Thursday May 19, 2011 (click images to view larger size)
Wow. Everyone that has been on this amazing trip promised it would be life changing and they were right. There is a magic here that extends from the people to the architecture. This morning we went to the government hospital. It was shocking how poor the conditions were. There are several people to a room, no bedsheets, under the beds cooking pots served as bedpans, and no air conditioning in any patient areas. The nurses work 24 hour shifts and if a patient wants better care, in some cases, they have to bribe the nurse for it. The patients at this government hospital are taken care of by their families. When a patient goes to the hospital, it is the family members who do the bathing, turning, and feeding – not the nursing staff. I observed a nurse administer two injections for pain on separate patients, during which she did not wear gloves or sanitize the injection site with alcohol. There was a room dedicated to polio patients…it never occurred to me that polio was still a disease that is prevalent in other cultures.
Never get on a moto…never get on a moto…never get on a moto. 99% of the patients we saw had been in a moto accident. We aren’t talking about a bruise or a scraped hand…these patients have compound fractures and severe head trauma. One of the more interesting patients found himself in a fight with the wrong guy and was attacked by a Samari sword!! Part of his left hand had been chopped off and there was a large laceration to the back of his head. They might not have guns here but they have swords.
After finishing rounds we returned to Hope hospital. It was a breath of fresh air. The nurses are rock stars. I followed two ED nurses for several hours. One nurse is responsible for 4 patients in a room the size of an American closet. They are fast and accurate. One of their main concerns is keeping cost down for the patient and they will do anything in their power to help facilitate cost reduction. A patient came to us with heart failure and the nurses told me it can cost up to $5 dollars a month to treat it. When I told them it can easily cost thousands of dollars back in the States, they just looked at me in disbelief. We had a slow moment and the nurses seized this opportunity to quizzed me on drugs. They wanted to know what the drug did and the class it was in! Thank you Dr. Buckner and Dr. Adam because I got them all right!
I am really enjoying my experience here. It will not only make me a better person, but a better nurse. I promise to post pictures soon!
– Blair McKown