Hi guys! I just finished Week 1 of my summer internship experience at Hospital Nacional de Niños with Apple and Alex, and I’ve been loving it so far.
I actually got to shadow Dr. Bogantes (our neurologist manager) the week prior during the Needs Finding Workshop, so I definitely felt more comfortable navigating around the hospital and interacting with him. Going into this experience, I was really apprehensive because my tolerance for young children is quite low. However, after last week, I found myself really enjoying my interactions with them. Many of them are quite shy and sometimes you’ll get the occasional chatterbox, but surprisingly, nobody has cried yet! (At least in Dr. Bogantes’s office.)
Last week we sat in on his morning consultations and got to see his interactions with the patients and their parents. Having been to a neurologist before, I thought I knew what these consultations would look like, but I wasn’t expecting the wide variety of patients Dr. Bogantes saw on a day-to-day basis; from children with cerebral palsy or epilepsy to a grown woman with a swollen optic nerve. Although I’ve been enjoying the clinical observations with Dr. Bogantes, I can see that this profession is really draining—it’s very hard to see children diagnosed with incurable conditions that often become worse and worse over time. I was thinking about writing about some of the examples that we’ve seen, but for the purposes of this blog and patient confidentiality, I’ll save it for my personal journal.
Dr. Bogantes has been really kind and accommodating, and it’s clear that he wants us to get the most out of this experience. Even though he is constantly bouncing between patient to patient—I swear this man never rests—Dr. Bogantes arranged for us to learn about different medical devices that the neurology department uses frequently. We learned the basic mechanics of electroencephalograms (EEGs), electronystagmography devices (ENGs), and Doppler ultrasound devices for sickle-cell patients. He’s even planning on taking us to the UCR cadaver lab to go through some anatomy lessons, so I’m looking forward to that. At least, I think I am…
On a brighter note, our first real weekend in Costa Rica was packed with a full excursion to San Carlos. A friend from the previous week’s workshop and bootcamp, Will, offered to give us a tour of the beautiful attractions around San Carlos since he was visiting family for the weekend. On Saturday, we hiked up the Volcán Arenal with Will and his sister, Sarah, and I met the most adorable little critter called a pizote! (I really want to get one tattooed on my leg before we leave Costa Rica.) Then we had had an amazing lunch of Caribbean chicken and rice, and afterwards, Apple, Alex, and I went to an interesting hot spring location—an experience unlike anything we imagined.
William and our new pizote friend!
On Sunday, Will invited us to his family house for a traditional Costa Rican breakfast, and later we went to see the Rio Agrio waterfall in Bajos del Toro. The waterfall is probably my favorite memory from Costa Rica so far because it was the first time I saw the Costa Rican rainforest and its natural beauty.
Will, Alex, me, and Apple at the Rio Agrio waterfall
I believe that’s the main summary of my first week as a Hospital de Niños intern! I’m really looking forward to the weeks to come and whatever adventures they will bring.