Do you know the feeling that feeling? It’s an itch in the back of the mind: “They aren’t telling me everything”. Sometimes it’s subtle, just a whisper of suspicion, but sometimes—as is the case for the Healthcare System in Costa Rica—it’s a painful cacophony of undiscussed and pointedly ignored needs. What you won’t find on the first page of Google when searching “Costa Rican healthcare” is the fact that the country has grown in population by 25% in the last 20 years and the hospital and clinical infrastructure has not. What perhaps once might have been a well-supported, appropriately-sized, and adequately-funded care system is now struggling to keep up for the needs of a modern country with modern diseases and modern treatments.
The last week has been an exhausting but meaningful hunt into these struggles. Our goal was simple: ‘find the needs of the healthcare system’ but the physician reactions, hospital analysis, and surgical sit-ins we conducted proved that the underlying problems were anything but straight-forward. It was during this week that the true meaning and application of this graduate program has become clear.
Global Medical Innovation – creating mechanical and digital systems in the medical industry that are applicable in a global setting.
Costa Rica is an upcoming first world country. The bio-tools and technology available to patients are on par with those in the United States. The problem, that which is not discussed on the websites applauding Costa Rican universal health care, is that the infrastructure on both a structural and digital level of Costa Rica does not allow the average citizen access to these technologies. This is where we can make a difference: the creation of tools to better bind and streamline hospital practices.
With the first week in Costa Rica officially behind us, I feel like I have a better understanding of how to apply my own knowledge this coming year and how it will correspond with the projects we will champion. There is an exciting buzz of possibilities for immediate improvement and the ability to make a true difference within this system. But, that being said, with week two looming I look toward my internship with St. Jude. I have my worries of course but I’m looking forward to beginning.
For now, I leave you with a stormy Costa Rican sunset. After a long day of clinical cardiac observations, research interviews, and a four-hour drive, it’s easy to let the haze of exhaustion cloud the beauty of the natural landscapes. This summer is a trip for work, learning, and discovery but it’s impossible to not appreciate the stunning views of this small, tropical country.
Until next time,
Jeannette Nelson