FOUR DAYS, FIVE NIGHTS, 750 PATIENTS
U-M Medical students put Health in Action in the Dominican Republic
They work from 9 a.m. until dusk and see more than 750 patients in a four-day period.
“We’d like to work more, but we can’t because there’s no electricity,” says Krisda Chaiyachati, a second-year U-M medical student, who went on a Health in Action medical mission to the Dominican Republic last spring.
Chaiyachati and three of his M2 student colleagues—Lindsay Hampson, Terry Shih and Ariana Nelson—will lead this year’s mission, the fourth trip to the Dominican Republic.
When the students arrive, they take over a one-room schoolhouse, constructing examination rooms by draping sheets from ceilings and setting up a pharmacy. After four hours of setup, they’re in business. They prioritize patients, take medical histories, conduct physical exams, present patients to the attending physicians and work with the attendings to diagnose and treat patients.
On the fifth day, they take down the sheets, break up the pharmacy and leave the remaining medicines and supplies with a local community leader who has been trained as a nurse so she can dispense them as needed. Looking at the schoolhouse after the group leaves, it’s as if the team was never there, except for the fact that 750 patients have received critical health care.
 “We show them that someone cares about them,” Hampson says. “Many of the people never see a doctor except when we come.” And many come a long distance for this care.
This year, all of last year’s U-M student participants will return, along with a new crop of 11 first-year students, and faculty physicians James F. Peggs, M.D., professor and senior associate chair, Family Medicine, and Priscilla L. Woodhams, M.D., F.A.A.P., clinical instructor, Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases. The group will be well-armed with medicines and even more toothpaste and toothbrushes than last year, and they’ve been working hard to raise money and spread awareness of their mission in the community for the past few months.
HIA gives U-M Medical School students an international opportunity that enhances their clinical skills and cultural competency while providing underserved communities with medical education, prevention and care. As patients stand in line to be seen, students educate them about the importance of maintaining good hygiene so they can get along better with the minimal health care they do receive.
“Things we were learning in class were incredibly applicable. I was more ready for this experience than I thought,” says Shih of his experience last year.
Students contribute about $800 of their own money for airfare, food and personal items. They are encouraged to pack all their personal items in their carry-on luggage so that their two checked pieces can carry supplies.
“Last year, we had 35 boxes completely full of drugs and supplies,” says Hampson.
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