The Word Is Out

In Haiti medical graduates spend their first year in "social service".  This involves working, at very little pay, in needy clinics or hospitals.  Since there is a perennial shortage of trained medical people, the clinics and hospitals do their best to attract good residents.  But the interns themselves have a large say in the matter.  In fact, those at the top of their class get first pick in choosing their assignments.

Now, one would expect that a new and relatively unknown place like Visitation Clinic would have some difficulty attracting good residents.  After all, we are not a historic and renown institution that their family or professors would have known.   And we are in a rural area that takes three hours to get to and where there is not much to do except work.  Not to mention that our patients don't come from the Haiti's wealthy families.

Well, these logical and common sense expectations would be mistaken..  We've become a preferred choice by top graduates from medical and nursing schools.  For instance this year our social-service resident, Dr. Delva, had many options but he chose to work at Visitation Clinic.  The main reason: the strong recommendation of our previous resident, who was also a top graduate.  It seems we're developing a reputation among medical students for being one of Haiti's best clinics.  We will be doing our best not to disappoint.