A Gap Year Service Learning Trip To Belize Confirms a Future as an MD

A blood pressure of 200 over 100. A patient who listens, then calmly says he’s fine and leaves. Moments like that force you to wrestle with the part of medicine no textbook can solve: culture, faith, autonomy, and what it really means to help. We sit down with Ava, a University of South Carolina grad on her gap year, to talk about how international service learning in Belize sharpened her clinical mindset and changed what she values in patient care. 

We start with the practical side of becoming a doctor: graduating a semester early, using AP credits strategically, and creating protected time for MCAT prep without burning out. Ava shares how pre-health community shaped her path, from Alpha Epsilon Delta to leading Women in Healthcare, and why being around motivated peers can open unexpected doors like jobs, service opportunities, and mentorship. 

Then we go to Belize for a vivid look at experiential medical education. Ava breaks down the structure of the trip with hospital rotations in Belmopan and a community clinic with vitals, short-term meds, prevention tips, and constant learning from local clinicians. She describes what it’s like to be mentored by fourth-year medical students, to work in a resource-limited healthcare system with minimal imaging, and to rely on listening, history-taking, and the physical exam. We close with details on the next gap year Belize trip she’ll be leading, including how to get more information. 

If you want more honest stories about global health, gap year growth, and becoming a more grounded future clinician, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What question would you ask before signing up for a service learning trip?

I also want to thank our listeners for joining us as it is our goal to not only share with you our guest’s introduction to international healthcare, but also to share with you how that exposure to international healthcare has shaped their future path in healthcare. As true patient advocates, we should all aspire to be as well rounded as possible in order to meet the needs of our diverse patient populations. 

As a 50+ year nurse that has worked in quite a variety of clinical roles in our healthcare system, taught healthcare courses for the past 20 years at the university level, and has traveled extensively with my students on international service-learning trips, I can easily attest to the fact that healthcare focused students need, and greatly benefit from the opportunity to have hands-on experiential healthcare experiences in an international setting! I have seen the growth of students post travel as their self-confidence in their newly acquired skillsets, both clinical and cultural, facilitates their ability to take advantage of opportunities that previously may not have been available to them. By rendering care internationally, and stepping outside one's comfort zone, many more doors of opportunity will be opened.

Feel free to check out our website at www.islonline.org, follow us on Instagram @ islmedical, and reach out to me @ DrH@islonline.org

Transcript

Welcome And Podcast Mission

Dr. H 0:11

Well hey there, I am Dr. Patrick Hickey, or Dr. H, as many of my students refer to me. I want to welcome you to another episode of the International Service Learning Experiential Medical Education Podcast. During each episode, I will be interviewing healthcare-focused students and faculty from high school to university that have had an opportunity to participate in an international service learning trip. Additionally, I will be discussing the benefits and challenges to international service with healthcare professionals that have served abroad, as well as industry leaders in healthcare, education, study abroad, spirituality, and those living in the countries being served. Well, we're real excited today to have Ava with us. And just to let everybody know, Ava and I do have some history. She's a student at the University of South Carolina, and we've met quite a few times. Excited to have her on the uh podcast today for a couple of different reasons. She's had a wonderful uh service learning trip that she has going to share with us, and this was pretty recently, and she's got a role within ISL that we'll talk about a little later during the podcast. But for now, Ava, why don't you just um tell our listeners a little bit about yourself and probably most importantly your your pre-med journey at the University of South Carolina?

Ava’s Pre-Med Path And Gap Year

Ava 1:32

Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to chat today and share my experience. So, my name's Ava, as you mentioned. I went to the University of South Carolina and I graduated this December 2025. I came to South Carolina being from Charlotte, so it's pretty close. I kind of knew, always knew I wanted to go into healthcare, but I was unsure. And I ended up joining a pre-med fraternity while at the university. Pretty, pretty much opened every single healthcare door that I've walked through, which is great. So I really recommend that to people who are considering it. I ended up serving on a few executive boards of women in healthcare at University of South Carolina and also Medal M, both student-based organizations, and they're both great organizations and healthcare focused, which is awesome. I've been on two service learning trips. They've both been great, one through ISL and one through a different organization. And I've learned a lot from them. And I'm really looking forward to continuing my healthcare career. I'm in my gap year, and I just took the MCAT and I'm applying to medical school this year. So I'm really looking forward to exploring all my options there and hopefully attending medical school next year.

