Recently the Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP) Master of Physician Assistant Studies (PA) students and faculty completed their second annual 10-day service trip to Guatemala where they helped over 500 locals. The students and faculty provided medical care for locals, trained local firefighters, and taught local families about the importance of nutrition.
This year’s trip was led by Travis Layne, MPAS, PA-C, Principal Faculty/Instructor for the PA program and Student Association Advisor and Bryan Nelson MPAS, MMS, PA-C, another Principal Faculty/Instructor for the PA program. Along with the faculty, there were eight PA students who volunteered: Madison Groberg, Rachel Hamilton, Krista Yardley, Kierstin Lealiiee, Maite Antola, and Brad Miller.
Layne stated, “This was actually our second year to go. Last August, we went as part of a larger group through the coordinated efforts of Katie Walther, who is the director of Humanitize Expeditions. Because of that positive experience last year with our PA students, we developed the idea to [create] our own RMUoHP PA team, which included two faculty, six PA students, one medical assistant, multiple interpreters, and Katie.”
During their time in Guatemala, the students and faculty stayed at a local orphanage in Los Robles but also spent a lot of time traveling between nearby communities during the day. A typical day consisted of driving to nearby villages and setting up pop up clinics in empty schoolrooms or warehouses. Each student and faculty member would either work as providers to triage patients or at the pharmacy station. Locals would come from all over the village and line up outside of the clinics to wait for their turn to be seen. The largest number of patients our faculty and students saw in one day was around 85.
Layne added, “We also provided a Basic Life Support update for the local bomberos (firefighters). They basically provide all emergency care including medical, fire, and rescue services to a large area of coverage. We also had students provide diet education to a group of about 30 mothers and their children who receive food supplementation on a regular basis there. They discussed the importance of nutrition both for pregnancy and breastfeeding.”
Students and faculty brought medical supplies and medicine to treat the patients they would be seeing. Even though the volunteers brought supplies from the U.S., PA student Krista Yardley stated, “Sometimes we had to think outside the box for treatment options because they were very limited. This trip taught me to be creative and resourceful.”
PA student Madison Groberg valued her experience in Guatemala. She stated, “I really loved how much autonomy we were given. Students were able to triage the patient and provide treatment all on their own. It was an amazing introduction into primary care for students since we were able to use what we [have] learned to treat many people in a safe atmosphere where any little thing we did could help. I felt like I was able to make a difference in people’s lives because we were given the responsibility to care for the patients.”
Layne pointed out, “The importance of service-learning opportunities is always the same. Help others where you can and when you should and also learn to be an empathetic provider.” RMUoHP strives to provide these types of opportunities for our students because they are invaluable experiences that will help them become better healthcare providers in the future.
Author Talia Blatter
