January Extra Blog

This week is pretty hectic, I leave for the Philippines medical mission on thursday and I still have so many things I need to do! packing, taking care of the pets, lesson 2, wrapping up the work I'm missing while I'm gone, and a bunch of other things I need to do to help prepare for the mission, like the group packing taking place later this week. Something I want to note for future reference is how much more work goes into an independently run organization like this because while things like Doctors Without Borders has people who's job it is to organize missions to make sure everything goes smoothly, the doctors who take part on this mission must juggle their regular jobs as well as plan everything themselves. That hard and extra work is rewarded though in the form of the ability to help many many more people and many more types of ailment over a shorter amount of time due to the independency. Thats pretty much all I need to note for now.

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

Content:

*Important to note that for my third interview I planned on interviewing one of the doctors who lives in the Philippines while they are taking part on the mission, that way I can get the perspective of someone on the other end of the medical mission, in that sense, I have tailored my questions to be applicable to that nature. 

1. What is the best way a medical missionary can provide medical aid to people who live in poverty in the Philippines?

2. How did you first get involved in this medical mission organization?

3. How effective do you think these missions are? 

4. What aspects of this mission do you think are unique?

5. Do you think anything can be changed to improve this mission?

6. What is it like living in a country where medical aid is necessary to treat its patients? 

7. What makes you proud to be a part of this mission?

8. What do you think about the idea of teaching local doctors to perform surgeries so it can be done year round? (want an opinion on one of my potential answers)

9. What is your ideal form of a medical mission?

10. What do you do when you are not performing medical missions?

Blog 11 Mentorship 10 hours check

Content:

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?
I am doing my mentorship on various medical missions to Mexico leading up to the final major mission to the Philippines. I am also volunteering at the E.R at Citrus Valley Hospitals, although my training and preparation with my mentor has been pulling my focus on the mission, so I will be resuming my focus on the hospital once we return from the mission as there won't be anymore missionary work to do. 
2.   Who is your contact?
Robinson Duque Baron, M.D. 
3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?  
21 
4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
The ten hours I have done since the Mexico mission have mainly to do with preparation for the medical mission this month. I have been taught to apply sutures and will hopefully be able to apply them on a real person when the time comes for it.
5.   Email your house teacher the name of your contact and their phone number confirming who they should call to verify it.  
O.K
*You need 50 hours plus the original 10 in the summer by May.   The original 10 from the summer do not count toward the 50.  By the end of the year, you will have 60 hours counting that original 10.

Senior Project, The Holiday

Content:

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you over the break with your senior project?
a. over the break, I was taught how to suture an incision and apply stitches, something that I will be expected to do when I take my trip to the Philippines later this month. I have included a couple pictures of my first few stitches for evidence, I did not find it graphic myself, but just a warning.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did and why?  What was the source of what you learned?


a. The most important thing that came from learning how to suture would be preciseness, and by that I mean that when I am making a stitch, there's a part of it that involves only going in halfway through the top layer of the skin, and the problem with that is if I put the needle in too deep, i run the risk of overlapping the skin and making a bad scar, on the other hand, if I go too light, i can tear the skin completely and the stitch would not do its primary job, which is to hold the skin together where there has been a cut. The source of this came from trial and error when practicing my stitching. 

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers of your EQ, who would you talk to and why?
a. At this point, there are several doctors in the Philippines that have acted as liaisons over there ever since my grandfather started the mission, so they would have the best possible perspective being directly involved in the missions and being located in a country where they need that kind of medical help