Hard to believe how fast time has flown by! It seems as if it was just yesterday when we all arrived at Rice and introduced ourselves to everyone in the GMI space. Now, two months have flown by and I am back at home in Houston.
In retrospect, I really enjoyed my time in Costa Rica. While there were ups and downs, I will always look back at this time with thankfulness and in awe at the memories that I made and the professional experiences I gained from my internship.
Signing out from Selina
La Ultima Semana
My last few days in Costa Rica were filled with wrapping up my work in Hospital Clinica Biblica and doing dome souvenir shopping. In the hospital, Laurel and I spent conducting clinical needs finding in and around the Emergency Room department. As we completed our last few assignments and projects, we had final meetings with our doctors, Dr. Camacho and Dra. Acosta, in which we presented our final presentation of our findings and work. It was a little sad knowing that our days of going to the hospital and working alongside the staff there was coming to an end. Despite Hospital Clinica Biblica being a large hospital, the nurses, doctors, and even the custodial staff had begun to recognize us and we seemed to fit in with everyone there. From our very first rotation in the microbiology and pathology lab to our last rotation in ER, I can confidently say that I have become more familiar with the process of clinical needs finding and low-scale prototyping. I was also able to practice Spanish and am really happy to be able to gain proficiency in speaking Spanish in a clinical setting, something that I was intimidated of at the beginning. After work, I went to a number of local shops such as the Pura Vida souvenir store to purchase souvenirs to take back home. In addition to a small wooden cup, most of my gifts were food items like chocolates and Lizano. Aside from work and souvenir shopping, I also enjoyed spending time with the Selina crew as we watched movies and enjoyed the beautiful Costa Rican scenery on the rooftop of the hostel.
See you soon Costa Rica!
Every Detail Counts
I am really glad I had the opportunity to experience working in a private hospital in Costa Rica for my professional internship. Having volunteered in public hospitals in Houston, working at a hospital in Costa Rica was quite different. The process of patient transfer from various parts of the hospital as they obtained medical care to the way the staff (nurses, doctors, custodial staff, interns, etc.) worked, to the different instruments and technologies used expanded my perspective of healthcare and medical device innovation. Before this internship, I had never really performed clinical needs finding and I still didn’t quite grasp its relevance until I began working in Hospital Clinica Biblica. Conducting clinical observation and needs finding allowed me to identify important clinical problems and generate needs statements based on their understanding (which was developed from interviewing multiple people, analyzing data records, and literature reviewing). Afterwards, I assessed the impacts, marketability, and feasibility of the solutions to those unmet clinical needs by discussing the low-fidelity prototypes with my doctors and staff there. Through this process, I learned how important small details are in identifying clinical problems. From the way a patient interacts with the hospital staff and moves around to the different areas of the hospital, to observing the types of care provided and the technologies used to care for the patients, to understanding the aftermath of patient visits every point of contact is worth examining. Asking questions and repeating the process of observing the same specialty for a number of days allowed me to understand the way the department worked and identify clinical problems better. I enjoyed this process, and I definitely believe that it is a critical skill to obtain in medical device innovation!
On the Other Side of Things
This international internship experience will certainly be one of many highlights of my master’s degree at Rice! Going to Costa Rica this summer was the first time I had visited Central America and also the first time I had traveled on my own. From doing grocery shopping and bargaining at the Central Market to walking to work alongside the Ticos there to making gallo pinto and being gradually accustomed to the Costa Rican lifestyle, I am thankful to have the opportunity to experience a unique culture and a beautiful country. While the first couple of weeks were a little challenging, the trip gradually began to get better after starting my internship and developing a daily routine. Spending time with the GMI cohort as we explored Costa Rica on the weekends and the small things in between such as exploring local restaurants, creating new recipes in the hostel kitchen, and meeting new people, I learned to become comfortable with change. Pursuing an international internship experience helped to expand my perspective to the way medical care is delivered in a different country. On a more personal note, I also learned how simple life can be and that things are not always as bad as they seem (I guess I got to experience the true meaning of Pura Vida!). Stepping outside my comfort zone allowed me to embrace new challenges and experience growth in my intercultural competence.
With the new experiences I gained, I am really excited and looking forward to beginning my classes in the fall at Rice.
Houston, long time no see!
~ Raniyah Nathani