Hello again from Costa Rica, this week was full of exciting new experiences in my internship as a field engineer. Monday, we traveled to San Carlos a very beautiful place full of volcanos and hot springs. On this trip, we had a very hands-on task as we had to do preventive maintenance on more than 70 devices in the San Carlos Hospital. Furthermore, the engineers that went with Emily and me were Jesus and Caitlyn that were great at teaching us about testing vital sign monitors using simulators of electrocardiograms. After work, we went back to the hotel which had amazing amenities such as hot springs and a sauna that was heated with water from the springs. For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Tilapias that has very good fish and seafood soups.
Tuesday was again testing more vital sign monitors but we learned how to do preventive maintenance for incubators. Jesus taught us about three different types of incubators open, closed, and portable. Open incubators are used to provide radiant heat to the baby from above or below. Close incubators enclose the baby and have holes in the sides to let physicians do any procedure needed. Portable incubators as the name implies are used to move the baby and usually have ventilators, cardiorespiratory monitors, and oxygen supply. I found fascinating the technology they use to measure the temperature of the baby and based on that the incubator gives the heat needed for the baby.
Wednesday and Thursday were about the same but we learned about portable electrocardiograms and how to test the printer and different functionalities. Something interesting about our experience in San Carlos’ hospital was that we were able to interact a lot with patients, technicians, and providers which gave me some ideas of what needs to improve in the medical device industry. After work, I was able to work out in the hotel gym which was very nice and relaxing for me. Additionally, we ate amazing food in different local restaurants which made me enjoy the trip a lot more. Moreover, Thursday evening we moved to another hotel close to la fortuna which was beautiful with different soccer fields, pools, and a gym. Jesus and Caitlyn took us to two different lakes in which I was able to jump from a rope and swim in hot water. The place had amazing nature and a lot of activities to do which made it one of my favorite places so far, fully recommend it.
Friday was a funny day because when we woke up we realized that one of the tires was flat. So, Jesus and I spend some time changing it before going to work in the morning. At the hospital, we finished doing maintenance of some monitors and at 1 pm we started our ride back to San Jose. For lunch, we stopped in a place called “Doña Ceci” which had a very good olla de carne however it was a lot of food that got me very sleepy. Finally, we came back to San Jose to tell our peers all our adventures on the road. Next week, we are going to be in Limon a place in the Atlantic side of the country.