Dr. H 2:42

Well,

Graduating Early To Save Time

Dr. H 2:43

Eva, thanks for sharing. And then I just wrote a few notes. You graduate in December. Share with us a little bit about graduating early. You know, in my experience, I work with a lot of students at the university and and some come in with a lot of uh cred AP credits, I believe, and and they set themselves up to be able to graduate early. Some try to graduate either a semester or even a year early to save mom and dad a lot of money because, as you know, school is is quite expensive. How did you work that out that you that you were able to graduate a semester early?

Ava 3:16

Well, you have it exactly right. That was ultimately the reason I decided on graduating early. So I did come in with quite a few AP credits, but I didn't know how that was going to serve me sort of towards the end of my college career. But went to my advisor junior year and kind of asked him to lay out all my options. He said I could add an extra minor. I didn't mention earlier, but I was a biological sciences major and a neuroscience minor, and I was considering adding another sort of more public health-based minor. Um, he said I could graduate early. He said I could just take some fun classes and I sort of weighed my options and I thought, you know what, I don't want to, you know, add another minor and then be rushing to finish it. Um, I have enough credits to graduate in December and I can save a couple bucks in tuition, which is great. And I knew that I'd be taking the MCAT in the spring as well. So I thought that was pretty conducive to my study plan. I'd be able to just sort of mostly focus on that without having to juggle classes as well. So it's kind of what worked best for me. I did in the last semester have to take a couple of tough courses at the same time, kind of shoving that all together, but I don't regret it at all. It was definitely tough, especially just with graduation looming. But I'm gonna end it up being all okay. And it was definitely worth uh having the time and the money to study for the MCAT.

Dr. H 4:27

Now,

MCAT Prep Without Overload

Dr. H 4:28

speaking of the MCAT, you know, in my experience, a lot of students that have uh have had to write it a second or even a third time have shared that the the challenge they had was they were multitasking, they were doing too many things at the same time. From what you share with us, you've graduated in December and are in the process of of studying during your free time for the MCAT, is that correct?

Ava 4:52

Yeah, I actually just took it last week, but yeah, that's exactly what I was doing through from December through April.

Dr. H 4:57

Do you recommend that process to your peers to take a significant chunk of time like what you've done, or knowing what your pace was like during school, do you recommend trying to write it during a heavy, heavy semester?

Ava 5:13

I definitely recommend, if at all possible, to take the time to study for it without having to juggle classes. Again, I was lucky enough that since I graduated a semester early, I could kind of move back home and not have to worry about classes or anything like that. And it worked great for me. My kind of sole purpose in those four months was studying for the MCAT. And, you know, obviously it's easy to overload yourself, but I think with that amount of time, the four months and four to five months was great for me personally. I mean, I could study for anywhere from four to six hours a day. I didn't ever feel burnt out. I was actually waking up excited to study. Whereas I think when you're juggling a big course load, you're not as excited to study for another couple of hours every day for the MCAT. So if at all possible, I definitely recommend that method. It does require you kind of taking a gap year because you're taking the MCAT and then applying. And then, you know, the next year you're hopefully matriculating. But I think more and more people are taking gap years. I think almost, you know, over half of applicants are these days. So definitely recommend, you know, trying to carve out the time to full focus on the MCAT because it is a huge part of the application.

Dr. H 6:23

Well, thanks for sharing. And from some of my recent readings, it's actually around 70% are doing taking the gap year now. So those are great words of wisdom that you shared with the listeners to take the time, block off the time, put your best foot forward, so to speak, by making sure you're as uh well-versed in the topics before you write it. That's that's great recommendations. Now

Pre-Health Community And Career Doors

Dr. H 6:47

you mentioned a pre-med fraternity, and and I know a lot of students have mentioned that before. What is that pre-med fraternity and and do you recommend it to your peers?

