Global Brigades | Michigan State 

“This is exactly what I want to do,” said Jane. “I kind of knew, but this experience 100 percent told me that this is exactly what I wanted to do—which was awesome.”

Global Brigades is an organization that Michigan State University partners with to offer care to those in need around the world. Jane Sirigiri, a junior studying neuroscience at MSU took part in the Michigan State University Medical Brigade March in Nicaragua.

Michigan State has offered this trip for students in the medical field each year in Honduras, but this spring was the first trip to Nicaragua. Here, Jane and about 45 others provided to aid to people in and around the community, San Jose De Pire. While they were centered in this town, people from as far 15 miles outside the community walked to receive proper treatment and assistance.

Jane’s favorite part of her experience in Nicaragua was working in triage. This is the first contact people have with the doctors and students providing help. Here she would ask the patients what their symptoms were, their medical history. She would take their blood pressure, check their heart rate, and make them feel comfortable before spending all day waiting in line to see a doctor. There was a lot of interaction in triage, and here she was able to speak Spanish, meet many people, and learn the most. 

During her trip, Jane also shadowed doctors, dentists, gynecologists, and she assisted on dental surgeries; tooth extractions and fillings. She was able to learn how to give initial eye readings, grab the correct medicine for doctors, and learn what medicine was necessary for what ailment.

Jane said that it was amazing to see the dedication of the doctors. They volunteered their time to help those who didn’t receive the care they needed. At one point, the gynecologist ran out of supplies, and while she was taking inventory someone asked who paid for the materials. She responded that she does. The doctors on this trip volunteer their personal time and money for the people who cannot afford treatment because it is their life’s work.

I asked Jane what the overall impact of this trip was for her, and she said that it puts your life into perspective. Jane moved to East Lansing from India when she was in grade school. She told me, “Whenever my family visited India, we would go to poor villages and it was a culture shock. This was similar. I would notice the wild dogs in Nicaragua and I would want to give them my food, but in reality the people in this town don’t even have food. We take so much for granted.” Jane told me that after this trip, she wants to share that if anyone is going into medicine they should take a trip similar to this, because it reassured her she was going to do what she loved.