Today on our fourth day in Panama, we toured two universities, the university of Panama (a public university) and the Latin University (a private university). The public university was significantly cheaper and simpler than the private university. The private university was more technologically advanced, although their virtual lab consisted of only two beds and a dummy on which to practice skills.
Nursing school is a 4 year program in Panama.
There is much focus on the community aspect of nursing as nurses serve both the general Panamanian population and the indigenous population.At the University of Panama we had lectures from faculty and students which helped us to understand how university policies worked there and how students obtained the resources they needed in order to afford their schooling. Fortunately, we had our three wonderful translators (Sandy, Ida, and Mary…kudos!) sweating bullets to translate what all was being said!
Following the presentation we experienced the cafeteria cuisine of the University of Panama. Our food options were pollo, papas, gelatina, arroz, platinos and liver (chicken, potatoes, jello, and rice, respectively). The meal was only one dollar for a whole lot food. Most of us thought the food was good, but some were less than thrilled. Luckily for them, the private university served us food yet again! The nursing students there also pinned us at the end of their presentation. Pretty cool! Oh yeah, and at the University of Panama we got nursing caps because that is what nurses wear in the hospitals here. I’m thinking we need a group picture of us in our old school
attire.We returned to our villas to a torrential down pour. Some of us braved a run in the dark and were delighted to see lightning bugs! Then we did some more homework and went to Dr. Cadena’s and Dr. Johnson Mallard’s for spaghetti dinner. It was a lot of fun. We are very fortunate to be working under them!
Now it is time to hit the sack early because tomorrow we go to the clinics to do some hands on nursing work! Pap smears are a possibility. Until then…
*Amanda Neuman
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