Wow. I can’t believe the time for my last blog post has come. I feel like during my entire time abroad in Costa Rica, even outside of the internship I’ve learned a lot and have been humbled a lot. Like I mentioned in my first blog post, this was the first time I have ever lived by myself and had to take care of my own groceries, while working full-time in a foreign country. Basically, it was very much akin to a study abroad experience that I had always wanted in undergrad (but never got due to COVID19). However, through all the challenges my cohortmates and I have faced, I had a ton of fun here.
Food Highlights
I of course would like to highlight the yummy eats that I had with my roommates to celebrate the last week! I finally got to using the UberEats gift card that I had won 2 months ago from the Medical Innovation Bootcamp (it feels so long ago now that I think about it!). Since it was my last week and I do think I had my fair share of tico food, I decided to explore the Asian food that San Jose had to offer, especially since our coworkers at Biblica had told us countless times that the Chinese and Japanese food here is quite good (if you find the right places). Pictured below are some bao buns that I got from BAO in San Pedro, as well as some sushi that Jhalak and Katy got for me at the mall. While the sushi was a bit mid-tier for me, the bao was definitely beyond my expectations! I definitely recommend BAO to any future San Jose sojourners in the future.
Two delicious baos – Mongolian beef filling and tempura shrimp filling in the other. The middle is a container of lovely siracha mayo.
20 rolls for $10! What a steal. On the left is a California Roll, and the right is a Crunchy Roll
Also, during our last few days in San Jose, I joined Katy and Jhalak to go to our favorite grocery store, Cuesta de Moras, to get souvenirs for our friends and family. Particularly, I got the brand, Cafe 1820, at a very good price. I unfortunately don’t have a photo of this.
Reflections on Needs-Finding Internship at Hospital Clinica Biblica
It honestly feels kind of surreal as I think back to the girl who nervously and excitedly entered Hospital Clinica Biblica about two months ago.
During my time here with Raniyah, I had such an insightful experience: I rotated around different specialties and shadowed patients, physicians, and hospital processes to identify unmet clinical needs firsthand. With these needs, I then prototyped devices and designed interventions to improve patient outcomes. I also met often with hospital management (Dr. Camacho and Dra. Acosta) to discuss my findings. They were so supportive of our ideas to create change in the hospital, and that definitely motivated us because we felt that we had a true place in this medical setting.
Working in a global health system, I saw how scoping needs was absolutely critical to best understand the problem at hand and inform sustainable solutions that engineers can design. Thinking more about my career pathway, I have realized how lending an ear and opening my eyes to carefully pay attention to seek out issues in clinical settings can shape me into a well-informed physician.
I believe that contextualizing myself in an actual hospital has opened my perspective as to how to best design solutions as an engineer, as well as the flexibility needed to always keep the end user – hospital staff and/or patients – in mind throughout the entire design process. We were able to begin to do this with our low-fidelity prototypes, despite the fact that we did not have as much time to iterate. However, as I continue my Masters, taking bioengineering classes and working on global health projects, I will be better-equipped to work towards equitable care abroad.
Last day of the internship means an obligatory photo with my two amazing mentors and supervisors – Dr. Jose Camacho on the left of me, and then Dra. Sabrina Acosta on the right. Thank you so much for creating an amazing internship!
What I Have Learned from Costa Rica
Here are my top insights from working in a global health facility, as well as a new country itself for an extended period of time.
Life Insights
- Be grateful for what you have! Coming to Costa Rica definitely helped me practice gratitude for the resources and conditions I have in the US
- Show compassion and empathy for others
- Use laughter and humor to confront challenges – sometimes things are so bad that you need to laugh it off
Internship-Centric Insights
- Clinical needs are not always that easy to find. You need to embed yourself within the processes to figure out any inconsistencies!
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help and/or politely question the status quo
- Sometimes, scoping issues from multiple stakeholders (e.g. nurses, secretaries, doctors) is needed to fully understand an issue
- Never assume! Always ask why someone does something a certain way
- Always keep the user in the loop as you design a solution for their clinical need
- When you are interviewing key stakeholders, be sure to NOT ask any leading questions! You do not want to bias them
Moving Out of Selina
Last breakfast at Selina – Hearty pancakes
As I lugged 100lb of luggage up and down the stairs of my hostel (Selina) at 5am, thinking about even the process of checking out, packing my luggage, returning my wristband, etc. was – again – a bit surreal. It was indeed a bittersweet moment to leave to America. I don’t know when the next time I’ll be back in Costa Rica, but as I continue to reflect on this experience, I know I have changed not only as an engineer, but also as a person. I am thankful for everything that this experience has given me.
Of course, I’ll have to end with the famous Costa Rican saying that you can slap on to almost any situation: Pura Vida!