This summer, students in The University of Tulsa’s chapter of Global Brigades traveled to Panama to earn real-world experience and help people in need of health care. A group of 13 UTulsa students and two faculty members from the Oxley College of Health & Natural Sciences spent a week in Panama with Global Brigades, an international nonprofit organization that works to meet a community’s health and economic goals.
Senior Maddie Fulk, who is majoring in exercise & sports science (pre-med) and applied mathematics, is the president of UTulsa’s Global Brigades. She said the team received training on the first day of their trip, and then spent several busy days working in clinics. She says her Spanish language skills came in handy when there weren’t enough translators available.
“We were able to, at night, in between our clinic days, teach each other different key phrases. So that was a lot of fun,” she said.
Fulk explained that students cycled between stations in the clinics. Community members who don’t normally have easy access to health care were able to receive diagnoses, get prescriptions filled, and even receive dental care .
“First, there’s intake, or triage station, where patients just get their vitals taken and give a basic rundown of what they’re there for,” Fulk explained. “Then, in the next room, they have a consultation where they meet with the doctor. There are local Panamanian doctors that work with us. They come out and volunteer and basically diagnose the patient and write prescriptions for medication for them. Then, the patient is taken to the next room, which is called the ‘charla,’ which basically just means presentation. Io there, we gave a public health presentation, just to help them understand some different social factors and how to prevent different diseases with those social and behavioral factors.”
While any UTulsa student can participate in Global Brigades, regardless of major, this clinical experience was particularly meaningful to those who are hoping to pursue a career in health care, like biochemistry sophomore Sarvesh Ramakrishnan.
“When I first decided to go on the Global Brigades trip, I assumed that we would get a very filtered experience in Panama, hearing about the stereotypical service trip stories,” he said. “However, once we arrived at our clinic locations, each set up in a local school in rural towns, I realized that we were making a real impact in these communities. One of my most memorable experiences was when I was with two kids, ages 7 and 4. They took a workbook off the shelves, matted with a layer a dust, blew it off, and then tried to teach me new words in Spanish. They pointed at animals in the book, showing me the words in Spanish, while I reciprocated, teaching them the same words in English.”
Ramakrishnan detailed another meaningful experience in the clinic, assisting a doctor with a patient who thought she had glaucoma.
“Hearing this case, I remembered my dad who was diagnosed with juvenile glaucoma, going through several surgeries over the past 20 years,” he said. “Knowing my background, the doctor let me lead the examination, performing visual field tests and testing the eye pressures. I was relieved to tell the patient that we didn’t see any signs of glaucoma. In fact, as she let out a sigh of relief, I did the same, since I understood from childhood that glaucoma treatment is a difficult process to go through.”
Ron Walker is an associate dean of Oxley College of Health & Natural Sciences and accompanied students on the trip to Panama.
“This was an incredible experience for the Global Brigades chapter at TU,” Walker said. “Our work and interactions with the Panamanian team and patients were impactful, and our experiences with each other were equally meaningful. As a faculty member and campus leader, I am amazed every day at the things that our students engage in and accomplish. I had the opportunity to work alongside them in a foreign country for a week and witnessed their devotion and commitment to serving others.”
Dr. Jeffrey Alderman, assistant dean for medical education and Barbara Yetter Roth Chair of Community Medicine at UTulsa, also traveled with the students.
“The trip to Panama with Global Brigades gave students a unique opportunity to put academic concepts into real-world practice. It’s one thing to study health statistics and disparities in a classroom. It’s another thing to truly connect with someone from another country and a different culture,” he said. “In Panama, students felt like they were ‘actually doing something’ to make differences in people’s lives. Many commented that working with Global Brigades was life-changing, and most came away thinking differently about career paths and helping people in need.”
UTulsa students work hard during the school year to pay for their trip abroad. Fulk explained that her education helped prepare her for the journey because her classes emphasize teamwork, and the small class sizes allow her to interact with professors, which enhances her understanding of complex topics. She’s on the pre-med track at UTulsa, and she’s also taking advantage of the public health minor. She says her time abroad was a meaningful way to supplement her STEM education.
“I’ve taken classes at TU, analyzing the health care system, trying to understand how it works in the United States, and different setbacks that we have, and problems that we face. And then comparing that to a country abroad, like Panama, it really makes your grateful for what we do have, despite our challenges,” she said.