Ava 6:55

So I was in Alpha Epsilon Delta. I rushed the second semester of my freshman year. I have I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had never done an interview about healthcare before. So I just kind of went in and put my best foot forward. I don't think I'd ever worn business casual before. Um, so it was definitely, you know, jumping into the deep end, but everybody was so welcoming during the rush process, which was first and foremost, you know, the best part for me because I was so incredibly nervous. And I ended up getting in, which is great. And I definitely recommend any sort of pre-health club fraternity, even if it's not like a rush-based process and you just kind of enter, not having to, you know, interview and everything. I think that's great as well. Alpha, Son Delta is a little bit different than some others, like 5D. 5D is specifically pre-med, whereas AED is pre-med, pre-PA, pre-PT, OT, a lot of the, you know, pre-health tracks. So it was great to be able to mix with all of those sorts and you know, explore also because some people come in and they don't know what career they want to pursue. They just know that they want to pursue a career in healthcare. So it's kind of great to see different perspectives, why people are choosing their path. And, you know, I know a lot of people I know actually did change their path, but we get a lot of opportunities to do service, professional activities, and social activities, just getting to know everybody in the organization. And my medical assistant job came from somebody passing along the information that I knew from AED. Most of my service, you know, I got from information from AED. So, and a lot of the clubs I joined also as um, I got from, you know, the mini speaker presentations at chapter. So yeah, it was, it was the best, the best thing I could have possibly done for my journey in healthcare. And it was great that I joined early, but a lot of people, you know, don't join until sophomore or junior year. And that's that's totally fine too. You know, everybody has a different story, and I think I definitely recommend it for people who are considering it.

Dr. H 8:58

Well, thanks for sharing that that validation of the the value of AED. I've really enjoyed meeting students that are in AED over the years, and it it kind of speaks to why I put together my service learning trips over 20 years ago. I wanted that collegiality of nursing students and pre-med and PA, pharmacy, PTOT, all kind of sort of working together. It's kind of the model that AED has, which is kind of intriguing. I also love PhiDE, which is uniquely pre-med, too, and and they each have their own values. So to those listening today, uh as Ava said, you know, try to join something that's healthcare focused because you're around like-minded people when you do so, and it really makes you stand out in your resume that you you stepped out of your comfort zone, so to speak, and joined these organizations. I like that you and I think we I think we actually met at Women in Healthcare, is that correct?

Ava 9:50

We did, yeah.

Dr. H 9:51

Yeah, you were president at the time?

Ava 9:53

Yes, yes, sir.

Dr. H 9:54

So I was that a year ago or a little over a year ago, or a year and a half ago, I guess it was. I was a guest speaker at Women in Healthcare, which actually I was either organized or developed by one of my or co-developed by one of my students, Shannon. I love women in healthcare. And it's one of the highlights of my experience actually at the University of South Carolina was actually speaking to this uh group of young ladies. Could

Building Women In Healthcare On Campus

Dr. H 10:17

you could you explain to the listeners what women in healthcare is and and if they don't have something similar on their own campus, how could they develop it?

Ava 10:26

Yeah, so um, like I said earlier, women in healthcare is a student-led organization. As you mentioned, it was started by Shannon O'Leary and Edie Violi, who are both in there in PA school and med school now, which is awesome. That the founders have kind of found their way. But yeah, they started a couple of years ago with the goal of just collaborating with other women in any sort of healthcare field. It's not limited to, you know, pre-med, pre-PA, it's nursing, pharmacy, cardiovascular technology, anybody that's you know considering pursuing a career in healthcare and just, you know, promoting collaboration amongst women who are hoping to pursue those careers because, you know, in in this career and in any field, women can be pitted against each other. It's also, you know, it can be hard for us to find our way, find a group of people with similar goals. So I think that's the that's the reason they started the organization. And then I joined my sophomore year. I think it was, it was pretty new. I remember there was probably 20 active members, not very many people at the meetings. And my friend Caroline Timothy and I both sort of looked at each other one day and decided that we wanted to build the organization up a little bit because you know the mission of the organization was amazing. It was great, but I think starting it is difficult enough. And then building it up is a whole nother task. So we were lucky enough. I served as vice president last year or my junior year, and we were lucky enough to be chosen to be the co-presidents of our senior years because I think we just both we were both super passionate about the mission of the organization and had been there from the beginning and knew that, you know, this this could go somewhere. So we were able to boost the membership pretty much from you know, maybe 50 people to over 300 people, which is so great. Everybody has a completely different story. We've met so many different lovely women who are pursuing goals. We've had great speakers. We do service events, professional events, social events, try to get out into the community and learn more about Colombia and learn more about you know healthcare beyond Colombia. And it's just it's just great to see all these women collaborating and uh making new friends and you know, maybe even having a uh meeting a future coworker. So it's it's great. We we love it so much. And the girls next year are doing a great job with you know continuing what we were able to start. And yeah, it's it's something I'm super passionate about. I think it's a great organization.

