Baylor medical students have the option of pursuing pathways during their education that allow them to take deeper dives into their areas of interest. The Global Health Pathway is one such option, giving students an understanding of medicine in the global context through coursework and electives as well as through international medical outreach initiatives.

This summer, several Baylor medical students and faculty advisers traveled to Oratorio, Guatemala, where they partnered with a local organization providing primary healthcare and referral coordination to this rural community. Students supported clinic operations and helped process patient referrals for specialty care, gaining firsthand exposure to healthcare delivery in a resource-limited setting.

BCM Family talked with two students on the trip, Jose Ramirez, the main student organizer of the trip, Class of 2027, and Shreya Tamma, Class of 2028.

BCM Family: What did you observe about the healthcare in this part of Guatemala that struck you most? What did you learn about the people and the culture?

Ramirez: One of the things that struck me most was how difficult it was for many patients to access even basic healthcare. For some families, traveling to the nearest hospital required several hours of transportation that was either unavailable or financially out of reach. Many patients therefore delayed seeking care until their symptoms became severe.

At the same time, I was incredibly inspired by the resilience and generosity of the community. Patients often waited patiently for hours to be seen, and despite the challenges they faced, they welcomed us with remarkable kindness. Equally important was seeing how much the clinic depended on local leadership. Community members like Flori and Jose Gomez were not simply helping us, they were the reason the clinic was successful. They understood the needs of their neighbors, coordinated follow-up care, and ensured that our efforts complemented existing community resources.

Working alongside our attending physicians, our Baylor student team was able to refer patients with more complex medical needs to local specialists and hospitals. Flori then personally contacts those hospitals to arrange appointments and drives the patients to receive the care they otherwise would not have been able to access. That experience reinforced for me that meaningful global health work is built on partnership and listening to local leaders rather than arriving with predetermined solutions.

Tamma: The clinic we worked at is run essentially by one woman and her family. Years ago, she recognized a gap in healthcare access in her community and converted a few rooms in a building across from her home into a clinic. What struck me most was the trust this community placed in her. It was clearly trust built over years, by someone who lives among her patients and is invested in their daily lives. That same generosity extended to us: her family cooked lunch for us each day, her partner drove us to and from our accommodations, and she made time to bring us to a local ice cream shop after long clinic days. It was the openness and hospitality of the people we met in Guatemala that made the greatest impression on me.

BCM Family: What were your clinical responsibilities?

Ramirez: During clinic, I worked alongside the attending physicians to evaluate patients, obtain histories and perform physical examinations in Spanish, develop differential diagnoses, discuss treatment plans with attendings and patients, and provide patient education as well as medications for enough months until the next medical group is able to come to the clinic.

I was also responsible for coordinating the flow of the clinic. Our Baylor team included both Spanish- and non-Spanish-speaking students, allowing us to operate five clinic rooms simultaneously. I organized student pairings to ensure that each room had the language skills and clinical experience needed to provide efficient, high-quality patient care. Watching our team work together across language barriers and different levels of training was one of the most rewarding parts of the experience.

Tamma: We also managed the pharmacy for our own patients – packaging medications and writing discharge instructions. All of this was a higher level of autonomy than we typically have in Houston, and I’ve already noticed the difference: just a few days into my internal medicine rotation, I feel more confident asking the right questions and building a differential, which I attribute directly to this experience.

BCM Family: How did this trip contribute to your medical education at Baylor and how will it impact your career going forward?

Ramirez: This experience reinforced many of the lessons Baylor has taught me about patient-centered care, teamwork and service. Working in a resource-limited setting challenged me to rely on careful history-taking and physical examination while also thinking critically about how to provide effective care when diagnostic resources are limited.

As I prepare to apply into general surgery (residency), this experience also strengthened my appreciation for the importance of access to surgical care and the role surgeons can play in addressing healthcare disparities both locally and globally. More than anything, it reminded me that medicine is ultimately about meeting patients where they are, listening to their needs, and working collaboratively with communities to improve health in a sustainable way.

Tamma: This trip clarified what I value in patient care going forward. Many of the patients we saw at the clinic had gone years without preventive care or a clear explanation of their health conditions, which reinforced how much I value primary care and continuity, particularly in the field of women’s health. I found that what mattered most to me wasn’t just treating the problem in front of me, but making sure each patient left knowing more about their health than when they arrived.

I hope to return to Oratorio in coming years and continue building on the relationships we started with the clinic and its patients. I’ve come to believe that global health and community health and fundamentally interconnected – you cannot do one well without doing the other well too, and this trip gave me a clearer picture of what that actually requires in practice. Our role was to supplement that work, not replace it, and I left Guatemala with a much better understanding of the difference between short-term aid and sustainable partnership. That distinction will shape how I think about service throughout my career, wherever I end up practicing.

Ramirez hopes the trip represents the beginning of a new Baylor medical student tradition.

“Our goal was never to create a one-time mission trip, but rather to establish a sustainable partnership that allows Baylor students to learn from this community while continuing to support the incredible work already being done by our local partners in Guatemala. I hope future Baylor students will continue building on these relationships for years to come,” he said.

Others on the Guatemala trip were Celeste Wang (MS3), David Garcia (MS4), Mahir Kota (MS3), David Ai (MS4), Eleanor Trent (MS3), Gracie Onyia (MS3), Sofia Litchev (MS3), Dr. Stephen Patrick (Faculty Member at Baylor and UT Tyler), Dr. Jim Wagner (Retired UTSW faculty), and Dr. Juan Vitelio Rodriguez (Baylor Faculty).

Outside of clinic hours, the group also had the chance to summit Volcán de Pacaya and explore the city of Antigua.