It has been about a month in Zambia and I must say that it
has been a very valuable experience. I
was in OPD this week (kind of like Emergency).
It was very fast paced and I defiantly saw a lot of sick people. The
first day we didn’t even have a blood pressure cuff so it was very hard to get
proper vital signs for the patients. I
found it frustrating as this was the first contact we had with the patients and
we couldn’t even get proper information that was needed to diagnose people or
start treatment. I was surprised at how
patiently people waited to get their vital signs taken so they could see the
clinical officer (like a doctor), no matter how sick they were. For example, one boy had a cobra bite that had
happened five days ago. His arm was
certainly in rough shape and he had a huge open sore on his hand and his
fingers were black. I ask myself why
people do not seek medical attention sooner and feel angry at how people wait
too long, sometimes even when it is too late. This boy is going to lose a part
of his hand because it has been so long since he was bitten and it could have
been easily prevented if he simply came in sooner. But it is not that simple. I keep forgetting that a lot of people have to
travel or even walk a long distance so it’s not always possible to get the
medical attention when they need it. They can’t just pay money to get
transportation because not everyone can afford that luxury. It can be hard for me to understand sometimes
as in Canada as we have easier access to medical attention, and things like
this situation can seem like neglect, when really there are not many other
options for these people. I was glad we were working as we had a chance
to advocate for the sicker patients to see the clinical officer first because I
don’t think that always happens. I have
no idea where the time is going but I wanted to say how much of a fabulous job
all the UBCO nursing students are doing! One week left in Mongu and I am sure
that this week will fly by too.
Denée
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