Dr. H 12:45

It's it's kind of a legacy thing, which is kind of cool that it it lives on after you've gone and it continues to grow and and and build on what you guys have developed. And I have to say that I think through my meeting you, and either directly or indirectly, that led to me speaking to your group, Women in Healthcare, about a service learning opportunity, which led to a all-women's health care team that went to Belize in March and had an all-women's clinic, which was amazing. And you know, women that normally would not seek help or attention, maybe intimidated by males, were able to freely come to a clinic where they had all female doctors, all female interpreters, all female participants. So kudos to you. And it wasn't all me, don't worry. No, but you you open the door and that's what it's all about is door opening. And that

Inside The Belize Hospital And Clinic

Dr. H 13:37

leads us on to your trip with with ISL. So tell us about your trip. It was an inaugural trip in in February of this year in Belize, if you want to share what that experience was like.

Ava 13:48

Yeah, so I mean, I could talk about it for days, but I heard about it through you, Dr. Hickey. As you know, you spoke at Women in Healthcare, and I was telling you sort of what uh my goals were, my plans were, that I was taking a gap year. And you mentioned to me that, you know, you had been organizing a group of med students and pre-med students that were gap year students to be going to Belize. And I'd gone to Costa Rica the year prior, and it was such a great experience. It was also with women in health care, so it was all girls. And I knew, you know, two or three people out of the 40 women that went, but I, you know, grew to be friends with pretty much all of them, which was awesome. So I knew I wanted to another experience like that, seeing the healthcare system in Costa Rica. So when you mentioned Belize, I was super excited about that opportunity, particularly because you know, I'd be working with Gapier students, but also with med students who are, you know, for this stage of my career in my life, those are, you know, the biggest mentors to me at this point because they're the next step in my journey. So I was really excited about that. And we organized it. And going in, I was the only one who didn't know anybody, which was a little intimidating. I didn't realize that at first, but it ended up, I mean, I made lifelong friends. It was such an amazing experience. We did sort of like half and half in Belize's hospital, their local hospital in Belmopan, as well as the clinic that we set up. And the hospital, we got to rotate into specialties of our choosing with the med students, which was very interesting and very different from what you know we're used to in the United States. And then in the clinic, it's what you maybe normally see with these service learning trips. We kind of opened a pharmacy and anybody in the community could come and see, and we'd take their vitals, see what was going on with them, try to give them a short-term solution and um maybe give them some preventative tips as well. Um, just do what we could, but both experiences were were pretty different from each other, the hospital and the community, but they were both they were both awesome. And then we did get to have a little bit of fun at the end. We went to uh the island of Key Calker, which is off of the coast of Belize, and you know, we got to hang out and and do some do some fun activities. So that was great too.

Dr. H 15:53

So you got to swim with the sharks, right?

Ava 15:54

Yeah, we swam with sharks. We swam with a lot of fish. It was great.

Dr. H 15:58

Clear water. What was it like to be mentored by fourth year med students?

Ava 16:03

Wow. I just I cannot speak on how I cannot speak enough on how amazing these the med students were. There were four of them, um, each going into different specialties. And they were so wonderful, so willing to teach. They, you know, they were very humble in saying that they they don't think they know anything because they feel like, you know, they're about to be residents this year. So they feel like they know nothing about their field. But to us, to us Gapier students, they know everything. And it was, it was so great. They they taught us about med school, they taught us about life, they taught us about medicine. I mean, any question we possibly could have, they could answer. So, you know, they're they're the big kids, they they're the coolest people in the world to us. So it was such a great, great opportunity to be mentored by them. And I think all I can speak for all of the Gapier students that were on the trip, and we're just so thankful that they were willing and able to teach us the way they did.

Dr. H 16:58

Now, you were mentored by the fourth year med students, you're also mentored by the local healthcare professionals. What was it like working with with the local healthcare teams?

