Dartmouth Medical School

The first trip to the Ojibwe Reservations took place last year and was a great success. We followed a similar model this year, although the trip was still quite unique and special in its own right. We split into groups of four and traveled to three different reservations, and predominantly had two kinds of experiences: clinical and service. For the clinical component, we shadowed primary care physicians at different Indian Health Service clinics and tribal health facilities. We gained an understanding of the chronic diseases afflicting Native American people and the difficulty of successfully delivering rural healthcare in a complicated economic, social, and cultural environment. For the service component, we visited tribal primary and secondary schools to educate Indian students about various health issues pertinent to their communities and options for careers in healthcare. We engaged the young students with hands-on activities using physical exam equipment. The Fond du Lac team also hosted diabetes screenings and administered surveys throughout the week. We strove to build and expand on the relationships that the previous Dartmouth medical students had forged and also hope to pave the way for future Dartmouth medical students. All twelve medical students came into the trip having a strong interest in practicing medicine in rural settings and have concluded the trip with continual or increased interest in, and awareness of, rural healthcare on the reservations. Listed below are the goals that our group hoped to undertake during our visits to the reservations. Trip Goals  To build on the relationships with three Ojibwe communities initiated by last year's group of Dartmouth medical students  To listen, observe, and begin to understand the healthcare and social issues facing Ojibwe communities through direct, personal interactions  To provide meaningful community service, developed in collaboration with community leaders  To share what we learned by raising awareness among our colleagues and peers at Dartmouth 3 Background