Compassionate patient care skills honed during Haiti mission trip
When Folarin Adeyemi, a Research Study Coordinator in the UT Southwestern Department of Surgery’s Research Office, heard about an opportunity to participate in a medical mission trip to Haiti, he jumped at the chance – no matter that he would be traveling with people he had never met to a country he had never visited to provide care to residents who didn’t speak his language.
“There was only one spot left on the trip, and I’m so glad it worked out,” said Mr. Adeyemi, who is also an emergency medical technician (EMT) and pre-med student. “I think taking trips like these, whether they are local or international, allows current and future providers to become more personable and closely connected to our patients.”
In July 2017, Mr. Adeyemi – along with a small team of health care professionals and one high school student – spent a week volunteering with the Gaskov Clergé Foundation, which brings health care to more than 20,000 underserved men, women, and children in Haiti.
The adventure took Mr. Adeyemi four hours outside Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince to the town of Les Cayes, where he spent each day volunteering in local orphanages and clinics. The volunteer team stayed in a compound and traveled to various sites together daily – often arriving to very long patient lines.
“Every day I was challenged mentally and emotionally because of the things outside of my control,” he said. “I learned that you can’t save everyone and that doing your best is what’s most important.”
Mr. Adeyemi recounted a memorable experience with the mother of a child who was suffering from extreme lethargy and respiratory distress – an experience that left a mark on him not only as a future doctor, but as a fellow human.
“I had to take the mother and child into another room to deliver care without an interpreter present,” he said. “I noticed the child’s congestion was beginning to move, but she was too lethargic to cough, so I began to percuss her chest and back.”
As the mother’s concern for her child grew, Mr. Adeyemi used his limited knowledge of Haitian Creole and did his best to demonstrate why he was taking such steps.
“I was finally able to get her to understand the reason I was percussing her baby and she calmed down. She chuckled at my way of communicating with her – and in that moment, I realized you don’t have to understand someone’s language to show kindness and deliver excellent patient care.”
Mr. Adeyemi applies the many lessons he learned in Haiti on a daily basis and knows they will be applicable for years to come as a future doctor.
“My experience in Haiti helped me to be more understanding of everyone’s situation,” he said. “I’ve learned that as an EMT and future doctor, at the end of the day, it’s my duty to make sure my patients are comfortable. Trust is so important, and treating a patient becomes much easier if they look at you as another human being as opposed to someone who just walks in for a couple of seconds and walks out.”