Ava 17:08

They were wonderful. We worked with a couple doctors local to the community. They also brought in um some of the Belizean med students, and you know, they have a very different experience. Pretty much straight from high school, they go into med school. So it even though we feel very experienced, they were almost less experienced than us. They hadn't ever seen a real patient. You know, they they were it was their first time taking vitals on a real patient. It was their first time asking questions to a new patient or to a real patient. So it was very different. But the Belizean healthcare workers, the doctors, the nurses, they had such a different perspective. They were very resourceful, which I can go into if you're interested, but they taught us a lot about having to kind of use what you have to treat the patients that you have, which was which was really interesting. And they were also willing to answer any of our questions, which was great. And yeah, they they were they were awesome.

Dr. H 17:58

So in your role as a Gap year student, were you actually able to mentor the Belician medical students?

Ava 18:05

Yeah, we were. They we it feels crazy to say because I don't feel like a mentor at all, but we we were able to kind of, you know, the top of the food chain sort of was the doctors, and then next was the fourth-year medical students, and next was us, and then it was the Belizean medical school students and in terms of knowledge about these patients because they they really, I mean, they they've learned it all in school, but they have not had any hands-on experience, which I think most of the Gap year students that we went with have. So it was kind of interesting, you know, t telling them, you know, hearing the med students tell them that it's okay to touch the patient. And, you know, me, even me or the other Gap Year students saying, like, it's okay, you can touch the patient, you can squeeze a little hard, you can push a little hard. They're, you know, they're happy to be treated. So they were, but we, you know, they got into the swing of it super quickly. They, they, you know, they took what they learned in the books and they transformed it. It was, it was great to see. And they were definitely nervous, and we were nervous, so it was kind of a funny relationship, but it's awesome.

Dr. H 19:00

Good for you for for already acting like a doctor. One of the many hats that you're gonna wear years from now as a doctor is out of educator. You're gonna be educating your patients, you're gonna be educating your families of your patients. So you've you've already started down that road. So so kudos. What a what a wonderful experience that must have been.

Faith, Autonomy, And Hard Patient Choices

Dr. H 19:18

Was there any any specific patient or community member that made an impression on you that stands out when you think about the people you saw either in the clinic, uh either in the hospital or in the rural clinic?

Ava 19:30

Mm-hmm. There were definitely a few. I think the the biggest overall impression that you know you definitely see here in the US, but I think it's a little more common in Belize and in countries in Central America is that they have a really big religious base. And so a lot of them don't necessarily believe based on their religion. They don't really believe in hospitals, they don't believe in the in the medicine that that we provide them, which, you know, of course, is is it's the belief held by a lot of people. It's just very different from what we're used to. So I think a big challenge that we had was we would tell patients, you know, you need to go to the hospital or you need to be taking this medication. And they say, no, you know, God will help me, or, you know, the higher powers will help me through this. And obviously it's it's great to hear that they have they have such a strong faith, but it is tough for us because, you know, we we know the science of it. So, you know, I think a lot of us do wish that it could be sort of in combination, you know, you can take this medication and also God will help you through this. So it was, it was definitely a unique perspective for us. We had one patient who had a blood pressure of 200 over 100, the highest blood pressure I think most of us have ever seen. And we told him two days in a row, he came twice because he clearly did want some advice and he did want help. He wouldn't have, you know, come if he didn't. But we told him, you know, this this may this may kill you. I mean, this is this is a very serious condition that you clearly have. And the doctors at the hospital can, you know, direct you and investigate this more. And he just said, you know, I'm happy how I am. If I wake up one day and I don't feel good and I just have to close my eyes and go back to sleep, that's that's God's will. And so it was, it was tough for us to hear, but you know, it's also it's it's the patient's choice and it's the patient's wishes. So I think that was definitely the biggest, the biggest impact that the a lot of the patients did have. They they weren't really interested in in the medicine aspect of it all, but it's it's a great perspective to have.

Dr. H 21:25

Well that's that's a really good example that you shared. I mean, uh in your future, you're gonna have a lot of cultural and ethical dilemmas, not not dilemmas, cultural challenges and ethical dilemmas, you know, such as what you just described, that you've got a patient that could definitely benefit from from medicine and and there's maybe some frustration on your side because they won't take it. But then on the other side you have to understand that they have a deep faith. So there is a fine balance that you have to work through as you're dealing with your patients, and that's gonna be an ongoing thing day by day. Tell

Resourceful Medicine Without High Tech

Dr. H 21:58

us about the hospital experience, because I was in that same hospital as you were at at the same time as we went through the tour. How could how would you describe it?

