Philippines Transcultural Trip

 We did it! We made it through 90+ clinical hours, working alongside some pretty amazing teachers (residents, interns, and attending providers, along with nursing and other healthcare team members). This morning, we were invited to attend a luncheon with some of the nursing and physician staff members, where we were each awarded with a certificate of completion.  After lunch, we all packed up into a bus and drove to Subic, where we will all relax and enjoy some much needed sunshine on our final leg of the trip. It was a fun, celebratory, sunshine-filled day for all!  

Today marks the last day we will have clinical in the Philippines! I think I can speak for everyone in saying our last clinical day here will be bittersweet- we have learned so much from the residents and their way of practicing here at Mary Johnston Hospital in Manila.  We have seen a lot here that we may never see back in the United States, including treatment of dengue fever, gastric round worms, and adrenal tuberculosis. Some of us have also gotten to test out some skills with the surgical team, like suturing, intubating in preparation for surgery, and even circumcisions.  The medical team has also taught us with many lectures and zoom meetings about how to treat hypertension, OB skills, normal delivery of an infant in the hospital, how to manage liver diseases, to name a few.  It was amazing feeling so welcomed by so much of the staff and team- inside the hospital and out! I think we have many takeaways from this trip to MJH that we can incorporate into our future pr...

      Getting to the home stretch of clinicals and we are all getting more comfortable and easing into their flow! I was in surgery today which apparently is the best on Mondays because it is the busiest! Because it is a learning hospital the rooms are full of people observing and the residents and nurses are really great explaining everything!      Later in the evening we went out with some of the residents and got drinks on the rooftop of the Admiral Hotel! We watched the sunset over the harbor and it was so beautiful! I sipped a spicy margarita that I am still thinking about because it was so good!! Its been great getting to know these residents over the past week and a half, its going to be hard to say bye :(.     

Today we only had clinical rotations from 8-12, so it was a nice short morning for all of us students. The rest of the day was spent shopping at the Greenhill Shopping Center in Metro Manila. We were able to purchase a few souvenirs and enjoyed all of the aromas from the many food stands. We also enjoyed some appetizers on the patio at a restaurant near the mall called Arcana. Shopping was followed by a buffet dinner at a cute restaurant called Guevarra's. Guevarra's is a Filipino themed buffet restaurant. We enjoyed many dishes such as angus beef tapa, bellychon, and dessert of course. After a long day of learning, shopping and eating we were all tired and immediately crawled into our beds and got some rest for the next busy day ahead :)

The weekend is here but rest and relaxation aren't just yet! We all started the day in the hospital for the summary on the patients and the status of the hospital prior to rounding. After making sure the patients were stable and rounding on the emergency room, all of the students were able to connect with the residents on a more personal level.  Although we aren't Acute Care NP students, we are learning a lot from all of the doctors and the residents. However, some of us are also learning more about the culture! That OB department is definitely showing us the culture of eating and sharing food. Nothing a good workout can't balance in the hallways of the dorms.  Since it was the weekend, we did get a chance to break out and see the "man made island" of the Philippines. It is a part of the city where the previous areas of water were filled in and the city was expanded on top of it. We got to eat a Korean buffet dinner and take a walk on the boardwalk.  On to more ad...

Today, we got the opportunity to go outside of the city to work at a free clinic in a very rural area of the Philippines. The patients here had minimal access to healthcare and resources. Fortunately, this clinic was developed to help get patients in this area some of the care they need; such as dental care, medical consults, and medications for common medical conditions for both pediatrics and adults. With the help of hospital staff, resident, and providers from MJH, we were able to overcome language barriers to assess patients and help manage their care. It was overall a truly heart-warming and humbling experience.                                                  

Another day at Mary Johnston Hospital! We all went to our designated floors again today and were able to experience different areas. Tracy was able to intubate a patient and the ER was busy all day with patients. After dinner we were able to do a make shift workout followed by a late night pizza ordered in from a local shop. We are starting to feel more comfortable here and really adapting to our roles here. Tomorrow we are going into the community and have to be up at 0500 so it was an early night for everyone. We all look forward to a humbling experience tomorrow!  Practicing dance moves on break in OBGYN           Hospital inpatient room on OBGYN floor at MJH .                                                                            \

     Second full day of clinical! We have become more comfortable in our roles and learning how the residents operate. Each day we are sent to a different location to get different feels for each area! Keeps us on our toes!! The residents have been so nice and welcoming which is great in a foreign place. Looking forward to more days!       After clinical we had the best day!! We got to go to Chinatown to eat amazing street food and do some shopping! We got to ride in these trikes to and from where every one of us had a huge grin on their face! This definitely filled our need to get out and explore!

 First full day of clinical in the books! Following breakfast, that of course included rice, we split up individually. Today we all were separated into our different departments within the hospital (the same departments that we were with yesterday). We all had the opportunity to see patients in: pediatrics (in patient and ER), internal medicine, outpatient (outpatient dispensary, or "charity"), surgery, OBGYN, and ER. A few of us had the chance to visit with some interesting cases that were definitely eye opening in comparison to our usual primary care cases in the US.  After clinical today, we were able to explore the neighborhood surrounding the hospital, including visiting the well known, Jollibee (essentially a KFC type fast food, but in Asia), Goldilocks bakery, and one of the oldest Catholic churches in Manila (Archdiocese of Manila). It was so wonderfully eye opening to see where the locals are coming from as these are the patients we are treating in the hospital. ...

 First day of clinical is in the books! Started the day with orientation, learning about the history of the hospital we will be at the next 2 weeks. The most interesting part was the connection between Mary Johnston Hospital and Minnesota - the hospital was founded 117 years ago by a St. Paul, MN native!  We were then split between different departments; internal medicine inpatient and outpatient, the emergency department, surgery, OB/GYN, and pediatrics. Each day we are paired with a different provider, typically medical residents. Everyone has been welcoming (and we even got to see a surprising visitor in the patient rooms- a stray cat running around!). 

 Dr. Laurel Ash with Tracy, Kelsey, Caitlan, Anna, Melissa, & Sarah

Ready... Set... JET!  In a word, exhausting. In several, super overwhelmingly exhausted. The Agenda:  Minneapolis to Incheon, South Korea South Korea to Manila, Philippines Airport to the Hospital Housing Unit BED What ACTUALLY happened:  Minneapolis to the Runway, back to the Gate 2 hour delay Minneapolis to Incheon, South Korea Sprinting to make the connecting flight  Sweating and cramping onto the Korean Air flight Korea to Manila, Philippines  Getting settled Bed... kind of The DNP Group was packed and ready to go at about 6am with those "pre-flight" jitters and excitement. Heightened with coffee everyone made it to the gate and on the plane without issue! The day went fast but a few of us were having a hard time with remembering that we actually lost a day during the flight. We'll figure it out though!  The second day, Sunday was packed with cultural events and a beautiful (and delicious) dinner at a rooftop bar. We took great photos at the cultural si...