Growing up the Dominican Republic makes one not only aware of the injustices in healthcare enterprises, but also aware of how social taboos can contribute to creating an uneducated and unhealthy society in Dominican Republic, as well as in the United States.
In the summer of 2013, right before I came to the United States, I volunteered for two months at Igualas Medicas, a hospital in the province of San Juan in the Dominican Republic. I did not know how much the poor were in need of medical care until the doctors at the clinic prepared a nonprofit “mobile dispensary”, as they called it, in which for two weeks we went to different parts of San Juan doing free check-ups, surgical procedures, analysis and handed out medicines. During this two weeks, 800 people showed up, about 200 of these got surgery, almost all of them were
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Despite all the patients and diseases that we treated on our journey, one specific patient made me understand that it was my purpose to pursue a career that aims to help and educate the unprivileged. Such patient was 13 years old at the time, she came to us with her mom, who explained that the patient has been itched in her genitals for several months. After examining her the Doctor realized that the girl had genital warts, I couldn’t believe this girl who was way younger than me had these evident warts for months and did not get any treatment or even realized. When the doctor asked her mom if her daughter’s behavior had changed recently, she replied that indeed her daughter was more shy and reserved towards her; however, she explained that she couldn’t take her to the doctor because of the lack of money and
Junot Diaz is Dominican American, and he came from a very poor family with five other siblings. Since they were not that wealthy, they lived in a simple way. Even though his mother was basically the bread winner of the family since his father could not keep a job, she still manages to send money back home every six months or so. When they got home from their vacation, they had found out that someone has broken into their house and stole most of his mother’s money. It was easy for them to be a target because they were recent immigrant, and in their neighborhood cars and apartment were always getting jacked. His mother was very upset; she blamed her children, because she thought it was their friends who had done such a thing. “We kids knew where
When we see patients, we must remember that we are not simply treating a disease. We are caring for people with lives, hobbies, jobs, families, and friends, who are likely in a very vulnerable position. We must ensure that we use the status of physicians to benefit patients first and foremost, and do what we promised to when we entered the profession: provide care and improve quality of life, and hopefully leave the world a little better than it was
The Mirabal sisters were Dominican political dissidents who opposed to the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. These three sisters were assassinated on November, 25, 1960. Originally there are four sisters, but only three were really involved. The three involved were known as Minerva, Maria, and Patria. Belgica Adela Mirabal Reyes is the fourth sister.
Although I respect and trust nurses and doctors, I always carefully observe what is being done with myself or my family members. After watching Josie’s story and being in the process of becoming a medical assistant, I feel this story has given me an initiative to ensure patients and their families are kept safe. The generation we live in is technological, there are many resources for patients and families to utilize to educate themselves when it comes to medical conditions. Some people like to self-diagnose and it makes it harder for doctors and healthcare workers to work with those patients. This is when communication and active listening becomes especially important to work through what is fact and what is misplaced
The novel ‘The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao’, by Junot Diaz gives a very entertaining insight towards many social dynamics that are relevant to Dominican culture, and it fits very well within the scope of the course; and, although it is a work of fiction, this novel is set in New Jersey, and deals specifically with the Dominican Republic experience under the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. From what I’ve learned after reading the first half of this book, there is certainly a lot that can be discussed. Thankfully the book’s versatile portrayal of vivid topics that are seldom discussed shine light upon these many issues that face such an overlooked culture, especially for the American audience.
Having been born and raised in a third world country, I can say with certainty that I have experienced the ravaging effect of poverty and lack of health care providers. I still
Steven Gregory’s The Devil behind the Mirror is a strong book in the field. It offers real and resourceful information on economic, gender and racial oppression and inequality in the Dominican Republic. Although more research should be done on his topics of discussion, Gregory has set in motion a fundamental understanding of the effects globalization has had on specific
The Dominican Republic or also known as La Republica Dominicana is a small island that is 18,816 square miles, located off the coast of Florida. The Dominicans of this land share their island with the Haitians. The island has a subtropical climate, mountains, rolling hills, and fertile river valleys. The economy is mainly dominated by sugar, which still earns much of the country's foreign exchange despite establishment of varied light industries and the development of nickel, mining and tourism. Coffee, cocoa, tobacco, and bananas are also a major export crop. But, despite their seemingly stable economy, and lush landscaping, a vast majority of the estimated 8,603,200 people that live there wish to migrate to the United States. This may be due to the fact that since the time the Dominican Republic was proclaimed in 1844 as a dictatorship, it has come under the attack of bad political leadership, and civil strife. In 1899 the country was bankrupted by civil strife after the murder of Ulises Heureaux, their dictator. Shortly after that the country came under U.S. control. Even under U.S. control the country still suffered from dictators with highly restrictive policies on leaving the island, and harsh economic conditions. These terrible economic conditions only worsened and caused a gigantic influx of immigrants from the Dominican Republic to the United States in the early 80's and even more in the 90's (Hale-Benson, p. 97). The people came in groves to the United States seeking more opportunities and a better life, but they soon learned that they would face many of the same cultural, racial and ethnic barriers that other ethnic immigrants have faced when seeking a new life in a new land. In this paper I w...
"In nothing do men more nearly approach the gods than in giving health to men," this quote by Cicero perfectly describes what the Cuban medical system is attempting to create, a place in which doctors have a desire and drive to not only help people of wealth and stature but also to help those in vulnerable, poor, communities where payment may not be an option. The time in which doctors are compelled by greed and fiscal selfishness needs to end; Cuba is attempting to do this by instilling a new code of ethics to the doctors that graduate from Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM).
