DOCARE International N.F.P., Nova Southeastern University Chapter

Explore - a beautiful colonial city and the center of the Earth.

Serve - where there is true need.

Teach - motivated and committed osteopathic medical students.

Learn - of Ancient Mayan, Incan, and Andean culture and new ways of healing.

Rediscover - your sense of purpose, a feeling of peace, and your hope in humanity

Thank you so much for your interest in NSU-COM and DOCARE’s trip to the Amazon of Ecuador in the Spring of 2008. Whether you found out about our mission through a professional publication, are an alumni of NSU-COM, or work with one of our students, we are so proud to offer you an amazing opportunity for professional and personal growth. Please read on for details. This information is accurate at this time, but as one would expect with large groups and international travel, this is tentative. We appreciate your patience and flexibility as we work to prepare for this mission.

Cost: $1,500 all inclusive cost including air fare, most meals, and accommodations

Applications: Applications will be available electronically in November and will be due Dec/Jan 2007

Locations: Quito, Baeza, Quijos, and Tena-Napo Amazonica of Ecuador. We will visit a variety of clinics in these towns. Our home base will be Hosteria San Jorge

Group Size: approximately 20 physicians/NP/PA, and 40 students. Our goal is a 2:1 student to doctor ratio to maximize the learning experience for the students.

Types Of Physicians Needed: primary care specialties including Peds, Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Optometrists, Dentists, Pharmacists, ER Physicians, etc.

Special Skills: Spanish Speakers are extremely helpful to us! Interest in Osteopathic Manipulative medicine is also a great asset. At this time we are not planning to offer CME credits.

How To Prepare Now: Make sure your passport is up to date and consider vaccinations recommended for travelers by the CDC website. We recommend anti Malarial prophylaxis such as Malarone, Aralen, or Doxycycline. Vaccines recommended include Typhoid Fever, Yellow Fever, and HepA/B. And of course start setting money aside as applications will be due soon.

What You Can Expect: Although we see patients in some remote locations, our accommodations are quite nice. You will have hot water, shower, three meals a day, bottled water, and a bed. Students share rooms, but physicians can have private or semi private rooms. We expect to see about 2,500 patients over 4 days (about 30 clinic hours). Much of the trip requires bus rides to reach our destination. We travel from the capital city of Quito and work our way east into the Amazon basin, seeing patients, taking in the scenery, and sight seeing along the way. We visit sites specified by the Ecuadorian government to be in extreme need and are areas of true poverty. Last year we most commonly saw patients with: parasitic infections, fungal infections, acute infections, and musculoskeletal pain. Unique cases included multiple patients with AAAs, Leischmaniasis, Scabies, and blindness in twin girls due to maternal Chlamydia.

For fun we visited the beautiful colonial city of Quito, Ecuador, rode inner tubes down a tributary of the Amazon, hiked through a beautiful section of rain forest, bathed in the natural springs of mountain water, and enjoyed cultural presentations from a traditional Shaman medicine man and the Children’s Performing Arts School of Baeza, Ecuador.

What Our Students Expect From Their Preceptor Physicians:
We are very grateful to have physicians volunteer to work, teach, and explore with us. This is a special opportunity for physicians to remind themselves of why they became a doctor. Also, students who join this mission are very committed to learning and advancing their clinical and communication skills so you can be sure you will have enthusiastic, hard working students at your side! Students hope to be challenged by their preceptors in an encouraging and positive manner. We hope that physicians who join us enjoy teaching students, sharing, working hard, and exploring. It would be an honor to have you join us and help us provide much needed medical care!

If you have any further questions or would like to forward a name of an interested individual,
please contact our physician recruitment director, Katherine Lumpkin. We also have a national website at www.docareintl.org.

"My medical missions with DOCARE were an invaluable experience. They provided insight into the medical conditions of underserved countries and helped remind me, in the throws of physio finals and biochem exams, why I entered med school in the first place. I would highly recommend DOCARE medical missions to all students."

"Being able to work in medicine beyond US soil has been such an eye opener. To have the privilege to work with doctors taking time out of their practices to mend and heal the impoverished people of Ecuador was life altering for me. I remember how lucky I felt each night we were there, being able to go to a nice hotel room and sleep in a comfortable bed. After seeing so many children with engorged bellies, filled with parasites from contaminated water, I felt thankful to be receiving clean water with each meal. Even after returning home, the things I use to take for granted, like having an Advil readily available, or being in a climate controlled environment was like luxury. I want to return and meet the people of Ecuador again. I cannot thank them enough for allowing me to learn medicine in their beautiful land and for teaching me the art of compassion."

"The passion and drive to be a catalyst in healthcare can be reinvigorated with a trip down to South America. During your amazing yet brief stint on the medical mission you are exposed to a large gambit of pathology, an opportunity to test your critical thinking, and most importantly explore the warmth and kind nature of each and every community you visit. As a student, the medical mission, takes you outside of the classroom, and afforded the time to engage your clinical practicum skills, and contribute in your own way to the improvement of each community member's health. From women's health, pediatrics, the elderly, to unique infectious diseases, this trip will certainly not only make you're a better osteopathic physician, but engender and nurture a humanistic approach to medicine, relatively lost in the united states. The medical mission is truly an awesome experience that will change One’s outlook on life and the way you elect to practice medicine! Pura Vida!"

"The medical mission to Ecuador that I participated in during Spring 2007 was the most humbling and educating experience of my life. I went to medical school wanting to learn how to provide others with care and until I went to Ecuador I didn’t feel that I had learned these skills. This trip changed my life. As students it is easy to get caught up in the daily life of studying; this much needed break brought all of us back to the magic of medicine. We were able to help those far less fortunate than ourselves while enjoying travel in South America. I am grateful for DOCARE and the opportunity to take part of such an amazing journey!"

"I was lucky enough to help out in both Guatemala and Ecuador last year. While the two missions were quite different, they both shared some on the same inspirational moments. In both countries there were instances of our doctors and students finding serious life-threatening conditions that required transportation to a medical facility. Sometimes we could arrange it, unfortunately sometimes we just had to hope they would listen. On both missions there were many families that were able to sleep much better because we treated their scabies, intestinal parasites, and upper respiratory tract infections. We learned so much. We learned about medicine, about empathy, and about the responsibility that accompanies the great knowledge and skills we work so hard to obtain. In the short intervals between our clinical work and bedtime we were exposed to their cultures, their hospitality and their gratitude. We played soccer with the children, took pictures holding the babies, and talked with people about the differences between our cultures. And of the similarities. When I was sitting on the plane as I flew out I wondered if what we did for the good people of those countries came close to compensating the richness of the experience we received. I hope it was. I am grateful."