Here Come Clinicals!

Hello everyone! Mwapona buti!

It has started off as a busy and exciting week here in Zimba as we started our clinicals at Zimba Mission Hospital on Monday.  This week we have different groups in the hospital and some out in the communities doing a Measles campaign.  On Monday I was able to spend my day in the male and female wards.  The first day of clinical at a new hospital is always a hard adjustment trying to become accustomed to the protocols of the hospital and the roles of the nurses and nursing students.  The census for Monday morning included seven males and eleven females.  The male and female wards are separate with one nurse in each ward.  The hospital is very different compared to American hospitals with the beds right next to one another and no patient privacy. However, this allows for some good laughs with us practicing our Tonga with the patients and families.  The morning consisted of me following the nurse on the doctor’s rounds.  The nurses and doctors at the hospital are extremely beneficial and really take the time to explain everything and get the nursing students involved.  Their intelligence is very inspiring.  Think about in the United States how we have specific doctors and physicians in specialized areas.  For example, if someone has a heart problem they would be sent to a cardiologist.  But the doctors here are the ones taking care of everyone and know how to process through the next steps for the care of patients. 

A few of us were able to practice some of our nursing skills for the first time on actual patients.  I attempted to put in a NG (nasogastric) tube in a patient who previously had a stroke.  It was hard working with him because he was not oriented to his surroundings.  The bed siders were a big help.  It is always exciting and scary the first time doing a skill in the hospital setting compared to the nursing skills lab.  The nurse came along side of me and finished up the procedure since I couldn’t get it all the way in.  Even though I couldn’t quite accomplish the procedure, I was so thankful to get past that first experience mark and know more of what to expect. 

Nursing care looks very different here in Zambia.  The bed siders (the families of the patients) play a huge role in caring for the patients.  They are the ones who bathe the patients, clean the patient’s bed, and even hold their medications for them if the patients are gone from their beds.  I will take a safe guess and say that we all wanted to come to Zambia to be a source of help, but it was very important for us to understand the roles of the nurses in Zambia.  Even though we are used to cleaning and bathing patients in the U.S. , we cannot change the expectations of nurses here.  Working the hospital made me truly appreciate the role and help of the bed siders. 

  

Today, four of us including one of our professors, Carol went out in the community for the Measles campaign.  Since we went out into the community we had to wear our skirts and our sneakers-great look (picture included!) We were definitely out in the bush and people walked from all over to get their measles vaccine along with Vitamin A and Mebendazole (a medication to get rid of worms).  We treated children from 6 months to 15 years.  The four of us students along with some Zimba nurses vaccinated a little over 350 people!  We definitely got our practice in for giving shots.  It was a great experience and I’m so thankful we were able to be a part of this campaign for the community.   

Most of us have experienced more in the past 2 days than over a couple of weeks at clinicals in the U.S.  It excites me knowing this is just the beginning!  God continues to reveal his faithfulness and give us His strength to learn and grow each day we are here.  He truly knows how much we can handle each day and helps us through! 

Enjoy reading! 

    

Love,

Jamie Aardema