Montserrat Armero - Columbia
As someone who is bilingual in Spanish, I have used my Spanish language almost daily when working in veterinary practices. However, like many of my bilingual colleagues, I had no training on how to communicate professionally in a veterinary setting. I knew I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity Global Programs offers to work in a clinic in a Spanish speaking country to immerse myself in the language, culture, and veterinary setting in a whole new way.
I chose to complete a 3-week externship with the Universidad CES in Envigado, Colombia which is a town that borders the large city of Medellín. My mother emigrated from Colombia in the 1980’s due to the safety concerns that she experienced at the time. This trip gave me the opportunity to reconnect with my heritage, offering new personal and professional relationships. I chose the veterinary school in Universidad CES because the school is internationally renown with a very modern veterinary clinic and an established international exchange program.
I began my journey by arriving a week early in Medellín exploring this beautiful city full of culture and history. I went on a handful of tours such as a visiting a coffee farm and climbing la Piedra de Peñol in Guatapé while enjoying an oblea at the top with a gorgeous view. I also toured Comuna 13, which used to be one of the more dangerous areas in the world and is now a highly visited area with beautiful art, delicious food, and amazing music and people. Later in the week I checked into the room I rented from someone native to Envigado and I now consider a great friend of mine.
I then started my rotations in the Centro de Veterinaria y Zootecnia. In this experience, the school had me rotate like any other veterinary student through the departments of consults, imaging, hospitalizations, and surgery. Every day started with rounds to go over different cases and topics each week, such as orthopedic and renal diseases. This clinic had the equipment to see almost any species possible such as small animal, equine, large animal, and wildlife. I worked mainly with small animals, and some exotics. For example, I assisted with a wound repair on a peacock that had suffered a dog attack and assisted with another pigeon that received recheck radiographs for its broken wings.
Throughout my rotations, I practiced my physical exam and hands on skills daily, even learning new ways to test certain reflexes and different ways to draw blood. I was deeply involved in discussing medical cases. In surgery, I learned the anesthetic protocol and was able to scrub into a neuter and cystotomy as a surgical assistant. In hospitalizations, I learned the clinic also works closely with local shelters and saw some of the common issues faced in shelter medicine there such as infectious diseases and dog-on-dog attacks. All through my experience, my colleagues were very supportive of my Spanish practice. My immersion in the culture, such as observing how the clinicians and clients communicate, has also strengthened my sense of cultural humility.
At the end of my externship, my clinical professor had me join in the consultas con docencia, or appointments with professors. Here I had the chance to lead my own appointments by leading the history questions, physical exams, and discussing exam findings with clients. It was incredibly empowering for my professors to entrust me with an experience like this. I left Medellín with the sense of empowerment that not only I can navigate the complexities of veterinary medicine but do so in another language and culture. I will carry the skills, confidence, and memories from this experience with me throughout the rest of my career.