It amazes me at the difference that a political border and about forty miles can make. As people living in America, and not to say that we do not have our own societal healthcare discrepancies, we often take for granted the fact that when we get sick or have an injury, with most of us living within a few miles of a place in where we can receive proper and high-quality care. Drive an hour south of UCSD and being in a similar situation is likely to have a completely different journey. Tijuana Progresso, a community that is undoubtedly underserved medically-speaking, is one, however, that does not take healthcare for granted. In fact, it is actually quite the opposite. Our monthly pop-up cl

The night before the first English Language Class I was sifting through the printouts of animals with English labels, trying to memorize their names in Spanish. “What am I even doing?” I remember thinking. How could I, someone who doesn’t know any Spanish and had little interacted with the kids in Tijuana Progresso, possibly engage the children and teach them English. It felt like one of those crazy ideas where you keep questioning how you even got into the idea in the first place. Once I was at clinic, standing in front of 15 little confused and hesitantly grinning faces, all fear and anticipatory anxiety disappeared. We laid out a table full of makeshift craft supplies and the kids were ho

Currently I am on the Pharmacy team within IHC. At first I though that the team would mainly consist of counting pills and getting sponsors to help fund the needs of our patients. Although, I quickly realized and fell in love with the community outreach aspect of our team. Not only do we desire to gather the medications necessary for our patients, but also wish to teach them about the affects, characteristics, and purpose of their drugs. This is the aspect of medicine that truly excites me. When people step out of their way to educate and allow the patient to truly understand their conditions and prognosis, rather then simply handing them pills and telling them it will get better. The lack o

The road to my first clinic was a long and difficult one. Despite being nineteen and away from home, the consent of my parents is always needed before I start on any venture that is outside of my comfort zone. At first my parents were very apprehensive, the news and stereotypes of places like Tijuana do not lend it to being a very favorable place for parents to allow their kids to go to without them. Yet, with numerous phone calls and information from various IHC members, I was able to finally convinced my parents into allowing me to go. When we arrived to the clinic, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The building was small and the set-up was minimal, but definitely prepared. Then I procee

Since I had joined IHC I had been looking forward to my first clinic trip in Tijuana. When the day came I was so excited to finally experience what everyone had been talking about. The day started out bright and early as we all met up to heard to the border. The trip to the clinic reminded me a lot of the time when I went to Afghanistan. The sights and sounds seemed very familiar to me. When we reached clinic the new IHC members were given a tour and then we went straight to work. My first rotation was triage where we I helped take vitals with Nelson and Cynthia (Shout out to Nelson and Cynthia :) ). We saw many patients during the triage but this little guy in the picture particularly stole

I attended clinic for the first time months ago in the summer but had been unable to attend for the rest of the year because of my new job. When signing up for the May clinic, I was both excited and nervous to be in Tijuana again. I didn't know if going back would feel like a familiar experience, or if it would be a lot of me relearning things I had learned in the summer. I woke up at 5am the morning of, ready to pack a lunch. A mistake I had made last time was not packing any food at all and I wanted to make sure I could learn from my experiences every time. The weather in Tijuana was hot, but not as hot as the first time I went which was something I was grateful for. My first rotation was

“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members” Coretta Scott King This past weekend, I attended my second clinic and although it was only my second, I had one of the most beautiful and memorable experiences yet. The day started quite early, but being surrounded by members who radiated enthusiasm and excitement was able to wake me up! Being immersed in a positive environment where members were eager to get the day started really made me excited to work alongside them during clinic. Nonetheless, I knew it was going to be an amazing day. All the fun started when Audrianna, Thomas and I were informed that we would be ubering to clinic. Yes,