Ava 22:08

Wow. So I was not expecting I you know, I was expecting a small hospital for sure, but you know, the vision I had in my mind was a three, four-story building, you know, just a version of the smaller hospitals we have in the US. And it was definitely a lot different than that. It was one story, just a couple of hallways and open air, which was the biggest, the biggest shock to me is that, you know, they were just, I know it can get pretty hot in Belize. So um, it wasn't super hot when we were there, but I think in the summer it's probably a lot warmer. And yeah, it was open air. So the fresh air is nice, but it's very different from the hospitals we have here. There were the wards were pretty small. The ORs, from what I've experienced and from what I've heard from the med students, were actually pretty similar to what we have in the US. So, and we did get to see a couple surgeries, which was great. I saw twins, twin C-section, which was the coolest thing in the world to me. And the doctors were super knowledgeable at the hospital too. They have, you know, teams of doctors, nurses, you know, they they have doctors in training, which they call medical officers, and they're a little bit different than our residents. They have a little more free reign than our residents in the US do. They kind of are thrown into the deep end, as they would say. But yeah, it would, it was definitely not what I was expecting, but they definitely have a flow there. And everybody that works in that hospital is used to what they have going on, and they they their system worked great for what they have.

Dr. H 23:32

So is labor and delivery going to be a choice now that you saw that delivery?

Ava 23:36

I think so. It definitely, it definitely interested me more. I was already interested in that, and it definitely, you know, I there was a spark in my eye when I saw the baby Z born. And I think a couple of the other students could say the same.

Dr. H 23:48

I can only imagine uh what a what a wonderful experience that is. Do you uh feel in the time that you were there that you actually did make a difference in in the in the patient population?

Ava 23:58

Well, it's tough to say because, you know, we were there for a week, and of course, you know, we're not gonna say we changed all of these patients' lives, that we don't have the we don't have the scope to do that, just to be completely honest. I think it's more, it was more about, you know, we get we were able to give them short-term solutions, especially in the clinic. You know, we gave them, you know, a month's worth of meds for whatever they may have. But I think it was more the education that we were able to provide them that has a little more of a long-term impact. You know, the doctors were great with that, with educating the patients and explaining to them that, you know, they have this condition and it may feel like it's just happening right now, but it'll it will continue if they don't, you know, take preventative measures. So I think that was the biggest, you know, difference, I guess, that we made just as a team was being able to educate the community and let them know, educate the friend, their friends and their family on certain diseases and certain ways to just improve their health. I think that's sort of the overall um thing. And I think also, you know, what we learned in Belize can we can take back to the United States and be able to affect our future patients in that way and be resourceful and take all of these things that we learned from different doctors and you know, what we learn from the med students and everything, um, and be able to apply that to our future patients, which I think will be the biggest overall difference um in the long term.

Dr. H 25:18

Yeah, I appreciate you sharing that last bit, Ava. I when I teach, when I taught my class, I always shared with the students that we would be learning a lot when we're in country, and you just validated that obviously you learn a lot and you can bring it back to your own practice. What emotions did you experience when when you got home? Was it hard readjusting back to life in the United States?

Ava 25:39

It was definitely tough. You know, being surrounded by so many people who are so eager to learn and eager to teach, especially because I'm on my gap year. So, you know, I'm not really surrounded by students anymore. I think you can get, and I I heard this from one of the med students, they said that this happens to them in med schools too. You can get a little bit jaded, you know, when you're just constantly surrounded by people worrying about their stats and their resumes. And so I think being in Belize with such a breath of fresh air, you realize the bigger picture of of what you're you're hoping to do in the future. And it's it's just all about people, it's all about patience, and it's all about just making the world sort of a better place for you know to make it cheesy. But I think, yeah, readjusting was hard. But I did I looked at, you know, my career from a different lens than you know, I did before, because I I like I said, I realized that, you know, it's just patient by patient, person by person. The world's a huge place, but even the tiniest of difference and the tiniest of knowledge you can gain can make a huge difference in the long run.

Dr. H 26:40

Yeah. Well, how has that this cultural experience affected your own future career goals? Give us an example, if you could, of how something you learned in in Belize could help you as a practicing physician uh years from now in the United States.

