Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM) and DOCARE International recently partnered in a 10-day humanitarian effort to provide health care services to remote areas of Guatemala. Over 1,000 patients were treated by members of the medical outreach endeavor. Medical Mission 2008 to Guatemala comprised a volunteer medical contingent of 20 licensed health care specialists and 30 NSU-COM students.

Fourth-year NSU-COM student Gayatri Menon (left) and DOCARE volunteer Derek Liu from Michigan prepare to perform some lab work on a Guatemalan child. The temporary clinic was set up at a local fire station.

“This is the ninth year that NSU-COM has gone to Guatemala on a medical mission,” said Chuck Green, president of the NSU-COM DOCARE student chapter. “An enormous amount of planning went into this mission, along with fundraising which allowed us to purchase bulk vitamins, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen wholesale for direct distribution to our patients in the Atitlan region of Guatemala. The health care team also included two translators who often times needed to translate Mayan to Spanish to English and back.”

Guatemalan villagers wait to be seen at one of the makeshift clinics.

Although the participants, including the students, paid their own way and missed classes or office hours, the rewards far outweighed the sacrifices. “Sometimes the mission seems overwhelming when added to our other duties as medical students,” Green stated. “But we loved it. It made us stronger and better prepared for our future work in helping the underserved of the world.”