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Patient Interview Paper

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“Come on in ma’am” I uttered in Spanish to the women clad in a colorful Mayan dress near the entrance of the clinic. It was my first day as a medical volunteer in Guatemala and I had been assigned the duty of interviewing patients and formulating differential diagnoses under the supervision of Dr. Reyes, the clinics' head physician. “Tell me about your headache” I said to the patient as she took her seat. She professed that her headache, which had bothered her for two weeks, was intermittent, diffuse and of moderate intensity. Her headache was often associated with a dry mouth and bouts of fatigue, especially after long days of working under the hot Guatemalan sun. Having neither a pharmacy within walking distance nor money to spare, she had resorted to using cold compresses to aid with her discomfort. …show more content…

She responded by indicating that she mostly are black beans, white rice, and corn tortillas. She also admitted to drinking very little water throughout the day, even on the days when she worked long hours in the fields. “Migraines?" I shot at Dr. Reyes, who stood behind me supervising the patient interview. "Nope.” she answered. “Think harder. You have everything you need" she shot back. As I looked over all the information I had jotted down, I could't help but be drawn to one important fact: this patient was not drinking enough water. In a classic “voila” moment, I darted my eyes at Dr. Reyes and blurted out, “Dehydration!". " You got it, Doc." she replied with a smile. Instantly I was filled with excitement and joy. In a rural part of Guatemala, on my first day as a medical volunteer I had done something that I had never done before—made a clinical diagnosis. It was an amazing moment. One that I would never come to

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