Jamaica
| Location: | Runaway Bay, Jamaica and surrounding parishes |
| Travel dates (Anticipated): | January 2019 |
| Application: | DUE July 31st, 2018 2019 Jamaica GSL Application |
| Assoc. Student Org.: | Global Health Student Association |
| Assoc. Abroad Clinic/Dental School: | Health Care International |
| Trip leader & Contact Info: | Ben Golub (D20) & Zach Golub (D20) |
| Estimated # of Students: | 12 |
| Estimated # of Faculty: | 3 |
| Goals/ Areas of Focus: | Oral Hygiene Instruction, Surgical, Preventative care/ Prophylaxis |
TUSDM Jamaica GSL trip featured on the Boston Globe: Read Article HERE
Jamaica Service Learning Trip Part III: Tim Kim (D18) Reflects – February 2016
With the alarm blaring at 6:30 am, I awoke to the sun rising on a Monday morning. However, this was no ordinary Monday; I wasn’t getting ready to go to school, but rather was preparing for my first day of a weeklong service trip in Jamaica. Within the hour, I quickly got changed, packed my camera, and ran by the hotel cafeteria to get a bite to eat to sustain me for the long day ahead. Finally reaching the bus, I was greeted by the other students and faculty that had made the trip from their homes to volunteer their time and service to the local population. With excitement and a hint of nervousness in the air, we all departed the hotel for a two-hour ride to our first location…. CLICK TO READ MORE
Jamaica Service Learning Trip Part II: Kelly Barbera (D18) Reflects – February 2016
It’s Work Day 1 of the trip, and after a two hour bus ride to a church in a rural town called Clermont, we arrive at our work site. We get off of the bus and chaos ensues as children and adults alike greet us, anxious to get inside for care. We scatter, converting folding tables into surgical stations and hygiene bays. The second year dental students man the hygiene station, excited to see our first patients that aren’t our classmates. The morning flies by. After a blur of cleanings one after another – scaling-prophy-fluoride, scaling-prophy-fluoride – I am called over to do my first local anesthesia injection since our certification workshop in class two weeks earlier…. CLICK TO READ MORE
Michael Golub (D18) Reflects on his Service Learning Trip to Jamaica – February 2016
“Last month I had the opportunity to travel to Jamaica for the second time on a dental outreach program. My first trip was five years ago, while a pre-dental student in college. Returning to Jamaica, this year, I was once again charmed by the Jamaican people, and their “no problem” attitude. The outreach was incredible. It was a real life experience that brought together aspects of basic sciences, clinical expertise and global outreach. It was not uncommon to have an adult patient who was diabetic or had high blood pressure; thus, we utilized our medical team and our understanding of medical issues to clear these patients for treatment. Our background in global outreach and knowledge from the GSL course helped us understand the culture, while our skills in providing anesthesia and hygiene were put to the test… CLICK TO READ MORE.
In January 2016, the Tufts Global Outreach program will be visiting Jamaica for the very first time! Michael Golub (D18) first visited Jamaica in 2011 as a volunteer with Healthcare International. This year three additional students (Tahira Williams D16, Kelly Barbera D18, Tim Kim D18) will be joining him along with students from Michigan dental school and faculty from the dental school at NYU. Healthcare International is an organization made up of dentists and physicians whose goal is to provide dental and medical care for patients in the rural areas of Jamaica who have little or no access to health care. The Tufts team will be providing dental extractions, cleanings, fillings as well as offering a full range of preventative care including: oral health education, free toothbrushes and toothpaste. This trip will offer the Tufts students a unique clinical experience as well as allow TUSDM to partner with an organization that has a strong proven record or providing essential care to an underserved population in Jamaica.
A native from Jamaica, Tahira Williams (D16) states “I decided to participate firstly because it was an opportunity to go home and give back to a community that has limited access to dental care and secondly it would be a good learning experience outside of the United States.”