We are all getting excited as our trip is almost here! Most of us have been excitedly waiting for this trip as far back as Interview Day when we were first told about Marymount's commitment to service learning. In year 1 of the program we learned about a trip we would be taking in the third year of the program and how wonderful it is for the communities and for the students as well. Then in the second year it got more real when we actually had to fundraise for the trip. We came together as a class and put on the 4th annual Marymount 5k, hosted at the new Ballston Center. With that success behind us we went into our 3rd year of the program fresh out of clinic and ready to get serious. All Fall we have been planning for our trip and now we are finally here!
We recently had our final meeting to prep for our trip and we're now officially ready to go! We reviewed all the important information including travel plans, what to pack, and of course what we will be doing each day. We also met in our small clinic groups to finalize projects we have been working on since the Fall. We have 6 groups that will go to different clinics. We will be in a variety of settings including outpatient, inpatient, rehab, and pediatrics!
One of the most exciting parts of the morning was getting our med kits we will be bringing with us to the clinics! Thank you to everyone who participated in last year's 5k as some of the money raised went to pay for this equipment for us to use. Having the appropriate equipment is going to be crucial in country and being able to bring our own stuff so we don't have to use the clinics resources helps us to use as little as possible while we are there. We got a proper PT kit including goniometers for measuring mobility, blood pressure monitors, reflex hammers, and of course thera bands for exercise! We are so grateful to be able to have this equipment with us.
Finally, we were all encouraged to come up with one word to describe how feel going into this trip. Having time to reflect before going into this trip really made me think. I realized how thankful we all are to the MU DPT professors for properly preparing us, clinical instructors for honing our skills, the Marymount community for supporting us, and of course everyone who has donated/supported/prayed/thought of us. We could not do this without the support from our community and we hope you enjoy following along with us! Check out how we were all feeling going into this trip in the slideshow below!
Next Stop: Nicaragua! The next time you hear from us we will be there!