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I was in a village this week doing rapid HIV testing when a woman walked past me with a Target snowman t-shirt. I began to wonder how that snowman had migrated here to a few degrees off the equator. As I watched the snowman drift past me I began to think about the old saying "You can't judge a book by its cover." I had taken a break from running the HIV tests in a lab in a concrete slab building with no floor, door, or ceiling. I would receive a sample of blood and drop it into what looks like a small pregnancy test and wait for one line or two. I would watch the blood being drawn next to me and then I would run the test. You drop in the blood, followed by the developer and then pray for only one line . . . one line means negative. My first two liner for the day was certainly not who I would have picked by looking at the crowd. I ran the confirmatory test . . . two lines again. It is the Russian Roulette of pregnancy test. I once saw a test that had a smile face for pregnant and a blank face for not pregnant. There were no smiles when the two lines appeared.
The one good thing about this was that now there is one less secret between that person and their body. Paul Tournier said that "Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets." No one should be a stranger from themselves.
Get Tested! Be Safe!
So I am here in a cyber cafe and have a short time to let you know how life has been this week.
I have been learning so much and having so many good experiences. I have been going to the clinic everyday from 8am-4pm. I work on my language with the clinic staff all day and review and study at night. I get teased a little now and again and sometimes the staff tells me funny things to say. (They taught me to respond to hey with something close to "I'm cool" or "poa"- they laugh a lot and get very sad when I use the correct "safi" now) Two nurses said I know knew enough Kiswahili to stop speaking any English. I don't know about that but I was able to diagnose and treat a Malaria case by myself this week when the doctor I was working with left me to it. I was lucky that 75% of the cases at the clinic are malaria so I had some experience with it. In Kiswahili I asked "Are you vomiting? How many time? Do you have diarrhea? Do you have any pain? Where? Do you have a cough?" I then sent her for the malaria test at the lab. I have only seen one test come back negative all week.
I was also able to witness some basic hand surgery at the clinic and some major wound care not unlike what I might do while working in the Burn Unit. It is to be sure we have different ways of doing things but it is always interesting and new.
Since I live in a guest house I have not had the opportunity to eat much local food but am about to foray out into the busy street for some lunch. Maybe I will find some good cart food nearby. I have no doubt it will not be like my beloved Christopher’s but it will be good I am sure.
Every day is a new adventure and a great learning experience. I can't wait to tell you so much more in the coming weeks. Thank you all for your support and love. I can feel it a world away.
I have had the opportunity to spend time overseas starting with a summer in
Sweden when I was ten. At fifteen I went to Colombia to visit a friend by
myself. At seventeen it was half a gap year in India. After college I went
to Uzbekistan with the Peace Corps. I have been so lucky to have these
opportunities but I have always dreamed of Africa. In less than a week I
will finally be able to step foot off a plane and walk onto a continent I
have dreamed of for so long.
I am going to a country half way around the world that has a language I can
barely say hello in, to work in a clinic with people I don’t know. In case
you are wondering, yes I am a little scared. I am scared of not being able
to communicate, scared that I might be in the way, scared that I might
never want to leave, and scared that a place I have envisioned for so long
might not really want or need me. I have a policy that when I am scared or
facing a challenge I ask myself the simple question “What is the worse that
could happen?” Putting a voice to my fears has always made me feel stronger
and then I can tackle them.
As an accelerated student nursing is very new to me. I started nursing
school 14 months ago but I now feel more prepared than I have ever been in
the past. I have been working or volunteering in health education for eight
years but nursing has added the element I knew I desperately needed. It
allows me to better provide complete care. Perhaps more importantly it
helps create a relationship of trust more quickly with new populations.
When you prove yourself knowledgeable and compassionate about someone’s
wound care, or prenatal care, they have a much better reason to trust you
with other areas of their life. I hope that I will be able to use nursing
as a springboard to help communities address social inequalities, poverty
relief, and political freedom. These impact health directly and cannot be
ignored because you can’t see them. This may not happen on this trip, but
hey the day I stop dreaming of change and a better life for my patients is
the day I need to take a break.
Just like that girl in the refugee camp we all have this potential in use.
It doesn’t mean that we all need to go to Tanzania or join Doctor’s Without
Borders tomorrow but it does mean that we can all change the world a
little. If for you that is being the best friend you can be, or that you
take the time to make it to your kids soccer game, or you take an extra
minute to wipe a tear from a patient’s cheek, you have changed the world!
Don’t cheat yourself that victory.
I look forward to sharing with you my adventures over the next month, or
upon my return depending on the accessibility of the internet. I would love
to hear about your own victories in this journey of life we take together.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that
we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most
frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of
God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing
enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around
you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make
manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us;
it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give
other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own
fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” –Marianne Williamson
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You can read more about Robin here:
http://www.nursing.vcu.edu/people/fchn/RobinHills.htm
"Reliability and validity of the organizational climate questionnaire among hospital nurses in Taiwan"
The presentations are:
"Common physical health conditions of Chinese postpartum mothers in the United States and Taiwan"
"Psychological wellbeing and maternal competence of postpartum mothers in Taiwan"
To learn more about the conference, read the press release at http://www.nursingsociety.org/Media/Pages/congress_1.aspx
The VCU School of Nursing continues to be a state leader in simulation use in nursing education. Many nursing educators plan to visit VCU, and have asked how we use simulation for critical thinking and priority setting.
The VCU delegation, including Dr. Trani, with our UWE counterparts, the Mayor of Bristol and his wife at the Bolland lecture given by Dr. Trani June 5th, 2008.
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Progress was made in discussions for collaborations and faculty and student exchanges between the VCU School of Nursing and the University of the West of England (UWE) Faculty of Health and Social Care. We hope to have student exchanges in place by the next academic year. Several UWE faculty will visit VCU for short periods in the late summer and early fall. Further discussions on more lengthy faculty development and study visits are planned. Some common research interests were also identified, which could also lead to collaborations. So the four day working trip looks to have produced some good outcomes.
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However, the new Children's Hospital next door (120 beds) is new and quite nice. 
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