HSC students build skills, community...and a house
HSC students build skills, community...and a house
By Delaney Duffy and Naomi Gitlin
“It creates an atmosphere that you don’t get just by studying,” said John Engelbert, an M2 in the Bioethics Honors program.
That’s just one of Engelbert’s reflections after returning from an Ignatian Service Immersion (ISI) trip in the summer of 2023.
“Every moment was filled enjoying each other’s company, despite the often difficult work at hand, the grueling sun, and temperature, or the bugs feasting on our skin,” he said. “One day, there is a strong possibility that we’ll be collaborating together to care for the same patient; this is the kind of relationship to have built -- and precedent of resolve to have formed -- that will give a patient the best chance at living a healthy life,” said Engelbert.
The Health Sciences Campus Ministry coordinates Ignatian Service Immersion (ISI), a one-, two- or four-week program for Stritch physicians-in-training and other Health Sciences Campus students, faculty, and staff that focuses on addressing social determinants of health and health disparities through service-immersion trips. Grounded in the values of simplicity, solidarity, spirituality, service, and social justice, the goal is to learn from the communities in which each group works. In addition to Belize, other sites for learning include partner locations in Palacios, Bolivia; Quito, Ecuador; Santiago, Dominican Republic; El Salvador, and the U.S. Mexico border.
While these service-immersion trips occur during spring break or summer, the ISI process begins in the fall, with informational meetings.
In addition to learning about healthcare delivery systems, the Belize City immersion group works with long-time, local non-profit partner Hand in Hand, to build a house for a family. And through building a home, participants learn lessons in teamwork, unpredictability, and how to work in high-pressure situations — all important skills for healthcare professionals. Even more importantly, the work is shared with local residents, from whom students learn about local history, their daily hopes and needs, and how to create authentic relationships across cultures. This immersion experience and its learnings are essential for learning how to provide patient-centered medicine.
Working with Hand in Hand, the service-immersion trip consists of building a home in no fewer than five days. Construction includes framing, nailing, painting, and putting the house up, along with transporting materials, mixing concrete, and all the other details that come with building a home from the ground up. After working eight hours at the construction site, participants return to Starfish House, the group’s four-bedroom home base, where they process the day's events, learn about Belizean culture, government, and health care, and spend time visiting historical or cultural landmarks.
For Emily Anderson, PhD, associate professor, Bioethics, participating on her third ISI service-immersion trip helps her learn “something new about medical school life to better understand students’ lives.” “For me, each time I join an ISI trip, I am so encouraged about the future of medicine and how Loyola students will help shape that future. It reminds me how much I love my work,” she said.
As Engelbert continues to reflect on his experience, he observes that communities in under-resourced countries often are very tightly knit.
“In Chicago (and America), we get so disconnected from each other because we are concerned about our careers or what’s happening on our phones,” he said.
“This trip of gaining wisdom from experiencing other cultures is just one of many more I plan to embark upon in my lifetime,” said Englebert. “The dynamic between experiencing novel backgrounds and values and reflecting upon them proves to be perhaps the most effective way to acquire the skills to proactively care for different groups of people,” he said.
Engelbert’s advice to M1s, faculty, and staff considering participating in an ISI trip: “Go and experience it. I feel beyond blessed to have gotten the opportunity to live and work among such a unique and tightly knit group of people, and to do it alongside my wonderful peers.”
February 2024
By Delaney Duffy and Naomi Gitlin
“It creates an atmosphere that you don’t get just by studying,” said John Engelbert, an M2 in the Bioethics Honors program.
That’s just one of Engelbert’s reflections after returning from an Ignatian Service Immersion (ISI) trip in the summer of 2023.
“Every moment was filled enjoying each other’s company, despite the often difficult work at hand, the grueling sun, and temperature, or the bugs feasting on our skin,” he said. “One day, there is a strong possibility that we’ll be collaborating together to care for the same patient; this is the kind of relationship to have built -- and precedent of resolve to have formed -- that will give a patient the best chance at living a healthy life,” said Engelbert.
The Health Sciences Campus Ministry coordinates Ignatian Service Immersion (ISI), a one-, two- or four-week program for Stritch physicians-in-training and other Health Sciences Campus students, faculty, and staff that focuses on addressing social determinants of health and health disparities through service-immersion trips. Grounded in the values of simplicity, solidarity, spirituality, service, and social justice, the goal is to learn from the communities in which each group works. In addition to Belize, other sites for learning include partner locations in Palacios, Bolivia; Quito, Ecuador; Santiago, Dominican Republic; El Salvador, and the U.S. Mexico border.
While these service-immersion trips occur during spring break or summer, the ISI process begins in the fall, with informational meetings.
In addition to learning about healthcare delivery systems, the Belize City immersion group works with long-time, local non-profit partner Hand in Hand, to build a house for a family. And through building a home, participants learn lessons in teamwork, unpredictability, and how to work in high-pressure situations — all important skills for healthcare professionals. Even more importantly, the work is shared with local residents, from whom students learn about local history, their daily hopes and needs, and how to create authentic relationships across cultures. This immersion experience and its learnings are essential for learning how to provide patient-centered medicine.
Working with Hand in Hand, the service-immersion trip consists of building a home in no fewer than five days. Construction includes framing, nailing, painting, and putting the house up, along with transporting materials, mixing concrete, and all the other details that come with building a home from the ground up. After working eight hours at the construction site, participants return to Starfish House, the group’s four-bedroom home base, where they process the day's events, learn about Belizean culture, government, and health care, and spend time visiting historical or cultural landmarks.
For Emily Anderson, PhD, associate professor, Bioethics, participating on her third ISI service-immersion trip helps her learn “something new about medical school life to better understand students’ lives.” “For me, each time I join an ISI trip, I am so encouraged about the future of medicine and how Loyola students will help shape that future. It reminds me how much I love my work,” she said.
As Engelbert continues to reflect on his experience, he observes that communities in under-resourced countries often are very tightly knit.
“In Chicago (and America), we get so disconnected from each other because we are concerned about our careers or what’s happening on our phones,” he said.
“This trip of gaining wisdom from experiencing other cultures is just one of many more I plan to embark upon in my lifetime,” said Englebert. “The dynamic between experiencing novel backgrounds and values and reflecting upon them proves to be perhaps the most effective way to acquire the skills to proactively care for different groups of people,” he said.
Engelbert’s advice to M1s, faculty, and staff considering participating in an ISI trip: “Go and experience it. I feel beyond blessed to have gotten the opportunity to live and work among such a unique and tightly knit group of people, and to do it alongside my wonderful peers.”
February 2024