March 19, 2014

Guatemala trip is life-changing for Belmont pharmacy students

By Mignonne Bryant
| mbryant@tennessean.com

In a Guatemalan hotel, 23-year-old Belmont University student Gena Curl carefully unpacked all that she had brought from Nashville. A wave of doubts swept across her mind: “Am I going to be able to do this? I’m by myself in the pharmacy. Can I handle this?” Curl knew no one in this foreign place and barely spoke the local language, but the experience changed her life forever.

In October 2013, Curl traveled to Guatemala City as a fourth-year pharmacy student to provide free services at the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center — an opportunity offered by Belmont University’s College of Pharmacy, which partners with the Shalom Foundation and BUCOP Medical Missions.

According to Phil Johnston, dean of the pharmacy school at Belmont, roughly 25 students go each year to one of two locations: the surgery center in Guatemala City or a clinic on a coffee plantation in Antigua. Both locations are enabled by the Shalom Foundation. The building in Guatemala was remodeled and created as a surgery center by people from Nashville.

“It’s a sustainable service,” said Johnston, who had visited last year. “It’s one that we feel safe in providing, and it’s at a level that our students can handle.”

For a little over a week, Curl and a team stayed in a nearby hotel and worked at the Guatemalan pharmacy from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“Our students actually learn how to set up the service, run it for a week, and close down the inventory and to work with a group of people they’ve not worked with before,” Johnston said.

Curl’s ophthalmological tasks meant assisting those with vision impairments. In the case of lazy eye, for example, Curl and the team were able to treat and fix the muscles. Her responsibilities included getting anesthesia kits and eye ointment ready, post-op and pre-op orders, answering phones, and her favorite part — being with the Guatemalan children.

There were some challenges, however, along the way — particularly regarding the language barrier.

“I found myself acting things out a lot,” said 26-year-old Ken Carver, who went on a the trip last year in June. “And it was surprising how effective that could be.”

For 24-year-old Mandy Newman, who recently returned from her trip, technology came in handy.

“I literally took my iPad out,” Newman said. “I had the iTranslate app, and I typed in English what I was trying to say so she could read it in Spanish. So then she wrote in Spanish and translated it over to English so I could understand what she was saying back.”

Another challenge students encountered was a shortage in medication. In instances such as this, Curl said she had to ask herself: “What alternative could I give this child? If we don’t have the Tylenol, what else could they take because they’re in pain?”

Despite the difficult situations, the trip had its share of breakthroughs. For Curl, such was the case with little Daniela, who was less than a year old with a large, dangerous tumor — the size of a tennis ball — on the side of her head. She was brought into the pharmacy, and the tumor was removed.

“It was so worth it – every bit of it,” Curl said.

She is returning this month to work at the Antigua plantation clinic. Once there, Curl will be providing medical care, teaching CPR to workers, and more.

“I’m even considering moving to Guatemala after I graduate. I mean, it was just incredible. I’ve never felt more alive than when I was there,” said Curl.

Newman feels the same way. “I’m going back, hands down,” she said. “I was already missing it and I hadn’t even left yet. I plan on going back next year.”

Belmont may be expanding its pharmacy mission program through other organizations in order to accommodate the growing number of students eager to participate. “We’re going to most likely establish additional locations around the Central America to do this,” Johnston said.

Carver said he and his wife intend to return to Guatemala to continue working with the Shalom Foundation.

“The bottom line is that we’re all human and we all required and we all deserve quality health care,” said Carver. “And being able to provide that to a generally underserved population was an exceptional opportunity and something that I will never forget.”