Ava 26:54

Well, I do think we learn from a lot of the doctors. I I mentioned this earlier, but how resourceful they are. And, you know, we have access to a lot of, you know, technology and medications and everything like that in the United States. And in the bully in Belize, they don't they don't quite have as much access. They have one big hospital there, but the hospital we were at didn't have MRI, didn't have CT scan, they they only had ultrasound once a week. So the doctors were really focused on seeing the patient as is and kind of listening to what they had to say, listening to what they were experiencing and me piecing the puzzle pieces together based on just lived experience and not really what they were able to observe because they couldn't, they couldn't really, you know, visualize, especially the internal sorts of stuff. They couldn't visualize that without any of the imaging that we have. So I think that's a a big thing. You know, it inspired me to to listen to a patient story, listen to what they have to say, because you can you can gain a lot from that. A lot of people would get stuck in the science of it all get stuck in the medicine. But I think we can we can hear a lot from patients, and that really was emphasized in Belize because that's they have to do that.

Dr. H 28:05

That's great. I I really appreciate that you shared that. I used to teach that 65% of the medical diagnosis can be derived from the initial exam, from doing just what you share, you know, listening to the patient, talking more to them, spending a little bit more time, maybe not ordering as many labs or diagnostics, and only order the diagnostics you need just to confirm what you believe is the diagnosis from your extensive interview. So yeah, it sounds like you learned a lot from the healthcare system down there. It's gonna make a huge difference. What would you say, Ava, to those that are kind of on the fence about going on a service learning medical mission trip? You know, the thing about the cost is expensive, the time away from family and friends may be prohibitive. Maybe I should go on spring break with my friends and have fun. Why would I want to go to a developing country and and extend health care? What would you say to those students?

Ava 29:05

You know, I would I would tell them first and foremost, I would tell them about my experience and just try to convince them in that way. And I would also let them know that, you know, this isn't something that everybody gets to do. When we're so privileged that, you know, we get to learn in this way. A lot of people aren't able to, and and that's okay, of course, but it's so great that that we're able to learn from this perspective instead of just hearing about it, you know, actually experience it. Um, and I think there's a big difference between hearing about something like this and experiencing it. You know, personally, I came out with such a different perspective and outlook on healthcare. And I think that's sort of the what I would use to tell somebody that, you know, you you think that you know everything. I'm sure I I always think I know everything. But you you really realize how little you know when you go on this sort of thing and you you gain so much from this this sort of trip. And no matter you know what you're doing, if you're just you're just learning about the culture, you know, not even participating in healthcare, I think that's important. Just learning about the people and you know, seeing that there are so many different types of people in this world is super important. And then of course the healthcare aspect of it, you know, can help you change your approach to practicing in the future. I think that's you know that my biggest encouragement is it'll it will make you a better person and a better healthcare.

Dr. H 30:27

That's um appreciate sharing that also. And that's a great segue into the opportunity that you can actually share this in person with these people that are interested because of a new role you're gonna have coming up with with international service learning.

Leading The Next Gap Year Belize Trip

Dr. H 30:42

We were so impressed with with Ava's passion, as you can hear, that I actually reached out to see if she wanted to rekindle that passion that is still burning quite brightly, obviously, from what you can hear, and ask if she wanted to be a leader on one of International Serrus Learning's inaugural gap year short-term trips. And she said would love to. So tell us about this opportunity that you've got coming up.

Ava 31:08

Yeah, so this is something I'm super excited about. We're going to Belize in August, August 8th to 16th. That's pretty tentative, but I think it's, you know, I think those will be the dates. It's a team of all gap year students, led by myself, but it's mostly just collaborative. We we won't have any medical students, but I think you know, it'll it'll still be a great learning experience. We're trying to do, you know, half of the time in the hospital and half of the time in the community, just like I described. And then we also will have some recreational time at the end, which is great. So yeah, I'm really looking forward to bringing in more students from all different backgrounds, different schools, and share, you know, what my past experience and also hopefully go through some new things together, learn some new things together. And and yeah, I'm I'm super excited to meet a bunch of new people and see see how they grow from this kind of trip as well.

