The following is part of the essay I´m required to do for the internship. I hope you like it....
I do not know if I will ever forget the person in bed 323. His name was Arturo, and he was just one of the number of patients during my memorable first day at IMSS hospital in Morelia, Mexico. I first met Arturo when I entered his room and a group of doctors were discussing his condition and different options for treatment. I had difficulties understanding the Spanish, but I did not need it. I knew it was serious. The doctor told me that Arturo had fractured his femur and sustained massive neurological damage in a motorcycle accident. Three hours later, I went to check on Arturo with Dr. Guadelupe. This time his family and girlfriend were there. I stood there painfully watching his family discuss his condition with the doctor. I could not understand their words, but the expressions on their face could not hide their pain. An hour later I could not get Arturo out of my mind. Wondering whether he would be able to communicate again or walk again, I asked the resident about Arturo´s future. She gave me a thumbs down and told me he was probably going to die soon. I knew he was in bad shape, but I thought we could do more. That day I learned a crucial lesson - medicine is incredible, but it has its limits. The reality of being a doctor is that you are around people who are dying everday.
While the experience with Arturo was not hands-on, Dr. Guadelupe gave me the opportunity to clean and re-dress some of the patients wounds. The patient with the diabetic foot was my first patient and the most memorable. Despite wearing a mask, as I pulled back his dressing of the day before, I was over-whelmed by the smell of rotting flesh. When all of the dressing was removed, I realized he was missing a good portion of this foot. Where there should have been two toes, I could see straight to the bone. After applying iodine and disinfectant to the area, I recovered the open wound. While this might be a simple task for a resident, I was excited to be able to deliver medical treatment to a real patient.
As a public health major, I could not help to evaluate the IMSS system and the Mexican health care system as a whole while I was there. Mexico has three branches to its health care system. There is a baseline care provided to all Mexican citizens. While only useful for emergencies and serious illness, it does provide free universal health care. The second is ISSSTE, which is health care provided to all federal employees. The last in IMSS, which provides health services to all employed persons in Mexico and somewhat resembles the U.S. Medicare policy. While I cannot speak to the first two, the IMSS hospital in Morelia was packed with people. The literal line was 2 or 3 hours long. In the U.S., you may have to wait to see a doctor, but usually you are sitting in comfortable lobby with a magazine. In the IMSS hospital, you have to stand. Another striking difference was that there were at least 2 patients per room, usually 3. Privacy is a lesser concern. I want to note that despite these differences between health care and Mexico, the Mexicans at the IMSS hospital in Morelia do a lot with the little they have. That hospital is always working at maximum efficiency. Quality of care might be lower in Mexico, but they do a great job at reaching the masses of people on a way lower budget. I must point out that Mexico spends 6.2% of their GDP on health care, while the U.S. spends 15.2%. One can only imagine how good the Mexican health care system could be if it had the kind of resources available in the U.S.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4MwPQTxnc1c
First Day (After)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CVMBZTTvl2g
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