As I sit on my sofa in the United States searching for the words to describe how the trip to Dominica was, I struggle.
Amazing doesn't quite do the trip justice. Nor does fantastic. Awe-inspiring comes close, but lacks the immense self-reflection Dominica allowed me to do. I went to Dominica with a set plan in my head, a check-list of activities I was going to preform stringently so that when I left, I could walk away with my head-held high with the accomplishments I had performed.
That was a foolish notion.
Thanks to the guidance provided to my Dr. Abron's, I was able to indeed target the health-care issues I was responsible for. What I found however, was a nation whose patients' were much more receptive about the information I was offering them ever before. A nation whose patients' gladly spent hours informing me about the herbal products they used, explaining to me the generations of history that served as evidence for the efficacy of those products. A nation whose patients' did not shake my hand in farewell as they left the pharmacy, but who enveloped me in a hug before fondly saying good-bye.
When I think back to the two weeks I spent in Dominica, I can hardly believe all that we experienced. From the various schools wherein we taught children about medication safety, to the time spent in the House of Hope tending to severely physically and mentally disabled, to the time spent in the clinics interacting with patients, it is hard to believe so much could be seen within such a little time. The rotation has filled me with a drive to return to Dominica, to learn more about it's people and it's culture ant to devote myself to a scale of pharmacy much, much grander than I had previously imagined.
Humbled now, I look forward to a future shaped by the experiences of the last few weeks.
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