Many Baylor College of Medicine students and trainees pursue opportunities to learn and serve in communities around the world. In an effort to serve and learn, physician assistant student Grace McCraw traveled more than 1,800 miles away from Houston to Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

McCraw, now a third-year student in the School of Health Professions’ Physician Assistant Program, said she always knew she wanted to do global health mission work during her time at Baylor. She decided that the end of her second year, midway through her clinical training, would be the ideal time to pursue the opportunity.

After researching organizations, she found Global Health Outreach, which sends healthcare professionals to provide services around the world and allows students to accompany, observe and assist. McCraw applied for a service trip to Honduras focused on orthopedic surgery.

“I worked in orthopedic surgery as a medical assistant prior to PA school, and I’m interested in pursuing the field after I graduate,” McCraw said. “We don’t get a rotation in orthopedic surgery, so I thought it would be good experience to get in the (operating room).”

Her team included seven orthopedic surgeons, two hand therapists and several students. The medical team began traveling to Honduras 20 years ago, and many team members make the trip each year.

The group arrived with a directive from their team leader to remain “flexible.” Over the course of the week, McCraw learned the importance of those instructions.

“Sometimes we can go into a trip like this thinking we Americans are doing a great service by coming in with our advanced tools and expertise,” McCraw said. “But our trip leader emphasized to us from the beginning that we were there to work alongside the medical professionals in Honduras, and that we can really learn from them too.”

The trip started with unpacking more than 200 trunks of donated supplies – everything from surgical tools and equipment to gowns, gloves, caps and shoe covers. Over the course of a week, they saw 95 patients and performed more than 50 surgeries. They treated patients with congenital defects and burns and patients who were injured in accidents.

“Most of these injuries go untreated for life or are left untreated for months due to the lack of surgeons in the area,” McCraw said.

In the operating room, McCraw observed and sometimes assisted during surgeries. She immediately saw the differences in facilities, equipment and clinical processes between Honduras and what she has experienced in her training in Houston.

Without computers, the Honduran doctors documented on paper charts and studied printed x-rays on light boxes. When they needed a tool that wasn’t available, the surgeons improvised with what was available. McCraw was impressed to see one surgeon using a home power drill to secure a piece of hardware into bone because there was no medical drill available. One surgeon used his own power tool in the on-call room to shape a piece of hardware for his next surgery.

“I was so humbled by this experience. It’s incredible (to see) the way the medical team in Honduras is doing these surgeries with less advanced equipment than what we have in the United States. We are so reliant on our computers, even just in our medical records system.

“I’m really thankful for the advanced and organized systems we have in the U.S. But I also saw how you can make it work without all that equipment, too. We can be innovative and figure out a new way forward when needed,” she said.

During the week, McCraw was struck by the challenges patients overcame to receive necessary surgery. For many patients, surgical care is cost prohibitive, and they may not have transportation to the hospital. Due to these barriers, many of their patients suffered with untreated injuries for a long time.

“The patients we saw were so grateful for the care. Despite the language barrier, I felt like I connected with them, and their smiles communicated so much,” McCraw said.

McCraw says the experience taught her to show compassion to all patients and to continue to answer the call to service, even when she is back home in Texas.

“Serving is a really fulfilling way to enact the knowledge and the education that you have,” McCraw said. “I’ve always looked at my future in medicine as service. Whether I go into orthopedic surgery or not, I am so touched by my experiences in Honduras and know it will impact my patient care for years to come.”

By Molly Chiu