Volunteer Nursing in La Paz, Bolivia
On my resume, on my personal statements, on my goal lists, there is one thing that remains the same. That thing is my aspiration to be a travel nurse at some point in my career. Something about the adventure, challenge, and witnessing different cultures creates this excitement and eagerness in me.
After my freshman year of college, my uncle who works for the US State Department, was currently living La Paz, Bolivia with his family and reached out to see if I had interest in staying with them and volunteering at a local medical clinic with whom he had affiliations with. I couldn’t have been more thrilled. So I went for three weeks in May of 2019. I worked five days a week at HOPE International Bolivia Clinic, for about 5-6 hours a day, shadowing and assisting the nurse practitioner. She mostly ran the clinic, along with three other doctors and registered nurses.
It was a phenomenal experience. I started by reading some chapters from a nursing textbook about taking vitals. Once I passed the quizzes, my supervisor allowed me to start taking vitals on patients. I had never done anything like this before so it as intimidating and exciting to finally participate in an actual nursing task. I reported to her what they were but she always double checked to make sure I was right. The hardest thing to learn was respirations. That was tricky for me since I couldn’t always see the rise and fall of their chest very well and when they spoke, it was even harder. But I kept trying and finally got the hang of it.
Along with vitals, I cleaned evaluation rooms, filed patient data, observed how to give the flu vaccine, and learned how the team worked together to make sure all patients were seen. It was the perfect amount of work and observation which I wouldn’t have received in the same way in the United States without a certification. It also was a great opportunity for me to work on my bilingual skills, learning a few medical terms in Spanish, especially since most patients either did not speak any English or knew very little. I got a little taste of what it would look like to be able to speak both languages and it affirmed in me my desire to make that happen by the time I’m off working as a travel nurse.
Throughout my three weeks, I also snuck in a few hiking adventures with my family, soaked in the beautiful mountains, and ate some delicious Salteñas! Muchísimas gracias a la HOPE International Clinic y los enfermeras y doctors que ayudaronme durante mi tiempo en Bolivia. Es una lugar muy especial a mi!
