volunteer work in Mexico

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whitey

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Yo,
As a white male in southern california I should really be considered a minority since I am one, but since the PC rules are not set up this way I need to do something that enhances my diversity rating. To this end, I was thinking about doing volunteer work at a mexican hospital. This would allow me to polish up on my spanish while getting some more volunteer experience and make me seem more diverse. Does anyone have experience working/volunteering in hospitals in Mexico? If so, how did you get your gig.
- A.W.

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Actually, at least for California as a whole, caucasians constitute 45%, hispanics 35%, asians 12%, and blacks 6%.

I haven't gone down to Mexico on volunteer work, but an advisor once told me about something called Flying Samaritans that seems to fit the bill.
 
I actually worked in a hospital in Oaxaca (southern mexico) for two months when I was studying abroad in the summer and it was a great experience. It seemed like they really needed us (vs. the states where sometimes it seems like we're more of a liability) and I had a lot of direct patient contact (i.e. giving sponge baths, helping to clean wounds, along with the usual changing sheets and making beds), which I think looks really good on the app. I volunteered in a really poor hospital serving the outlying rural areas, so the contrast to hospitals here (at least the one in my hometown) was pretty stark.

Also, I think having some experience in medical Spanish, whether fluent or not, is a very desirable trait, esp in urban med schools.

hope that helped
 
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IceBoy,
You are right, in California as a whole there is a plurality of caucasians, but the same is not true of LA county, where I live. Here the population is 45% hispanic and 31% white. In case it matters. I had to look these stats up. I don't go around quoting the racial break down of my county as a habit. I also want to make it clear that I could care less if the population was 90% hispanics or korean or whatever. I just think it is silly that I am considered in the majority in a state where my ethnicity is just a plurality and in a county where it is a minority.
However, since I want to practice medicine in southern california, I think that it is crucial for me to speak some Spanish. It would be ignorant of me to think that if I wourked in, say, an ER that I wouldn't run into spanish speakeing patients. It just isn't practical for me to say something narrow minded like "Well if they live in our country they should speak English."
I didn't mean to start a debate on afirmative action anyways.
So moving on, has anyone who doesn't speak spanish fluently worked in a Mexican ER?
A.W.
 
try this organization, Manos de Ayuda: http://www.manosdeayuda.org/

They are based out of Tucson and run monthly trips to Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point), Sonora. I went down with a group from the U of A, many of whom pre-meds who go monthly. There were also some students from Southern California as well, and physical therapy students from USC, I believe. It is a great program that reaches a lot of people. My experience was really rewarding and I wish I could have gone more. You do not need to speak Spanish, though you will get to do more if you can. My Spanish is not great but I was able to get by.

Also, consider volunteering at a public hospital. By volunteering in the county hospital in Tucson on weekend evenings I spoke a lot of Spanish since the patients were 98% Latino. And even in a place like Tucson there were few people on staff who spoke Spanish so the opportunities were there. I imagine you can find similar opportunities in the Los Angeles area too.
 
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