Dominicans’ ethnicity consists of Taino, Spanish and African. The native people on the island were the Taino. The Taino were hunter and gatherers who lived off the land. Led by Christopher Columbus, the Spanish conquered the island in 1492. The Spanish overtook the Taino forcing them to be their slaves while killing many in the process. The Africans were then later brought to the island as slaves. Certain traits of these ethnic groups are still present in the Dominican culture, such as the food, language, religion and personality of the people (Goodwin, 116).
The ten leading causes of death among the Hispanic American population are mostly in line with the ten leading causes of death among all Americans. It is more surprising what causes from the American list are missing from the Hispanic American list – stroke, Alzheimer's Disease, and suicide (Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, 2009, 2010). Considering that sixty percent of deaths in the United States are attributable to behavioral factors, circumstances in one's social system, and what and who a person is exposed to in their environment (Nash, Reifsnyder, Fabius, & Pracilio, 2011), it is evident that health care providers must investigate these aspects in order to provide quality care. Recognizing the importance of providing culturally appropriate care, I attempted to determine if there were reasons for what I knew about the Hispanic culture and to discover what things I did not know. I performed a transcultural assessment on Elizabeth, a young Hispanic American female, keeping in mind that caring for a Hispanic American patient calls for developing a trusting relationship through awareness and understanding. In the clinical setting this can be accomplished by starting conversations with small talk and remembering that because a Hispanic person seems agreeable to a treatment plan does not necessarily mean they understand or will comply (Giger, 2013).
Like with the free eggs, free medical supplies appear to be a wonderful gift for people in need. As an outsider, we see an unmet demand for medical help and are eager to jump in and fix the deficit. The problem with outsiders intervening to solve a perceived the problem is that we end up hurting the people who already have a business in that community. Although the current business may not be able to keep up with all the demand, the free medical supplies that the outsider provides disrupts the good that the current vendor is doing for the country’s economy and its
“The only real nation is humanity” (Farmer 123). This quote represents a huge message that is received in, Tracy Kidder’s, Mountains Beyond Mountains. This book argues that universal healthcare is a right and not a privilege. Kidder’s book also shows the audience that every individual, no matter what the circumstances, is entitled to receive quality health care. In the book Kidder represents, Paul Farmer, a man who spends his entire life determined to improve the health care of impoverished areas around the world, namely Haiti, one of the poorest nations in the world. By doing this the audience learns of the horrible circumstances, and the lack of quality health care that nations like Haiti live with everyday, why every person has the right to healthcare no matter what, and how cost effectiveness should not determine whether or not these people get to live or die. Two texts that also argue this idea are Monte Leach’s “Ensuring Health Care as a Global Human Right,” and Darshak Sanghavi’s “Is it Cost Effective to Treat the World’s Poor.” Leach’s article is an interview with Benjamin Crème that illustrates why food, shelter, education, and healthcare are human rights that have to be available to everyone. He shares many of the same views on health care as Farmer, and the two also share similar solutions to this ongoing problem. Leach also talks about the rapidly growing aids epidemic, and how it must be stopped. Like farmer, he also argues that it is easier to prevent these diseases then to cure them. Furthermore, Sanghavi’s article represents many of the questions that people would ask about cost effectiveness. Yet similar to Farmer’s views, Sanghavi argues that letting the poor d...
All four countries are undergoing an epidemiologic transition as treatment and control of infectious diseases continues to improve. However, the major issues that affect each country and how the country has responded to their problems are vastly different. It is funny, but in the midst of writing this reflection, I somehow found myself in a conversation with someone who was horrified by the quality of healthcare in “third world” countries. This assumption that poor countries have horrendous quality of healthcare is not uncommon. Fortunately, these assumptions are wrong. Though developing countries are facing the unique problem of operating a healthcare system in an environment with inadequate resources and public health infrastructures, they have managed to develop incredible solutions. In Latin America and the Caribbean, a combination international and national interventions has been so successful that these countries have the highest percentage of ART coverage in any low-to-middle-income countries (Garcia et al., 2014). Cuba’s WHO health ranking is 39, approximately the same as the U.S. and achieved at a fraction of the price. As countries shift into the third epidemiologic transition, many of the basic systems for obtaining medications and seeing health care professionals are already in place. These four have taken the first important step and declared that healthcare is a right for all, something that even the U.S. has failed to do. Though they must continue building upon their current infrastructure, they have the advantage of hindsight and seeing what has worked in other countries. As we have seen during our study of the U.S. and other OECD countries, there is no one perfect health system. However, I am confident that the health systems that emerge from these developing countries will be one that works for the
The healthcare industry of the Bahamas is divided into two sectors, public and private health care. There are five hospitals, which includes two private hospitals and three public hospitals, and numerous public community clinics along with the many private facilities through which medical services are rendered (Doctors Hospital, 2009). The Princess Margaret Hospital, which is the main public facility, according to Smith (2010) in 1905 was people’s last choice when seeking medical attention. Smith described the then hospital as being partitioned into four areas, “for the sick, indigent, lepers and insane” (Smith, 2010). Smith (2010) further expressed that the medical services were free and those that were financially stable paid for treatment to be carried out at their homes. Today, 108 years later, much has changed within health care arena. Presently, there is an increase in the number of persons resorting to the public hospitals and public clinics for medical attention. For those that are in good financially standings they make use of private hospitals or/and other private medical facilities. While some people may use the public medical facilities by choice there are others whom, because of their income or lack of income, have no other alternative but to fall at the hands of the public services. Too, for many years the Bahamas has had the problem of immigrants from Haiti crossing the Bahamian borders illegally and this therefore results in an increase in the funds allocated for the health care industry. According to McCartney (2010) the Haitian nationals accounted for 11.5% of the Bahamas population, hence adding to the government health care budget (McCartney, 2013). The reality is that the Bahamas is far from winning...