structure of the elective
The work week begins on Monday morning and ends Friday at noon. Specific assignments are outlined in weekly schedules. In addition to the direct patient care and educational activities outlined below, it should be noted that participants will be called upon to support all aspects of clinic operation. The following components of the rotation are under the guidance and supervision of the clinic medical staff:
HHCI on-site clinic: The clinic is open three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8am-Noon and Wednesday from 4-6:30pm. The morning hours coincide with the high volume of bus traffic from the remote villages to Punta Gorda for the regional market. There is also a shuttle operated by Hillside to and from Punta Gorda on clinic mornings. With patients arriving to clinic from all areas of the district, elective participants are assured exposure to many diverse cultures. A licensed health care provider must be present to supervise patient care and elective participant performance during clinic hours. Elective participants will work under the direction of the supervising provider to evaluate the patients, design and implement a treatment plan, and document the encounter in the patients’ chart.
Mobile Clinics: On Tuesday and Thursday of each week, the clinic’s four wheel drive vehicles are packed with provisions and driven over unpaved roads through the rainforest to selected villages of the Toledo District to conduct mobile clinics. One mobile during the month is conducted by boat, weather permitting. Presently, inland Mayan villages and coastal Garifuna and Creole villages are served. The Ministry of Health personnel travel with the Hillside team once weekly on mobile to conduct prenatal and well-child care, working side-by-side with Hillside’s general clinic team. Mobile clinics are often conducted with the assistance of a village health care worker, who provides insight into the village, its people, the conditions encountered, and their treatment. All patient care and elective participant performance is supervised by a licensed provider. Community education is part of the mobile clinic, most commonly with students and medical volunteers leading talks in the village classrooms.
Home Visits: Home visits are conducted for the elderly and disabled in the Punta Gorda and surrounding areas to patients unable to access a health clinic. Prior to seeing home visit patients, charts are reviewed and medications are prepared. The home visit program is an opportunity for participants to become familiar with the clients’ lifestyles and to learn how living conditions may impact lives and health. Time is taken for social interaction that is often enjoyed equally by the provider and patient. This program continues to grow rapidly.
Community Health: Health education is an important component of the elective. Participants will be assigned to community health educational projects. These cover a wide range of activities that include education in the local schools, ongoing village healthcare worker educational sessions, HIV/AIDS education to select community members, educational sessions for the elderly, nutritional education for the parents of village school children, educational sessions for parents and caretakers of disabled youth. Many of these sessions are conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Health as well as with local non-governmental organizations. More emergent educational interventions may also take place such as the Ministry of Health asking Hillside to assist with village educational campaigns during a regional outbreak of rotavirus.
Cultural Exchange: Opportunities for cultural exchange are plentiful and help make this elective a superior international elective. Once a week, guest speakers from the local community join the Hillside team for a lunch of local ethnic food at the clinic. The speakers are generally from the local health community and topics range from vector control to local herbal medicine to health traditions. Participants will be transported to the regional market in Punta Gorda for the chance to view and purchase local produce and goods. Typical Mayan, Creole, and Garifuna meals are enjoyed during the mobile clinics into the villages. The weekends are free to learn and interact with the various cultures of Belize, as well as to explore the wonders of the Caribbean Sea and rainforest.
