My Experience in Panama

Now that we have been back home for a few days, I have had some time to reflect on my experience in Panama. I cannot say how many things that I have learned from this trip and the memories that I have made. This trip made me re-think what I want to do as a nurse. There is so much more to nursing than I imagined and I have found that I would love to travel around the world and help various communities as much as I can. At first, seeing the way some of the people lived in the communities was very disturbing to me. Hearing what the Women of the communities have had to live with and their way of life was also difficult to comprehend. Knowing that one day that we may be able to make their lives a little bit better whether it is through health promotion or establishing structure within their community really made all the difference. This trip was very full-filling and really opened my eyes as to how fortunate we really are. I have many favorite parts of the trip but I especially liked being able to work in the communities, with the children and the women when conducting surveys. The health fair day was also a great experience. There is not one part that I liked any more than the other. I think Dr. Cadena said it best when she described Panama as "a small country, with a big heart." I really enjoyed my time in Panama and I cannot wait to begin my next adventure!