Since there are no pharmacy liscensing boards in the country, anyone can practice as a pharmacist. The native pharmacist that work there are nothing more than what we would think of as clerks. You tell them what you want and they get it off of the shelves. So in the clinic that I work in, it is a huge improvement from what normally happens. A doctor actually writes the script and the pharmacist (or students as the case usually is) fills it and doubles checks and counsels and all of the stuff that we typically do.
No, I do not get compensated for this. I go with a non-profit organization called Shoulder-to-Shoulder Ecuador that is a local group. We are now taking two trips every summer and they are trying to make a November trip a common thing also. We also have a 4th year student who is there on roatation right now and we are also hoping to make that a every year thing.
