By: Angela Mennecke
A medical mission trip to Ecuador with College of DuPage affirmed Alaina Garcia’s decision to go into the eye care field.
As an aspiring optometrist, Garcia traveled to Ecuador to venture into the health field and learn more about people and culture in different parts of the world.
“During the clinic, I got to witness many unique and extraordinary moments,” said Garcia. “The moment a patient puts on the right pair of glasses and realizes they can finally read and see clearly is indescribable. Being able to help patients and experience moments like these with them has planted a seed of passion in me, and it will only continue to grow from here on out.”
In partnership with Global Health Outreach and with support from COD’s Field and Experiential Learning, Study Abroad and Global Education Office, Garcia, along with eight other COD Nursing and Ophthalmic Technician students and two assistant faculty members, traveled to Ecuador to participate in a medical mission trip. Students spent the week assisting with community health delivery in a clinic in Machala, a city in south-west Ecuador.
COD Nursing student Anna Jarvis said that her experience in Ecuador reaffirmed her decision to study nursing and she is eager to continue working in areas with populations of people in need.
"Many of the patients I conversed with in Ecuador were so grateful to be seen at our clinic," said Jarvis. "A few told me that it had been years since they'd been able to see a doctor. One of the most touching moments I had involved an elderly patient who gave me a warm hug and thanked me profusely for being there. I felt like I hadn't done much. I took her vital signs, asked her about her medical and medication history, and then sent her off to see one of the doctors. She was so grateful just to be seen. Words can't express how affected I was at that moment. It was a truly humbling experience."
It was a life-changing opportunity for our students to experience health care globally.
Julie GarciaAssistant Nursing Professor
Nursing students assisted with health exams by taking patient vitals and aiding in prescription distribution, and Ophthalmic Technician students assisted with eye exams and distributed reading glasses to patients. The team of students and healthcare workers saw a total of 1,791 patients in four days.
“Our students experienced and witnessed things first-hand being abroad in a developing country that no classroom or clinical could provide them in America,” said COD Assistant Nursing Professor Julie Garcia. “It was a life-changing opportunity for our students to experience health care globally. In the future, our goal is to run another medical mission trip with our students and hopefully bring additional Health Science disciplines from the College.”
Pictured above (from left ro right): Mikayla Class, Mitzi Thomas, Nadia Faustino, Brianna Stencel, Julie Garcia, Shelby Piotrowski, Maya Thomas, Ecuadorian paramedic, Anna Jarvis, Trupti Patel and Michelle Class.