Working in the field!

I finally got to carry out one of my lifelong nursing dreams... do a service trek and serve rural communities! Of course, I did it in Nepal, where I speak the language, and so had the added experience of being a translator, which I loved. Now I'm hoping to lead a group every year to the clinic we worked at, and start to make a little progress in the area. I loved it there, the community of Sherpas was wonderful. Nursing there was more like being a doctor, though. I diagnosed and treated just using my own brain and the rest of my team. I was terrified at the thought, at first, but after a while I got kind of used to it.

We had some severe cases, like an infant suffering from hydrocephaly, looked like it was going to die soon. We had a guy with a GI obstruction, most likely, a woman who swallowed something sharp when she was drunk, and a woman coughing up blood with TB-like symptoms. But mostly we saw a lot of GERD, aches and pains, babies with diarrhea, dehydrated adults, and wounds and skin infections. The clinic could use a lot of training with the workers, more reference books and drug books, and some programs on ergonomic lifting, hygiene, and birth control.

I'm excited to really be a leader and take group after group. It's totally my niche in life!

In other work-related news, my love affair with cardio-thoracic surgical tele unit is over. I no longer click with management or my co-workers, and I'm a little bit bored with the patients, too. I think it's time to move on, and re-stimulate my brain again. I applied to the baby NICU, L&D, and visiting nurses. I haven't heard anything back, so we'll see what happens. I want more experiences so that I can be a better clinic nurse in Nepal!