Dominican Republic Medical Service Trip

Kovic Bailey
Global Engagement Center
2016/Fall Semester

Project Summary
As a premed student, I enjoy learning new skills that
will aid in my future occupation. For my EDGE
project I sought out an opportunity that would indeed
give me new experiences in a non-traditional medical
setting. I joined with the Rural Health Scholars
program and traveled to small communities in the
Dominican Republic where we provided free
healthcare services.
Each day for a week we would meet with local
professionals and travel to areas that needed medical
attention. Our free services included: checking vital
signs and blood pressure, diagnosing diseases or
conditions of patients, minor dental work, prescribing
medications, and minor wound care.

Project Highlights

Physician-patient interaction.

Diagnosing patients through physical

examination and listening to symptoms.

Importance of nutrition on preventive-health.

Physician-patient interaction is key in the healthcare field.

Building trust and communication allows for patients to
understand the process of healing. Dr. Sandy is extremely
well at interacting with patients at any age.

Through these experiences, I understand better how

to relate to patients and help them clearly understand
the conditions or diseases they may have.

From My Journal
Today, I decided I wanted to play baseball with
some locals. After I grabbed my glove and bat some
boy pointed to me and waved to follow. I followed
him across town where he took me to a hidden
baseball field! We ended up playing baseball with
about 10 boys. It was awesome!

Baseball is a way of life for the Dominican people.

Providing free health care to patients was nearly as fun
as donating baseball equipment and seeing the smiles on
kids faces while we played baseball with them.