This summer, Rachael Kantor ’14 is bound for Bocas Del Toro, Panama, to work with Floating Doctors, a nonprofit organization that provides free health care services, education, medical supplies, and emergency assistance to rural communities all over the world. Kantor will be serving as head of pharmaceuticals, and as a volunteer coordinator for the organization. This yearlong position serves both the administrative and service ends of the organization, and Kantor will be kept busy, developing protocols in the pharmacy for distribution of medicines and medical emergencies.
Kantor hopes to be a doctor herself in the future, so her role with Floating Doctors will provide opportunities to develop tangible skills that she can parlay into her career. A biology major, who also did a Peace, Justice, and Human Rights concentration, Kantor feels amply prepared for her work with Floating Doctors. “The combination of my major and concentration made me constantly aware of the bigger picture,” says Kantor.
She first worked as a volunteer with Floating Doctors in Panama in 2013, thanks to the support of a Gertrude Heller Memorial Grant from Haverford’s Center for Career and Professional Advising. During her summer there, Kantor became deeply involved in the work of the pharmacy, and was invited by the organization to return to Panama.
Kantor is thrilled to have the chance to expand upon the skills she acquired last summer. “I can personally attest to the fact that any time spent with Floating Doctors is life-changing!” says Kantor. She is most looking forward to interacting with patients, practicing her Spanish language skills, and seeing the direct impact that medical care and education can have on a community. “I am excited to learn from, and meet, doctors and other medical personnel from all over the world,” she says. “I am excited to see the impact a pair of glasses or a toothbrush has on a person; I am excited to see the smile on a mother-to-be’s face when she learns the sex of her baby.”
To learn more about Floating Doctors visit floatingdoctors.com/.
—Kelsey Ryan ’14
“Where They’re Headed” is a blog series reporting on the post-Haverford plans of members of the Class of 2014.