Mission to Cambodia 2012
from Amelia Brown

Today was our first day working in Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope. We’ve all been anticipating this day and were excited to get to work in the hospital. After arriving, we split up and went to different wings, including the emergency rooms, surgery, the general medical floor. We were put to work doing anything we could to be useful, such as: taking vitals; drawing blood; starting IV’s; checking blood glucose levels; cleaning wounds; etc.

Collectively, our experiences in the hospital were difficult, yet fulfilling. Health care in Cambodia is much different from the United States and nothing like most of us have ever witnessed before. I came on this trip to work in the physiotherapy department because I plan to pursue occupational therapy.  Today I worked in the general medical floor because the therapist was not in the hospital. I think that because I’m not a nursing major like everyone else, working on the floor was probably more shocking to me than it was for the others. I have never interacted with a patient who was in such a life-threatening state so closely before. The experience really gave me a different perspective on health care. I truly realize now how privileged we are to have such abundant treatment options and facilities in the US. Continue reading →