Southern Cross

fatkatz

So finally, here it is: reflections on my community medicine experience. Hopefully in the future they'll help me decide

(these were submitted as a requirement for the journals for the San Juan Batangas rotations)

Community Medicine Journal


October 20, 2009
Day 1 Community Medicine Immersion

It's the first day of the immersion and we just finished settling in into Ate Edith's house in Laiya Aplaya.  To be more accurate, we're getting ready to sleep in a room prepared for travelers going to the resort.  Suffice to say, this isn't at all what I expected of my physical surroundings.  We have a two bed room with air conditioning and electric fan, tiled floors and a lock on the door.  A tiled bathroom with indoor plumbing.  The shoreline is literally steps away.

I found out a few hours ago that we would be staying in this place, and as I listened to people's descriptions (beach sila everyday, may bano, change of sheets, its a resort, parang nakabakasyon) I got to wondering, would I really get the community medicine experience that I was looking for.  We wouldn't be at all 'roughing it.'  Those were my concerns, and I did not whether I should be happy or sad.

But now, I realize, that the practice of community medicine goes far beyond physical surroundings. And that the community immersion is so much more than living in a house without the conveniences you are used to.  Community medicine is about people.  We have to involve ourselves with the people who surround us. Engaging our host to treat us as one of her own is still something we have to hurdle.  I don't believe that I have been deprived of the 'full commed experience.'  In fact, I exprience the community when I speak to Ate Edith and find her slowly coming out of her shell and being more at ease with me.  I find that I learn about the community, their history and their traditions when we sit down and have conversations with the neigbors. We sit and talk, unhurriedly. And I am engaged in their stories. We share ideas andn experiences.

As of now, Ate Edith offers us a separate gas cooking range, wash area and table. This is what she offers tourists, and really, most of the interns who have previously lived with her.  And when we ate, we ate separately in spite of our repeated invitations for her and her pamangkin to join us. It is my hope that one of these days, they will feel at ease enough with us to join us for a meal. 

katz.m.d.