Typical GCHV General Healthcare Team Clinic Day

Initial Community Visit:

• One month prior to your volunteer experience the GCHV staff, alongside community volunteers and local religious leaders, visit homes in the area of your future clinic site in order to determine the healthcare needs for that particular community. 
• The families are advised that healthcare providers will be setting up a healthcare clinic in their community, in either a school or a church setting, and that free healthcare will be provided in that facility.
• Community members are reassured that the healthcare team will be comprised of local medical professionals, GCHV staff, and will be assisted by healthcare volunteers from the USA, and Canada. Families are also apprised that these volunteers, alongside local community assistants and GCHV staff, will be paying an initial visit to their homes prior to the beginning of the clinic in order to further determine the level of care that will be needed.
• Dates and site for the clinic will be shared with the community, with a reliance on the religious leaders and teachers to continue to spread the information on a daily basis. 

Waiting Area

• This is where patients wait to be seen. Their names are added to the list of patients we will see each day. Lists are usually handled on a first-come, first-serve basis; however, we prioritize seniors, pregnant women and patients with conditions that might require immediate assistance. Our MD's will typically assess the needs of our patient population in this area.

Children's Playground Area:

• Since kids of all ages attend the clinics we have designed an area for kids to play while parents are being seen and treated. Students will rotate through this area in order to get hands-on experience with children of all ages. 
• We will provide coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, as well as some toys for group games.

Pods

The clinical pods are comprised of either 3 students or 4 students and a translator. Each student has a role in the pod as follows:

• Take vital signs, weight/height
• Obtain clinical history
• Scribe (write details)
• Present information to MD

• The Translators have a critical role as it is their job to literally translate the student questions in English into Spanish for the patient to understand, and then they translate the patient's response in Spanish into English so that the student can understand their response.

• Once the patient interview (triage) has been completed and the full physical examination has been carried out, the MD is invited to join the pod, at which time one of the students must introduce the patient and explain the reason for the consultation step by step. The work of the translator is crucial in this moment, since at all times he/she must keep the patient informed of what is happening.

• The MD will briefly review those aspects of the interview that catch his or her attention and that deserve greater care and then carry out an exchange of information with the students, giving each one the opportunity to participate in the construction of a possible diagnosis.

• Once everyone understands the patient's situation, they will proceed to educate the patient on how to properly manage their ailment. Medications will be prescribed by the MD and students make sure the patient understands how to use them.

Consultation Pod:

• Students will present this information to the physician, along with a differential diagnosis and proposed treatment plan recommendations. The physician in charge will provide the official diagnosis and treatment plan.

Examination Room:

• This room is used when the physician needs to examine the patient in private. The doctor will explain any findings to the students and the patient.

Pharmacy Station:

• Students collect the prescription given by the doctor. Once the medication is ready, volunteers will explain the following information (with the help of an interpreter):

1. Types of medications
2. Dosage amounts
3. Instructions for medication usage
4. They make sure to educate the patient on the correct use of their medications.
5. Our pharmacy keeps one copy of the prescription and the patient keeps another.

Medical Healthcare Information Station:

• Students will select appropriate discharge instructions for the patient and will reinforce this information prior to departing the clinic.

• No patient can leave the clinic without having received clear information on how to use their medications. Students play a role of great responsibility.