Written by: Carolyn Ramwell, RN, MSN
From the field: Guatemala City, Guatemala

What do doctors, nurses and therapists from Brazil, Canada, America, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala have in common? We are all gathered in Guatemala this week, working together to improve pediatric burn care and outcomes in Central America and the Caribbean with Physicians for Peace. 

Our North American team dodged the snow, fuel discrepancies and a late flight to rendezvous in Atlanta for our flight to Guatemala. Once we arrived, new friends were made and old friends reunited. Our team – which includes a pediatric intensivist from Brazil, is here to teach, lecture and provide bedside care and education in a new local burn unit. Dr. Lourdes Santiso, head of the burn unit, invited her colleagues from Nicaragua and Honduras to share in this educational experience. 

The opportunity to teach and learn here in Guatemala is an invaluable experience of service. For me, it’s a return mission, and the greatest gift is reuniting with nurses who were just beginning their burn unit experience eight years ago. Today, they’ve become fellow educators! In the words of one nurse named[...]

[Published in NonProfitBlogs - Read the original article]