What is Mexzona? How does it help us medical students? What value does it bring to the community in RP (and even maybe with the pre meds- a bigger COMT community?) and a message from us leaders.
Mexzona is a non-profit organization driven to improve the health disparities that communities in Sonora, Mexico face through volunteer work by increasing healthcare accessibility through a variety of services. We travel down every month to offer free medical care alongside physicians and healthcare personnel to the communities of Puerto Peñasco and Sonoyta. Our services include pediatrics, general medicine, OB-GYN, ophthalmology, physical therapy, and orthopedics. Our team is run by pre-medical students from the University of Arizona as well as medical students primarily from four campuses across the state of Arizona willing to donate their time and expertise in helping these communities. We offer a unique global health opportunity for our medical student volunteers to practice their clinical skills in medical interviews, physical examinations, and presenting their findings as well as working with physicians in mapping out differential diagnoses with associated treatment plans for a range of conditions. At the Rocky Point Medical Clinics, we aim to lift up our future leaders in healthcare by recruiting undergraduate pre-medical students to practice performing triage tasks and interpreter services with the effort to facilitate hands-on experience in an enriching environment.
Message from the Leaders:
Alex Hitti : This is an incredible opportunity for both medical and pre-medical students to gain hands-on experience in global health and develop their clinical skills while serving patients in underserved communities across Sonora. Some of my most memorable moments include learning how to navigate language barriers in a healthcare setting and witnessing the strong sense of community that develops among our volunteers by the end of the trip.
Cameron Mortazavi: I have been volunteering with Mexzona for over 3 years now, attending over 25 clinics. This opportunity has, without a doubt, been the highlight of my pre-medical/medical journey thus far and has allowed me to integrate clinical thinking, interprofessionalism, and foster collaboration with our many volunteers from all walks of life. I highly encourage any and all healthcare professionals interested to get involved in Mexzona. It is an honor and a privilege to share this experience with so many like minded people and share the love of global health public service to the communities of Sonora, Mexico.
Emma Martinez: Providing high quality and culturally competent care requires intentionality and teamwork, both of which are explored simultaneously within the opportunities that MexZona has to offer. In this way, Mexzona is a great way to experience how global health meets community health; both are necessary and each informs the other. It has been an honor to work with the patients, the physicians, and my peers in order to provide healthcare to those residing in Sonora.
