Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH
Almost 16 years after being in the United States of America as a physician, we visited our birth country—Philippines. An 18-hour flight seemed nothing compared to more than a decade of being away. The excitement to speak in Tagalog again, touch Filipino patients, and heal the people who cannot afford to pay private physicians motivated us to plan this medical mission for more than a year. The partnership with the local municipal health officer and the mayor made the collaboration easy. But no! The process of applying for temporary medical licensure, recruiting local physicians who would be available while we were there, and sending the medical supplies from the US was not pain-free and fast.
In the midst of the humid summer, we arrived on site, armed with our American way of training. Yet, we were not in America. We were ready to screen for cervical cancer. There was no liquid-based cytology. Not all beds had stirrups. The local health center used the conventional glass slides and hair spray as fixatives. We had to use a rolled towel to lift the pelvis up while the women’s legs were in frog-leg position. We used a flashlight to illuminate the pelvic area. We learned their way of doing it, which was their right way.
They were the expert and we were their partners. We were there as extra hands. In eight hours, with five physicians, we did pelvic examination and pap smear on 219 women. It felt like an assembly line with the community health workers doing the intake history-taking, then we did the speculum and pelvic examination, then another team of health workers doing the fixation, labelling, and packing.
It flowed very smoothly. Nobody complained. Patients waited for their turn with smiles on their face. One glass slide broke during the packing and the patient came back with no signs of disappointment. She eagerly went to the examination table since she already knew the drill.
Clearly, we were not the superhero in this mission. We were impressed that with very limited resources, how could they make this process worked so well. How community health workers who had elementary or high school diploma be an effective and efficient part of the health care team. They were empowered.
We concluded with a better understanding of ourselves and how we could mutually learn and support one another. The adaptability, resilience and community engagement during the medical mission in the Philippines shed more light to me. Health care collaboration was a meaningful and sustainable experience when resource-rich countries partnered horizontally with host countries. Letting them lead their right way, and we would follow along.
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