Puerto Rico

So I'm currently in Puerto Rico and am sooo blessed to be here. I think time and time again how I have gotten to see so many places all in the name of medical school :) I highly recommend people coming to Puerto Rico for some electives if you're not from Puerto Rico. It's a great opportunity that our school has an affiliation with Ponce Health Sciences University. You are required to have some sort of Spanish speaking abilities. Majority of patients only speak Spanish so all interviewing is done in Spanish. Charting however is done in English, because of this, most, if not all, doctors are bilingual. The university also offers a 4 week Medical Spanish Elective for those that are not so confident in Spanish. More on that below. So here's how you go about scheduling your electives in Puerto Rico!

1. Ponce Health Sciences University basically offers every single elective so think of what you'd like to do and come up with a list.
2. Contact the Clinical Department and give them a list of a few electives you're interested in and the dates and they will contact Ponce to see what's available during that time.
3. Once you have electives confirmed, there is some paperwork that needs to be completed prior to beginning you can request this from the Clinical Department or by retrieving it by logging onto the Student Portal and on the left hand side there is a link for "Official Documents" then click on Clinical Elective Guide. Search for Ponce electives.

I'm doing Hematology Oncology right now and next week I'm beginning Infectious Disease! 

So about the Medical Spanish Elective (again you can find all the information, including the schedule in the Clinical Elective Guide on the portal). The elective includes online modules that must be completed prior to starting the elective. You then spend 1 week each in Family Medicine, Peds, Internal Medicine and OBGYN going to morning report, listening to rounds and practicing speaking Spanish will Spanish-speaking patients. It sounds like a pretty cool experience!

I've gotten to see so many cool places here in Puerto Rico including forests, islands, cities and waterfalls. Puerto Rico has it all! Even if you don't come for school come to just explore! This island is very underestimated for how much it has to offer and you don't even need a passport!