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I recently returned from a month working in a clinic in Chimaltenango, Guatemala and wanted to share a bit about my experience in case someone is looking for a similar program.
http://www.behrhorst.org/volunteer_opps
I spent a lot of time early 4th year looking for a Spanish-speaking clinical opportunity in Latin America. I had already done an Amerispan Salud trip to Costa Rica before starting medical school and knew that I wanted more hands-on patient care this time. Also, I already speak Spanish and didn't want to spend anytime doing classes.
The clinic is located in Chimaltenango, appropriately described as 'gritty' in Lonely Planet. I didn't venture out too much at night, but even when I did to get street food etc. I was never too concerned about safety. I actually found it refreshing to be in a very non-touristy area since I could do that over the weekends. It is also dirt cheap to live and eat there...a good meal can run you between 25 cents and a dollar.
The clinic itself was started to serve the indigenous Mayan population of the area (you can find nytimes articles about Dr. Carroll Behrhorst and there is an excerpt of a book about the clinic on the website for the foundation). It is now a private clinic, although cheaper than most other ones. Many people felt that the care there is better than in the free hospitals. We worked M-F from 8AM to 3-4PM mostly doing outpatient clinic work. There are opportunities to see surgeries and work w/ whichever subspecialty physician you want, although some only have clinic for an hour or two per week. We didn't always agree with the patient care, but there are some great doctors who are interested in teaching and you see first hand the differences in care between the U.S. and Guatemala. Being proficient or fluent in Spanish is very helpful because I think that you would quickly get bored otherwise. We would leave early most Fridays or not even work in order to travel. We spent weekends in Antigua and Panajachel at Lake Atitlan where we hiked a volcano. There are also Mayan ruins near Chimal that are worth visiting too.
One of the highlights of the trip was the family we stayed with. All volunteers stay with the family in a comfortable home (warm water etc). Being able to cook is a definite plus and there is a good grocery store nearby, although there are so many great types of street food that you can easily stock up on that and the family often shares their food too.
You can reply to this post or PM me if you have any additional questions.
http://www.behrhorst.org/volunteer_opps
I spent a lot of time early 4th year looking for a Spanish-speaking clinical opportunity in Latin America. I had already done an Amerispan Salud trip to Costa Rica before starting medical school and knew that I wanted more hands-on patient care this time. Also, I already speak Spanish and didn't want to spend anytime doing classes.
The clinic is located in Chimaltenango, appropriately described as 'gritty' in Lonely Planet. I didn't venture out too much at night, but even when I did to get street food etc. I was never too concerned about safety. I actually found it refreshing to be in a very non-touristy area since I could do that over the weekends. It is also dirt cheap to live and eat there...a good meal can run you between 25 cents and a dollar.
The clinic itself was started to serve the indigenous Mayan population of the area (you can find nytimes articles about Dr. Carroll Behrhorst and there is an excerpt of a book about the clinic on the website for the foundation). It is now a private clinic, although cheaper than most other ones. Many people felt that the care there is better than in the free hospitals. We worked M-F from 8AM to 3-4PM mostly doing outpatient clinic work. There are opportunities to see surgeries and work w/ whichever subspecialty physician you want, although some only have clinic for an hour or two per week. We didn't always agree with the patient care, but there are some great doctors who are interested in teaching and you see first hand the differences in care between the U.S. and Guatemala. Being proficient or fluent in Spanish is very helpful because I think that you would quickly get bored otherwise. We would leave early most Fridays or not even work in order to travel. We spent weekends in Antigua and Panajachel at Lake Atitlan where we hiked a volcano. There are also Mayan ruins near Chimal that are worth visiting too.
One of the highlights of the trip was the family we stayed with. All volunteers stay with the family in a comfortable home (warm water etc). Being able to cook is a definite plus and there is a good grocery store nearby, although there are so many great types of street food that you can easily stock up on that and the family often shares their food too.
You can reply to this post or PM me if you have any additional questions.
