Posted July 27, 2016 by
Tags:
Internship Global and Experiential Learning
From Chi-town to Qui-town: My Medical Internship Experience
As I begin writing this blog post, I suppose it’d be best to tell you why I decided to do Wheaton’s Student Ministry Partners (SMP) program in the first place. To be honest, the way it began was with a search to find a dependable living situation for the end of the school year. Though I grew up in a loving home with a wonderful single mother and five amazing siblings, living situations since high school have unfortunately been difficult to depend on; so I began with this goal in mind when applying for the SMP program as well as others.
My interest in the SMP program was solidified when I heard from a fellow student that this was “hands down” some of the best medical experience she had ever come across in her time at Wheaton. As an applied health science major and with these recommendations in mind, this trip to Quito, Ecuador seemed to be the perfect option.
I prayed, interviewed, waited, and was accepted. God’s work is truly marvelous in my eyes.
The places we have seen and incredible teachers we have had here--from doctors, nurses, and physical therapists to our supervisor Mika--could not have been more masterfully orchestrated. The best part about this trip for me has been getting to watch at least 12 surgeries in the course of 3 weeks. Although I’ve always had an interest in surgery, I have now seen this interest matched with a forward-looking desire for more exposure to this field of medicine. Not only this, but I have been able to work in a children’s hospital shadowing nurses and doctors as they provide emergency care for suffering children.
For Wheaton’s work in preparing us to come to Quito, I am incredibly grateful. Being abundantly provided with prayers, seminars, sessions with our teams, as well as wonderful direction and mentorship from a student who has done the exact same program made each of my teammates and I feel equipped and excited to come and experience the incredible hospitals and clinics Quito has to offer. Even with the challenges in hearing about attacks back home in the States and what friends and family are having to deal with as we are abroad, we have all loved each other well and cared for and spoken to one another carefully and honestly. That was without a doubt an answer to my prayers before coming here to Quito.
I can only hope future Wheaton students have the experiences that I have had working with Living and Learning International here with my team in Quito, Ecuador. I will never forget my experiences here. I am loving every day and hoping to see more converts from Chicagoans to Chiquitoans.
#MyWheaton #ChiQuito
Tuesday A. Whittington ’17 is a senior studying applied health science at Wheaton. She is currently participating in Wheaton’s program in Quito, Ecuador.
Photo captions (from top): Tuesday with fellow SMP interns in Quito; jumping for joy on their roof surrounded by mountains in Quito.