Work
The usual rotations include time in general internal medicine, family
medicine, pediatrics, emergency care, and general outpatient surgery. There is
always a preceptor who enjoys teaching students. Clinical sites include the
emergency room at the Community hospital, private offices, clinics in the
Indian Health Service Hospital, and regional cities of the IHS.
There are also experiences at the Behavior Health Center, which treats adult
alcoholics, and at the House of Hope, which serves teens who have a variety of
addiction and behavior problems. At those places you will have a chance to see
a combination of traditional Navajo healing and Western medicine. Many of the
students have participated in healing ceremonies such as sweat tents and
talking circles in which chants and drums help the medicine men conduct
treatment.
You will also ride with a visiting nurse as she makes rounds on the local
Navajo reservation. Here you will see patients who need checkups or
medications. The patients' housing conditions range from new trailers to
houses to unheated cabins with no water.
Play
Local Attractions:
- Within several hours are Canyon De Chelles (a beautiful canyon created by
water erosion), Painted Desert, Guanado Trading Post, and Chaco Canyon (site
of a civilization who lived there in 1000).
- About 4 hours away is Mesa Verde, a monumental cliff dwelling.
- To the south is the Zuni reservation where there are many artisans and a
beautiful chapel.
Special Events:
- August -- Intertribal Indian Ceremonial Dances
- December -- Hot air balloon races
- Film Festivals