Dr. H 31:59

We're really excited also to to have Ava lead this trip. So August 8th to 16th. I believe the price is 2500. I believe it's 2500, I believe. That's the interesting thing. 2500. Yep. We're gonna be posting this podcast, uh, timely podcast, actually, and roll out on our Instagram site and on our website a lot of information about Ava leading his trip. On the ISEL website, there'll be a link. Uh, if you have any any requests of information, you can contact Ava. Also, for the podcast, there's a process where you can send us an email. And for those that are interested, I can connect you with Ava for specifics. For those that have gone on a trip before, Ava's gone with another company on a service learning trip. That that's great. But if you haven't been on an international service learning trip, it's a great opportunity. If you haven't been to Belize, it's a great opportunity. If you haven't had a hospital rotation, again, it's a great opportunity. Anything that'll help you to be in a better place for med school, and this again is directed at Gap Year students that are on the pre-med pathway. We're we're real excited. There'll be more details. Ava's gonna be doing a reel. Or tell us what you can do on Instagram, Ava.

Ava 33:17

Yeah, I'm just gonna make a short video sort of introducing myself and kind of giving a little spark notes version of what we're gonna be doing on the trip. So be on the lookout for that. And hopefully it'll you know spark your interest a little bit and coming and joining us on this awesome trip.

Personal Notes And Final Thanks

Dr. H 33:32

And just to get personal, can you share um a personal note or two about yourself, your your hobbies, your interests?

Ava 33:38

Yeah, okay. I can do that. Um, well, I'm a lifelong equestrian, competitive equestrian. So I grew up riding horses and I still do. It's mostly for fun these days, but I do compete every once in a while. Like I said, I'm from Charlotte. I love to read, I love movies, I love sort of all sort of forms of media, TV shows, that sort of thing. And I also love to travel. I love to learn about new cultures. I think, you know, Belize has been awesome. Again, I went to Costa Rica and I've been to, you know, all sorts of continents and learned aspects about the world, which I had no idea existed. And so, you know, that lived experience is really important to me. And yeah, I'm really looking forward to. Oh, I also really enjoy Formula One and tennis. So I'm a big sports, sports person too. So yeah, I think, you know, I I think I'll be able to hopefully have you know some things in common with most people.

Dr. H 34:27

Formula one and not NASCAR, and you're living in the south.

Ava 34:31

I know, I know that people don't really realize the difference. There is a big difference. There's a big difference.

Dr. H 34:36

There is, and I appreciate that. Well, Eva, thank you so much for uh sharing with us your your inaugur your uh participation in that inaugural uh med student, gap year student trip, and most importantly, sharing with us also, which is really exciting, your leadership role leading the again inaugural Gap year short term trip, and this time to to Belize. Uh more information will be shared on the ISO website, and then you'll be sharing a lot of information on our Instagram site, and uh there'll be lots of opportunities for people to reach back out for information. So, any last words to our listeners uh before we sign off?

Ava 35:13

Well, I just wanted to thank you so much for having me, and I'm really looking forward to hearing from everybody who may be interested or may know someone who may be interested. I'm happy to share so much more information. You know, we have we have a limited time frame, but I have so many stories to share, and if I can encourage you at all to join us, that's great. So I'm I'm really looking forward to hearing from everybody.

Dr. H 35:33

And from my perspective, having just been to Belize when Ava was there with her team, it's an unbelievable experience. The hospital's fascinating, uh, the country's fantastic, the accommodations are unbelievable, so many recreational activities, so many cultural activities. Key cocker, the islands just to die for. It's it's I've been there so many times and can never get enough of it. Just very laid back. Belize itself, tropical country, beautiful people. We could both of us could go on and on, I'm sure. But let's leave it at that. Thank you, Ava, again for uh joining us today, and I look forward to following your progress as a leader of our upcoming trip to Belize.

Ava 36:15

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

Dr. H 36:18

I want to sincerely thank our guest, Ava, for her willingness to join us on the International Service Learning Experiential Medical Education podcast. But most importantly, I want to thank Ava for the passion that she has shared with us. Ava is a great ambassador for pre-med, gap year students, and for service learning. Her future patients and their family members will be very privileged to have her as their healthcare provider. I am hopeful that by sharing details from her service learning trip and now her new role as an ISL Gap Year student leader, she will inspire Gap Year students to step out of their comfort zones and to go for it as far as pursuing a similar opportunity.