IEPROES AND MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY IN GUATEMALA

29 June, 2022 Esther María Rivera Cortez Array

In June 2022, some students together from the Specialized Institute of Health Professionals and Morgan State University, USA, traveled to San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala in order to carry out academic internships within the framework of the Global Health Program.

During their visit, the students worked with local communities, having the opportunity to learn about their health system, their culture and also had English and Spanish classes according to their needs.

Miguel Martinez, a Bachelor of Nursing student expresses more about the internship: "I am grateful for this opportunity, for being able to interact with two cultures at the same time: from Guatemala and the United States. Regarding the academic aspect, I was able to practice my knowledge acquired in the field of health when we joined the Health Unit to provide assistance to some patients. Culturally, it was impressive to see how in these villages they still practice and transmit their cultural cornerstones to their relatives. My advice to students is to learn a of a second language because being a bilingual professional opens many doors, so in this experience I was able to help break this barrier with the students of Morgan State University in the Medical Day being an interpreter between them and the inhabitants of the place, let's take advantage of the education the institution provide to us, It is a complete education and of great value as they are at the forefront in the field of international health"

Norma García, a student of Health Psychology said: "This internship in Guatemala gave me the opportunity to help, in addition to participating in the medical day on site, we visited the community house by house offering assistance in the field of health and putting into practice what I learned in my career, this was a new challenge in my professional life. I also had de opportunity to attend English classes which really helped me a lot. Culturally, learning about cotton dyeing and how the moon influences them was a great learning experience and added to my knowledge. I recommend IEPROES students to be motivated to participate in these opportunities as we expand our knowledge not only academically but also culturally, and it is important to learn from the health system of other countries and how we can contribute positively to them."