“Although I have spent considerable time in Mexican communities, both in the United States and in Mexico, I gained a new perspective this month straddling the border at Brownsville. Thank you for this opportunity to learn a deeper and further insight into my community and into myself.
“The other side of the river. The other side of the country. The other side of the world. I look forward to these challenges and I am excited about the journey that lies ahead of me. Thank you for this opportunity to learn a deeper and further insight into my community and into myself as well. I will look forward to our continued contact as I begin this process and will keep you informed along the way. Best wishes to your continued endeavors and success with this incredible rotation.” — D. Harris, MD, Georgetown University
“I believe I do a better job of asking questions of my patients now. I don’t pry, but now I realize I need a better understanding of their backgrounds in order to serve them well. I am a better physician, because I now go beyond the diagnoses of illness and include the concepts of circumstance.
“Community for Children helped us to achieve competency as advocates on multiple levels. The things I experienced during this elective lit a fire in me to take up new crusades for children’s and adults’ rights, including health care.” — J. Genuardi, MD, Christiana Care-Delaware
“Community for Children is designed to begin to help physicians change the world, little by little, by exposing problems and giving us the tools to build better solutions. I am grateful for this experience!” — A.Thyssen, MD, Driscoll Children’s Hospital
“Community for Children has allowed me time. Time to listen, really listen, to the world around me. Time to consider problems larger then my daily patient load and time to ponder a solution. Time to reflect….” — D. Dow, MD, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
“The Community for Children program helped me decide on working with Hispanic patients. I want that to be my priority. Also, going on house calls in Brownsville and in Mexico has strengthened my resolve to include this in my future practice. It not only informs me as a physician, but also fills my heart and soul….I sincerely thank you for allowing me to experience a month like no other during my medical school years. The images, the people, the stories. They all made this such an amazing experience.” — S. Frasser, MD, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
“I‘m grateful for the chance we had to interact with and learn from the plethora of physicians, researchers, community mentors, etc. Everyone, had an important point of view to share, and welcomed us graciously. Thank you for giving us this space to step back, to feel less alone, to remember why we wanted to become doctors, to listen to our hearts. It has been an invaluable experience.” — B. D’Amico, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
“My experiences in Mexico proved reaffirming, yet redirecting. Yes, I need to learn the language and culture. However, that’s for my comfort. I feel like an outsider because my culture treats them like outsiders. The gracious way I was accepted in Cd Victoria taught me that I did not need to be less white for them. They were fine with my whiteness, my broken Spanish, and my ignorance. If I have the patience, they can teach me what I need. I know that now. After this rotation, especially the experiences in Victoria, I feel comfortable giving preference to the continuity clinic choices that feature a predominantly Spanish speaking population. I will learn; they will teach me.” D. O’Banion, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
"I could not have been happier with our week within the community. I would highly recommend that some element of the things we did be incorporated into the program, even if the participants are permitted to go to Mexico in the future. Painting the shelter with some of the people who lived there really enabled us to hear some of their stories and to learn more about what it is like to cross the river and be undocumented in the US. I also loved participating in the diabetes classes and getting to interact with the adults in the community, because they help to shape the future of the community for the children who live there. I am honestly glad that we couldn't go into Mexico. While it would have been a good experience, getting to hear the stories of those who are trying to make it now that they have arrived is just as central." — S. Lusk
“I expected a rotation where I would meet other wonderful med students who are into reflecting on their med school experience as well as have positive outlook towards the future & this course definitely fulfilled these expectations. The course definitely exceeded my expectations in the amount of useful information I learned (even in my senioritis mode) – the cross cultural understanding gained from unique experiences like visiting with the curandero and the detention centers were powerful & I shall carry these lessons with me to residency.” — C. R. Na
“I think it was a good balance of hard work and rest/reflection time; anything more and we would have been beat, but less and we would have been bored. I do recommend the elective within elective week for students with similar ideals and who want to stay and serve in Brownsville. If they have specific advocacy issues they want to learn about or discuss with professionals, then I think the road-trip would also be beneficial.” — R. Taylor
“I loved the combination of different experiences and perspectives from the detention center visit to the curandero to the various lectures from the School of Public Health. I felt overall that I got a very comprehensive idea of health at the border.” — S. Staley
“I ended up liking the reflection component of this rotation the best. It was something that could be awkward or silly and instead it was so meaningful and made the rotation complete for me. It was nice to get to take something home that means something to me, and to see what means a lot to the other students as well. The reflection component definitely set this rotation apart from other typical rotations, and allows us to take something huge from the month and apply it in the future as well.” — R. Taylor