Reflection Four by Emily Bippus

   The ATAP workers undergo a 6-month training in order to provide services in their communities. Similar to the United States, nurses must attend nursing school and complete the requirements in order to tend to patients. Doctors in Costa Rica study for seven years to receive their medical degree. After they complete their M.D., they study for an additional four to five years to become a specialist in a particular field, such as pediatrics, cardiology, geriatrics, etc.
The amount of training is comparable to the United States, though ATAP workers do not have a direct equivalent. Nurses Aides are the most similar and receive a few months of training as well. Registered Nurses typically have a bachelor’s degrees, however programs such as the Shadyside nursing program in Pittsburgh require two years but those graduates can work as an RN only in the UPMC system. Costa Rican doctors study slightly less time to become an M.D., but there are integrated B.S./M.D. programs that allow students to acquire the degree in a shorter span as well. Because there are no regulations as to the numbers of students who enroll in doctors and nurses programs in Costa Rica, there are many medical professions who have the training but remain unemployed.
Global humanitarian influence seemed limited, although international loans are a source of funding. The largest common influence of the facilities that we visited was the presence of Roman Catholic figures, despite being a public facility. There’s also an emphasis on family, a Costa Rican and Catholic tradition. In the homes, ATAPs ask questions about every family member and focus on the family unit as a whole as well as the individual.
Today we were in the home of an older woman in Tilarán with the ATAPs, Marcela and Sidney. During their questioning, one of the woman’s sons called and she began to cry. The ATAPs revealed that she was lonely and missed her children. They finished the visit and part of her “treatment” was that the ATAPs would contact her children to ask that they call and visit more often.
Clinicians in Costa Rica receive very similar trainings to those in the United States, but the differences lie in the Costa Rican wholesome approach to health care.

One thought on “Reflection Four by Emily Bippus”

  1. Family support, in any setting , can really be an important part of care. We focus so much on the technology and the clinicians that we sometimes forget that aspect, don’t we?

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