BLOG #2!

          When I first arrived in Panama I thought that the hospitals would be similar to what my friend saw when she went on the jungle trip last year. When we arrived to the social security clinic I was surprised at how civilized it was compared to what she told me about. I was also impressed at the level of services they were able to provide. On the first day I was in the OB area where I was able to meet other University of Panama nursing students and observe a Pap Smear. This was different than what I expected because in the United States I have only seen doctors perform PAPs. On my second day I was in the wound area and I learned the most on this day. I didn’t think they would have an area for just wounds so that was impressive. The doctor taught me the differences between each wound so I was able to learn a lot. It was interesting because around ten in the morning the doctors and nurses took a break for breakfast while there were still plenty of patients in the waiting room watching. They had coffee and “tortilla de maiz blanco y coco” and the patients didn’t say a word about the fact that they had to wait. I feel like this is different in America because everyone is in a rush to do everything and don’t like waiting. I feel like the patients here in Panama are more appreciative of the health care than the patients back in the United States. I also thought that the clinics would be a little less “clean” and that they wouldn’t maintain sterility. 

         However, I was shocked to see that my nurse was correcting my sterility and my hand washing. It was surprising to see that they take special precautions to make sure that the sterility is maintained during the wound cleaning to prevent infections. Back in the United States some technicians or nurses don’t maintain sterility as well as my nurse that I worked with in Panama. On the third and fourth day of the clinics I worked in the allergy shots and vaccination areas. I noticed that the doctors were a lot nicer and more pleasant with the students than back home. I figured they would be similar to the doctors in the United States but they actually do more work in Panama and work with the nurses more than what I see at Florida Hospital of Tampa. In the US, I see the doctors come and go as they please and they are not always right there to ask questions or see patients. However, in Panama I noticed a difference because they seemed to be around a lot more and they were easier to find than in the US. Long story short, I have seen an abundance of difference between what I expected and what I saw in Panama. I was surprised to see just how far they have come as a country and I think if they continue at this rate it will be a great thing for their health care system and the people of Panama J