IHSC Spring Break trip to Panama: A successful interdisciplinary intervention

Taken from the ML 09APR2012. *Read the original article  HERE

Sharing experiences with the Hostal manager

International Health Service Collaborative’s (IHSC) annual service trip this past spring break brought them back to the town of Villas del Carmen in the Coclé province of Panama for the second year in a row where they continued their efforts toward sustainable work in the community.  As the only interdisciplinary organization within USF Health with members from all 5 colleges, this year’s trip included a combination of 17 medical, nursing, and public health students.  Five of these students were also on the trip last year, helping to maintain the continuity of IHSC’s relationship with the community.
Building on their success from last year, IHSC once again made a big impact in Villas del Carmen, a small rural town of several hundred families several hours up a mountain.  Key to making this year’s trip a success was Dr. Nydia Flores Chiari, a Panamanian physician who is also a student at USF College of Public Health.  As a licensed physician in Panama, she was able to treat patients, write prescriptions, and act as an attending physician for USF medical and nursing students seeing patients.  In total 85 patients were seen for everything from leishmaniasis, to hypertension, to severe dehydration, with some traveling for as long as a day on foot to reach the clinic. Continue reading →