara
My day
started off a little rocky due to the water not being available this morning or
last night for me or my partner to shower, but I embraced it. Our mama walked
us to the school today which was about a 25 minute walk. After everyone was
present at the school, we rode in a van to the Hospital. Today was our first
day on Piso 12. I began my day charting with the charge nurse, Leti. She showed
me how to fill out the paper charts in preparing for the shift. I like how they
utilize the four-color-click pens to differentiate when charting vital signs. Green is
used when charting respirations, red is used for temperature, black or blue is
used when charting the blood pressure and pulse. The nurses do not check pulse
oximetry as a part of their daily vitals as we do. After charting and preparing
for the morning, I took a few vitals, gave a Heparin shot and helped my nurse
change her beds. In Guadalajara, it is not within the nurses’ scope to assess their
patients as we do in the U.S. The doctors do all the assessing and there is a
phlebotomist that draws blood for labs. In leaving for post conference we had a
scare to day when a fellow classmate fainted. Ultimately, he was taken to the ER
where our instructor met us and stayed with him. In traveling from a classmate’s
house to the school for Spanish class, my partner and I took a taxi and were
taken to the wrong school. We called our mama and were able to find our way but
it was definitely a learning experience.
5/14/2014: Day 5-
Hospital de Civil/Universidad de Guadalajara
This
morning started off much better than the last. My partner and I were able to
switch houses with much better accommodations and living circumstances. I had
peaceful sleep and water to shower with last night. My partner and I walked to
the top of the street and caught a taxi to the school. From there we rode to
the Hospital. Today was our second day on Piso 12. We started the day off
prepping our paperwork and writing in the necessary details for the shift, only
today I worked with a different nurse, Carrita. Leti was tied up with
scheduling and suggested I work with Corrita today so I can be on the floor
more. It was pretty much the same routine as yesterday as far as medications
and changing of the beds go. At lunchtime, a surprise awaited us because our
wonderful nurses had a mini party for us with food and soda. We ate many
traditional Mexican dishes such as Chorizo, tortillas, guacamole, re-fried
beans etc. Following the hospital we went to Spanish class and learned about different
verb tenses and a couple of words and names used in the medical profession. I
love our teacher and the way she teaches the class. We figure out what is being
said by her acting it out in a sense, instead of just telling us in English.
5/15/2014: Day 6-
Hospital de Civil/Universidad de Guadalajara
Upon
awakening our mama made us a light breakfast with fruit and freshly squeezed
orange juice. My partner and I walked to the top of the street and caught a
taxi to the school. From there we rode to the Hospital. It was our third day on
Piso 12 and an interesting one at that. One of the patients I saw in a room
with one of my patients passed away last night. His diagnosis was Hepatitis B
and he was delirious for most of the day yesterday, getting up out of bed and
crashing to the floor, bleeding from a would he kept aggravating by falling the
exact same way each time he would try to get out of bed. It was sad to know he
had passed away, but it was a relief to know he is no longer suffering. After
charting, passing medication, and hanging fluids my nurse and I changed beds
and were done for the day. We were talking about the differences in roles of
nurses in the U.S vs nurses in Guadalajara.
5/16/2014: Day 7-
Hospital de Civil/Universidad de Guadalajara (Last day)
This
morning we awoke to delicious fruit and freshly squeezed orange juice. Today
was our last day working at Hospital de Civil on Piso 12. It was more emotional
for me than expected but none the less a pleasant day. Our nurses planned a
going away party for us with great, home cooked meals and sodas. My overall
experience working at this Hospital has been an enjoyable. The language barrier
was a bit challenging the first couple of days but I could figure out what was
being said based on my nurse’s body language. In working here the past few
days, I have learned that healthcare is not the same everywhere you go. Safety
is always a concern at the hospitals here in Guadalajara because there is a lot
of crime that isn’t as closely monitored as it is in the U.S. Every morning,
there is a long line wrapped around the building from the all the security
checking that takes place upon entering.
The way healthcare is run in Guadalajara is completely different than it
is in the United States. Working here has taught me to always appreciate the
opportunities and supplies that are taking for granted in the U.S.
5/17/2014: Day 8- “Jordana
AMA tu Salud-The Health Fair!”
Today we
packed an overnight bag and our projects for our trip to Juanacatlan to do our
health fair in the mountains. The commute was about 2 hours and was very bumpy
due to the mountainous terrain. Once we arrived in Juanacatlan, we ate at a
small family restaurant where we met the Governor of Jalisco and some
individuals from AMA. After finishing our meal, we rode to the location where
the health fair was conducted and begin setting up our stations. I was shocked
to see the living circumstances of the town we were in and the appearance of
the individuals attending the health fair. Many of the families consisted of
women and children. My partner and I were given the topic Diabetic foot care
and hygiene. We provided several handouts and visual aids on poster board to
better communicate the information since we were not fluent in Spanish. We did have
help from volunteers translating the information and questions to facilitate
with the language barrier. There were several individuals who had to be taken
to the hospital due to their status at the other health hair modules (i.e. High
BP, high blood sugars etc). Overall, my experience today was definitely very
humbling and I realized that there are a lot of things I take for granted
living in the U.S. We ended our day at some cozy cabins in the mountain with a
great meal and some good ole Karaoke to follow before sleep.
5/18/2014: Day 9- “She’ll
be coming around the mountain, when she comes!”
Today we
took left our comfortable cabins enroute to see more of this city as we make
our way back to Guadalajara. It was a fun, relaxing day filled with
sightseeing, zip lining and horseback riding and more shopping of course. We
ate a great breakfast earlier in the day and finished with a dinner at our
mama’s. After that my partner and I met up with a few other students for some
bowling at the mall. The rest of the night consisted of packing our things and
spending time with our Mexican families as it will be our last night in
Guadalajara.
5/19/2014-Day 10
(Last day in MX) “Adios Guadalajara!”
Today we
met at the airport to head back to Dallas for our 2 hour layover and then to home sweet home we go! I
enjoyed this trip and will never forget the people who made it worth he while.
I learned so much about the Mexican cultural and was actually just beginning to
feel comfortable with the language. My partner and I were the first to arrive
to the airport. We grabbed Starbuck’s and waited for the others to arrive.
After receiving out boarding passes we proceeded through security and customs
and boarded the plane.
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sicunurse.blogspot.com are based on my personal opinions and are not
medical advice. The content is for entertainment purposes only. I, surgicalnurse.blogspot.com, do not own, nor did I create any of
the animations above. I did create the captions written above and below them, customizing them to
my experiences along with learning tips I have found helpful in my practice).
