{"id":5084393,"date":"2019-08-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-14T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctlatinonews.com\/uconn-global-health-scholar-leverages-experience-and-ethnicity-in-helping-others\/"},"modified":"2019-08-14T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-14T04:00:00","slug":"uconn-global-health-scholar-leverages-experience-and-ethnicity-in-helping-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/2019\/08\/14\/uconn-global-health-scholar-leverages-experience-and-ethnicity-in-helping-others\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Global Health Scholar Leverages Experience And Ethnicity In Helping Others"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Annika Darling, CTLatinoNews.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

On June 16, 25-year-old medical student Carolina Vicens-Cardona<\/a> returned to Panama for the third time. She has returned to finish her research she began in the summer of 2016. Assisting her efforts, the UConn School of Medicine<\/a> and the UConn Health Graduate School<\/a> awarded her the 2019 Maria and Edward P. Hargus, M.D., Professor Judy Lewis Global Health Education Scholarship. Vicens-Cardona put the scholarship towards her plane ticket and other travel expenses and stay in Panama for a period of 6 weeks. During this time, she will be digging deeper into the culture and the family planning needs of the indigenous Ng\u00e4be communities. <\/p>\n\n\n

Before becoming a volunteer in Panama for Floating Doctors, Vicens-Cardona knew two things: she was interested in global health and had a strong desire to work in Latin America. After graduating with a Bachelor\u2019s Degree in Industrial Microbiology from The University of Puerto Rico at Mayag\u00fcez in December 2014, she had \u201cspare time to fill.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had the gap period between when I graduated and when I would begin medical school in the U.S.,\u201d explains Vicens-Cardona, \u201cso I actively began looking for volunteer opportunities near Latin America where I could do something healthcare-related. And that\u2019s how I came across Floating Doctors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

Floating Doctors<\/a> became a reality in 2010 during the Haiti earthquake. While plans had been in motion for this non-profit organization and a huge 100-ton boat was being repaired by a small group of volunteers led by Founder and CEO Benjamin LaBrot, the Haiti earthquake was what set them in motion \u2026 they knew they had to act, and they haven\u2019t stopped since. Today, Floating Doctors is comprised of physicians and volunteers from all over the world and they provide health care, education and community development to underserved communities. <\/p>\n\n\n

Vicens-Cardona began as a volunteer with Floating Doctors mainly as an interpreter. Upon return (her second trip), and then in medical school, she started her research on family planning. For this, she interviewed over 140 women and spoke to many more who didn\u2019t want to be interviewed. Currently (for her third trip) she says she is focusing more on qualitative data. \u201cBefore I was gathering basic information,\u201d Vicens-Cardona explains, \u201clike numbers, \u2018How many children do you have, etc.\u2019 Now, I want it to be more of a conversation and fill in the gaps.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

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