Pre-Trip Self-Reflection

Last March, I was sitting in the lecture hall, getting ready to listen to another lecture on one of my most favorite topics -- infectious disease -- when two students walked in and gave us a mini-presentation about their trip to Belize the previous January. These students told us what the trip entailed and that because the trip was a huge success, another was being planned for the following January, with an elective being offered to prepare students for their 'adventure' in Belize. Right then and there, I knew that I wanted to do it. I knew that it would be an experience that would help me grow as a person, increase my confidence in my skills that I have tried hard to hone over the past five years, and be able to help people in need, which is what I strive to do most in my life.

Prior to hearing about the course and the mission trip, I am ashamed to admit that I had little-to-no information about the country; I only knew that it was a country because I remember seeing them at the previous Summer Olympic Games. As we started learning more about the history and culture of the country I felt myself becoming more interested and amazed at the pride that Belizeans had; I was especially amazed at their desire to maintain a national identity, while keeping with and celebrating the traditions of their ancestors. This really captivated me, because it reminded me of Native Americans in the United States, and the barriers that they have to overcome in order to maintain their identity.

Throughout the class, we had several student-led discussions/presentations on various topics, and one of these topics included comparing the health systems of Guatemala, Belize, and the United States.  If a Belizean has a medical problem, they are more likely to go to a Traditional Medicine Healer than to a Hospital or Health center; this could be due to the impaired availability of Western Medical clinics or simply to the cost of Western Medical Treatments.

This is drastically different from the way in which the majority of Americans act; of course, some will prefer to self-medicate with herbal medications prior to seeking treatment, however when looked as a whole, the majority of Americans will prefer to take a synthetic medication rather than an herbal product. When in Belize, I hope to take advantage of this situation in terms of being able to experience first-hand the types of herbal and natural medications which both my host family and others utilize for their most common ailments, as I am extremely interested in herbal medications and ethnobotany.

During the time when we were introduced to the entire pharmacy practice faculty in our third year, we were given the generic talk about "not learning simply for grades, but learning for your future patients." Even now, I sometimes find myself having a hard time remembering the future patients I will be treating when exams loom above my head.  However, this course has forever turned on a primordial switch, which has given me the ability to look at my schooling from a different perspective; its allowed me to truly appreciate the impact that I will be having on my future patients. I look forward to going to the wonderful country of Belize to not only experience its beauty first-hand, but to impact the lives of Belizeans.