Yeah mon

I'm back from Jamaica. It was a fabulous trip, at least until the last 24 hours. I didn't write anything during the trip so I want to make sure I get it on e-paper now, before the memories fade.
Twelve students, four doctors, and four "Friends of Jamaica" traveled to Falmouth, Jamaica, to run a primary care clinic for a week. We (the students) functioned as triage nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and educators. I think I actually learned more by performing the non-physician functions - reinforcing the importance of taking accurate vital signs, solidifying my knowledge of basic medications, and learning how to convey basic health information despite language barriers. (Jamaicans speak English for the most part, but less-educated citizens speak patois (patwa), which is rooted in English but not entirely comprehensible to my ears).
I also gained experience as the sole provider for my patients. Most of third year consists of gathering information from patients and deciding what could possibly be wrong. This gets presented to an attending who decides what really is wrong and what will be done about it. In Jamaica, I was responsible for my patients from beginning to end, from coming up with a diagnosis to choosing a medication and actually getting it from the pharmacy. I hope that I can continue to see my patients in this light without reverting back to third year ways.
Okay, enough "what I learned on my vacation" stuff. Tomorrow I'll talk more about the fun stuff we did.