Reflection

Now that I have returned home and have gotten a chance to reflect on my whole community abroad experience, I have come to realize how fortunate I was to be able to go on such an unforgettable, once in a lifetime trip. This trip has not only widened my eyes on how other third-world countries live, but has given me the opportunity to become a better, well rounded nurse. Upon coming on this trip, I knew slim to no Spanish. I literally only knew the phrases “Hello” and “Thank you”, and how to count from one to ten. That was it. Most of the other students who went had at least some knowledge of Spanish, whether they were fluent due to their family background, or had a small background in it from high school. I, on the other hand, was one of the few that had no familiarity in it whatsoever. Going into these communities, I found the communication aspect of it very, I wouldn’t say frustrating, but rather just plain difficult. A big part of being a nurse is communicating with your patients and educating them about their problems. I wasn’t able to do any of the above. Most of the time while in the communities, I felt as if I was constantly surrounded by “jibber-jabberish”. If a translator was not right by my side, I had to solely rely on the nonverbal ques I picked up and any type of communication I wanted to partake in became part of a hand guesture/pointing game.
During our trip, when I would come across an individual who spoke English, particularly when we were traveling through Boquete, I found myself to be overjoyed. Just to hear someone speak in my own language and to be able to understand what they were saying was such a nice change and made me feel more at ease. I think this is one of the many, and best lessons I have taken away from Panama. When I become a nurse, or even now while in clinical, and come across a patient who does not speak English (which I have many times before), to really take the time and go the extra mile to communicate with them in a way that’s easy for them to understand. There are so many services out there and available to them that there’s really no excuse not to use them to help the patient feel more at ease at a time that’s hard to do so. This trip for me has really made the aspect of communication in nursing a huge priority in my care.