 The Summer Medical Institute |
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- Training a new generation of healthcare providers - |
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About Us SMI Bible Studies Resources Other
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SMI - Mexico Outreach
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Project Managers Brief the Team Students making up the Project Management Team manages the logistics of each Mexico and Texas outreach. They assign students, translators, and faculty to two clinic sites in Matamoros. We pray and then depart in multiple vans. |
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Partnering with Churches We partner with various churches in Matamoros, joining them in their outreach to their surrounding community. The churches are able to follow up and disciple those who wish to find out more about the Gospel we share with them. It is often encouraging and humbling to see the love that these sisters and brothers have for God and for people. |
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Mobile Clinics We quickly take a lay of the land and transform the church into a functioning mobile clinic. Sanctuaries become waiting rooms, and rows of benches are moved to form triage, consulting, and pharmacy centers. |
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Welcoming The welcoming team greets patients as they enter the church, taking their basic information and maintaining the waiting list. Others from the team spend time with the children as they wait, playing games, drawing pictures, or perhaps singing songs. |
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Triage At the triage station students take patients' heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar level, temperature, respiratory rate, and chief complaint. All with the help of translators, of course. |
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Consultation As students will have the opportunity to shadow a doctor as they consult with the patient. Other students are runners, guiding patients and communicating with welcoming and the pharmacy. Though sometimes we are unable to provide all that patients may need medically, we have hope in the Gospel for all. |
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More Than Just Medicine Doctors also take a spiritual assessment and pray for each patient. We see the impact on patients when the doctors themselves share the Gospel and not just medicine. Spanish Bibles are available, as well as time to talk to the church's pastor to ask questions or receive more prayer. |
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Pharmacy The last stop for patients is the busy pharmacy. Medicines are all free of charge, as are the vitamins that are given to all children who come. Many parents bring their families just for the free vitamins, which are expensive otherwise. |
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Patient Care and Instruction Verbally explaining how to properly take the medication is as important as carefully writing Spanish instructions. Here a pharmacist helps instruct a child on using an asthma inhaler. |
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Making New Friends SMI is a wonderful opportunity to interact with the translators, visiting faculty, Valley Baptist faculty, local church members, patients, and fellow team members. Despite the hot weather, here two play ball in the church courtyard. |
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Debrief & Prayer After dissembling the clinic and packing up the vans, we share our experiences from the day and pray for the patients and the church. Many fall asleep during the van ride back to Harlingen. |
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(C) 2005 The Summer Medical Institute |
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