.

Home About Us Speed Learning Latino Health Care Clasical Rotation Acreditation Statement Participating Institutions Cont Medical Education MedSpanish On-Line PreProfesional Summer Programs Medical Student Elactive Resident Elactive Pediatrics OBEYN San Miguel de Allende Guanajuato Baja California Panama Ecuador Tuitions and Cost Activities Apply Now Conta

Pediatrics

The MedSpanish Program provides an outstanding experience in international pediatrics at the General Hospital.  Those with basic to intermediate Spanish excel in this environment.  Those who are absolute beginners in Spanish are initially placed in the Clinic or the Rural Mobile Health Units until their proficiency increases.

As any medical professional dedicated to the field of pediatrics knows, children are among the most vulnerable members of our society. This is especially true when those children speak a different language, belong to a minority group, or reside in a country where resources are scarce. That is why MedSpanish offers programs especially tailored to give students valuable and meaningful international pediatrics experience.  Upon arrival in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, you may begin to work directly at the excellent pediatrics facility of the local hospital if you already have sufficient proficiency in Spanish.

If your Spanish is at the beginner level, there are other options. You can be placed temporarily in clinics or rural mobile health facilities where there is still ample contact with children. Once you have achieved a reasonable level of Spanish, you will then have the opportunity to move to the hospital.

One important thing to recognize, regarding your international pediatrics experience, is that there are different, and not necessarily inferior, ways of doing things in other countries. You may initially be struck by what (by US standards) seems to be inadequate equipment and insufficient training. You may also be unfamiliar with general signs of poverty.

However, once you look past these things, you will realize that you have as much to learn, as well as to teach. Something that many of our participants have commented on is the great emphasis that is placed on family life in San Miguel de Allende. This is an important part of Latino and Mexican culture, and tends to have a beneficial affect on children's health despite their poverty, as love and mutual support strengthen them.

The country of Mexico, I am told, has few resources for health care delivery as compared to the United States.  Both countries, it would seem, have many challenges in this regard.  In comparison, one may ask, “Which country has the healthiest people”? Health is not merely the absence of disease, or access to the finest cures.  Health is about living wholly, belonging to a greater community where your life matters, and being able to depend on others to help.  On balance, I would have to proffer that Mexico may have the healthiest people.  This is not what I expected to learn here.  I will diligently study my Spanish, and let the clinical experiences wash over me.  The main lesson has presented itself to me, however.  I see it in the eyes of the children.