A group of students from ICOM spent a portion of their summer break serving medical brigades in Belize and Honduras, where the future physicians helped run a free clinic over the course of a week.

Organized by Global Brigades, an international non-profit organization and the largest student-led movement for global health, four ICOM students had the opportunity to provide free medical care and hygiene education in medically underserved communities.

Student Doctors Whitney Durocher, Luke Merritt, and Christopher Peterson, all second-year students at ICOM, served their medical brigade in the community of Cowpen, Belize, alongside undergraduate pre-medical students from the University of California San Diego. Over a three-day span, approximately 180 patients visited the free clinic.

“It was very busy and it was a very needed [medical] brigade in that community, where the nearest medical and dental assistance is more than an hour away by bus,” Student Doctor Whitney Durocher said. “We saw patients of all ages, from three-months-old to almost 90-years-old.”

Students focused on intake and triage, completing patient interviewing and taking vital signs, and say the opportunity to gain real-world experience through this medical service trip was extremely rewarding.

“I lived in Montana my whole life before moving to Idaho and haven’t traveled outside of the country much, and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to experience this,” Student Doctor Durocher said. “It was really rewarding to be able to meet these people and give them the medical help that they needed.”

Due to scheduling conflicts, student doctor Eric Hanzel, also a second-year student at ICOM, served on a separate Global Brigade trip to Honduras alongside aspiring medical students from Tufts University.

“Being able to experience what different communities around the world and see how they face health care is an important perspective for me as a medical student,” said Student Doctor Eric Hanzel. “My favorite part was the connection that we made in the community. We’re not only going there to provide medical care, but we’re trying to establish a sense of trust and relationship with the community members.”

Set up in a school house, Student Doctor Hanzel said the clinic was comprised of five stations for patients — triage for intake and vitals; clinical setting with general providers for treatments and consultations; dentistry for cleanings and extractions; a pharmacy; and health education workshops.

ICOM’s Global Brigades chapter is one of more than 460 chapters worldwide, and Student Doctor Hanzel says participating in a medical brigade gives students an opportunity to gain a global perspective on healthcare.

“This is an excellent opportunity to not only see what healthcare looks like in different areas of the world, but also be able to gain a valuable perspective on what you’re learning and how to apply it to a broader system,” said Student Doctor Hanzel. “It’s an amazing opportunity.”