When we arrived at one the Bateys for the first time, there was a sense of timid responsibility mixed with self-doubt. Over a hundred worn faces sitting and standing around the cinderblock shelter stared at us and waited quietly as we filed in dressed in scrubs with stethoscopes around our necks and otoscopes in our bags. We were supposed to help provide healthcare for this tiny village, even though many of us had never taken histories/exams or developed plans with English-speaking patients in the United States. It was exciting, but also terrifying!

And yet, after quickly moving through the first patient jitters, it was amazing how fast you develop a rhythm. Running through pertinent questions, practicing thorough exams, then working straight into an assessment/plan in that environment produces a flow out of necessity. We could have taken breaks, but besides a 15-minute lunch, I didn’t want to. The Batey conditions, and the people who live there, inspire you to work hard; we were at that specific Batey only one day and everyone needed to be seen.

This was exactly the experience I was hoping for. It gave the opportunity to complete full patient work-ups in rapid succession, present to our attendings under time constraints, practice critical thinking in a resource-limited setting, and provide care for people who have been frightfully neglected by the current system. For example, we gave a 62 year-old man prescription glasses for the first time and watched as his grin spread ear to ear as he looked over his family. A 7 year-old boy with asthma and an awful sounding inspiratory wheeze was given an inhaler as well as a spacer fashioned from a plastic water bottle and scalpel. His mother added he had been hospitalized for his breathing in the past but had never had access to an inhaler or nebulizer treatment in the Batey. And even more importantly, both these patients were given referrals to be seen by an ophthalmologist and primary care physician respectively for future longitudinal care.

Ultimately, it was an experience of a lifetime and I’m supremely grateful. Not only did it significantly advance my cultural horizons and medical education, but it also gave the opportunity to meet 19 awesome medical students for the first time and 4 wonderful physicians. The bonds developed over adventures like these are worth keeping, and I plan to stay in touch with them all.                        

Name: Benjamin Cavanaugh
Status: Medical Student
Major: Osteopathic Medicine
Hometown: Lynchburg, Virginia
Program: Global Health: Dominican Republic - Clinical Immersion