Experience Summary Post - Mark

I’m in the firefighter training facility in Cuenca, Ecuador, standing in front of 38 emergency system personnel from the city. Over the next week, the pre-hospital communication course my team researched and designed will be taught to all 350 EMS workers from Ecuador’s third largest city with the stamp and seal of their Ministry of Public Health. The training will be led out by...well, me, a foreign medical student, with thankfully an Ecuadorean physician and my student team members right behind me. As I try to gather my thoughts in a second language on a topic I knew nothing of 10 months ago, I have to think - How did I ever end up here?

Growing up, I was privileged to assist on four mission trips to South America, where I became fluent in Spanish, learned to love Latino culture, and found my life calling in global health. Entering medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University, I began looking for experiences in third-world medicine deeper than what a typical trip offers.

The team in Cuenca's main square

When the opportunity arose to help augment a trauma system project initiated in Ecuador by Dr. Sudha Jayaraman, I immediately jumped aboard, eventually convincing fellow first year students Jeremy Carter and Elissa Trieu to join me. Our team’s ability to work together seamlessly while balancing strengths and weaknesses proved vital as numerous inherent trials of international research existed throughout the project. Although mentorship was available when needed, we were often left to ourselves to decide research details. The autonomy proved both enjoyable and, sometimes, frustrating, but gave us an enriching learning experience.

In order to prepare myself to perform the project, I did my best as a first year medical student to study up on the MIVT checklist (Mechanism of Injury, Suspected Injuries, Vital Signs, and Treatment/Time of Arrival, commonly used in United States EMS presentations) we would be utilizing and shadow every part of the top-ranked Richmond trauma system. Experiences included the trauma bay alongside Dr. Jayaraman, hospital communications center, ambulances ride-alongs, and even life flight transports.

The team at Ingapirca Incan ruins

As we read through the previous research, communication presented a key issue in the Cuenca pre-hospital emergency care system. We decided to design an objective study to assess the quality of information passed at three crucial points in the pre-hospital communication tree, based off a form of the MIVT checklist approved by the Cuencan physicians. Using a yes/no checklist, researchers would be at the three stations and confirm whether or not specific information was passed during the verbal presentations.

No matter how much we prepared beforehand, our team could never have done enough to deserve the life-changing experience that was before us. We were privileged to work with Dr. Juan Carlos Salamea, Ecuador’s chief surgeon, Dr. Alberto Martinez, a wonderful down-to-earth emergency physician, and four energetic medical students from the Liga Academica de Trauma Ecuador, or LATE. Their incredible reception of us, along with that of our host family, to the hidden gem of Cuenca cannot be overstated. Beyond the day excursions, food, and cultural lessons, however, was the real reason we came: to improve the existing pre-hospital communications through research.

Beautiful Cuenca

Plans had changed by the time we arrived, however. Not only would we to collect our data within a two week frame, but we were to then present our findings and suggest improvements at a city-wide conference for all emergency personnel. This would be followed by a comparison post-implementation study. We worked diligently with the LATE students to be ready for the new lofty assignment we had been given.

Data collection proved an ever changing beast. Waiting for ambulances at the hospital was taxing, as we averaged about one patient every two hours at that station. Five times we went to the 911 call center hoping to enter; five times we were turned away, needing a different authority’s signature each time before we were allowed to enter on the sixth attempt. However, the EMS personnel were all extremely welcoming and receptive to the work we were doing, making every pain worth it in the process. When the presentation day came, we knew quite a few in the audience, and there was mutual respect and trust for one another in our collaborative work.

Teaching with Dr. Martinez

How did we become qualified to train? We participated in the process. We asked questions. We diligently collected the data and presented our findings. We communicated complaints from those within the system and suggested improvement processes. We presented towards observed specific needs, such as having a Glasgow scoring role play to correct some misconceptions. And above all, we built relationships with people who helped move the project forward that I expect to last a lifetime.

Our "Ministry Approved" card

At the course’s conclusion, an MIVT information card our team designed was given to all 350 conference attendees. The Ecuador Ministry of Public Health gave a literal stamp of approval to the card, with a mandate for system workers to carry it with them at all times. I saw the EMS team’s desire for change exemplified by a 30 year veteran firefighter being the first one to eagerly accept a card and immediately keep it next to his name badge. Each course we taught brought a new wave of incredibly receptive and inquisitive team members ready to listen and improve.

What will come from this experience? I know I have been changed beyond the research opportunity I initially sought, as I am now looking into career options in global health. But this project quickly moved beyond me and my team, and is continuing to grow into something bigger. The Ecuadorean government has requested our presentation be shared with the emergency personnel of the villages surrounding Cuenca, with plans for an annual refresher course in the works. Our updated findings will be shared with physicians in the hospital in hopes they make the necessary changes as well. And my greatest hope is to return to Ecuador someday and see our card in use during a perfect MIVT presentation, our research findings helping to save the life of yet another patient passing through the Cuenca trauma system, the system our labors helped change. 

Mark is a second year medical student at Virginia Commonwealth University and is originally from Logan, Utah. Medical and service experiences in Central and South America have made him fluent in Spanish and shaped his current interests in emergency care and global health systems. When he can get away from the books, he is also an active outdoors man and is the founder of the Medical Student Athletic Club at VCU. He can be reached at hopkinsm2@vcu.edu for further details on the project.