DFM's Family Medicine Residency/Student Elective trip to Honduras

Faculty from the Department of Family Medicine traveled to Honduras during the week of October 19-26, 2003 to continue the consultation process to establish that nation’s first Family Medicine Residency program as well as a Student Elective.

from left to right: Dr. McKeag; Dr. Vargas Honduras Surgeon General; Dr. Matamoros, Honduran Assistant Director of Post Graduate Medical Education; Dr.Sevilla; and  Dr. Kelton.

Departmental members included Douglas B. McKeag, MD, MS; Gaylen M. Kelton, MD; and Javier F. Sevilla Martir, MD. Three Indiana University School of Medicine students also traveled to Honduras—Kevin McGarvey, Fourth Year Medical Student; Juliana Meyer, Third Year Medical Student; and Heather McKeag, Second Year Medical Student. The goal was to set the basis for an International Medicine Elective Rotation with active participation by medical students. Drs. McKeag, Kelton, and Sevilla provided clinical work alongside the medical students through four different rural villages, Camalotales, Pimienta, La Angostura and Las Lajas (the largest village) in central Honduras. This included providing medical care for pediatric, adult, and geriatric patients as well as performing physical exams for students at the school of the largest village.

The village school building that was used for clinic and the villagers awaiting treatment. The illnesses they treated ranged from tropical medicine cases like parasitosis, chronic skin conditions to common acute processes like otitis media, urinary tract infections and pneumonias.

Dr. Sevilla is originally from Honduras where he completed medical school in 1992. Previous to coming to the United States, Dr. Sevilla practiced medicine in Honduras as a general practitioner for four years. This included a year of work with an ambulatory clinic, providing care for the Lenca tribes in the mountains of Honduras. Dr. Kelton had last been in Honduras 18 years ago and marveled at how many of the urban areas had become very modern and mimicked western culture. However, he found that the rural areas in many ways had not changed and were just as needy for our care as they were 18 years ago. “This will be an excellent opportunity for the Indiana University School of Medicine to aid the underserved of Honduras, as well as give our many constituents (students, residents and faculty) an opportunity to experience the culture while providing care in an underserved setting.”

Dr. McKeag and Mayor Rodriguez symbolically (and literally) "laying the foundation" together

The Family Medicine consultation process had been started by Drs. McKeag, Sevilla, and Richard D. Kiovsky, MD in March 2002 when they introduced the concept, philosophy and model of family medicine care to the Honduran government, and to academic and medical authorities. During this last visit, Drs. McKeag, Kelton, and Sevilla met with the Surgeon General of Honduras, Dr. Vargas, who expressed interest in the establishment of the Family Medicine Residency program and issued a letter of support. The Department of Family Medicine is now actively pursuing funding opportunities to develop this project that will enhance learning, research, and outreach opportunities for our medical school. Additionally, an agreement to collaborate with Pediatrics on faculty development in Honduras was reached, and relationships with rural clinics in other parts of Honduras for both residency and medical student learning were established. Finally, medical student involvement established the groundwork for an international medicine experience for medical students (from IUSM and elsewhere) to proceed.

The Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Health Center Building in Las Lajas, Taulabe, Honduras, the future site of the International Medicine elective rotation. Drs. McKeag, Kelton, and Sevilla were the guests of honor.

For more information and/or questions, please email iufammed@iupui.edu.

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