A week with Cardio-Starts is an elective in the Internal Medicine Residency Program. Twice a year, a multi-disciplinary team of physicians and nurses spends a week dispensing care in an underserved country, usually in the Caribbean. We send team members from our department including a senior full-time clinician and two or three residents. All members return with a sense of deep fulfillment at having served, while also honing their clinical skills. As a result of the overwhelming success of our participation in the mission, this elective is offered once or twice a year. One of the participants describes his week below.

 October 1, 2002

The CardioStart Volunteer Mission is a priceless experience. Volunteers from different specialties donate a week of their time to provide medical care to the population of a third world country. I was part of the team for the September 2002 mission. We worked in different clinics (of Kingston, Jamaica), made house calls, and helped in local orphanages. In my week, the team cared for over 900 patients! Yes, it was a lot of work but it was all worth it. It was incredible to see the faces of patients light up when they saw doctors who want to help them. Aside from the good we did, I will always remember the camaraderie of the team. Everyone was so friendly, caring, and humorous that it didn't seem like working at all. The long hot work-days were filled with lots of laughter and the week seemed to just fly past. The last day was a day off: reward for a week of hard, but gratifying, work. Everyone enjoyed the nice weather and ambience of Jamaica such as the sun, beaches, food, and local cuisine.

Each morning consisted of an early breakfast and an overview of the day's itinerary. We were each assigned to a specific inner city or rural clinic. The clinics were mostly small centrally located community centers, with easy access, that were transformed to make-shift clinics. The day consisted of outpatient care with med/pedi/ob-gyn specialties. Everyone participated whether they were triaging, seeing patients, and/or dispensing medications. Also, home visits were arranged. This allowed some of us to actually attend to shut-in patients who were unable to get to the clinic on their own; just like making old fashion house calls. At the end of the day we were transported back to the hotel, relaxed for a couple of hours and had a nice dinner together. At this time everyone would recap the day's events, the good and bad points, and how the experience could be improved.

This clinical experience was so valuable to me. Everyone had to rely on all of their "clinical senses," from sight to smell. Patients ranged in age and in degree of illness. The whole spectrum of the natural history of diseases was seen. The variety of diseases ranged from viral illnesses to chronic osteomyelitis to normal physical check-ups. Working under conditions without the "luxuries" of American medicine made everyone think and improvise; to use what was at hand. The new, "green" physicians were able to learn from the more experienced clinicians and vice versa. Interactions with patients from different cultures allowed us to improve our social skills, to better obtain a history and explain treatments.

I think the opportunity to perform this elective is a tremendous complement to my training in the Bridgeport Hospital Internal Medicine Program.

Roland Chin-Lue, M.D.
PGY-1
Department of Medicine
Bridgeport Hospital