Life here is well......Busy. Even though it’s simple, every moment of the day is always filled to the brim and quite honestly some days pouring onto the floor.... Currently I am filling a few roles: clinical nurse educator for the ship, nurse/charge nurse on the maxillofacial ward, and Congolese nurse educator. I like to call them my “2.5 jobs”.
My weeks are filled daily with preparations for both the constant wave of nurses through this place and the training program that I have designed and carry out for Congolese nurses. Add in shifts every other weekend on the wards, friends, other “normal” activities, and BAM- a carefully balanced juggling act is right in front of your eyes. (On a side note, when I put “learn to juggle” on my list of life goals I didn’t think I would mean this type of juggling). I have been stretched, pushed to my limits, broken, carefully put back together, poured into and filled with an overwhelming joy. I have grown in so many ways during this field service and can honestly say I am a different person than when I came back for “round two” on this big white hospital ship that I lovingly call home. Today I want to share with you about one of my jobs, and probably my favorite at the moment, the Local Nurse Education Program.
My idea for this program started in the back seat of a taxi while bumping down a dusty road in Guinea last year. After talking with my boss, it turned out that the ship was actually planning to do some education for the following service. Some planning, proposals, and many meetings later- the program launched off the ground. When I came back to the ship in August, the idea of starting this program I was so passionate about from scratch was a massive, incredibly scary thought that honestly provoked a feeling somewhat similar to dry heaves. It’s taken a lot of self pep talks, chats with friends and prayer to get me going in the right direction, push through and pull out all the stops. Long hours, late nights, tears, passion, determination and some good ole fashioned elbow grease has produced an amazing program for local nurses.
The idea that started small flourished, and has evolved into what it is today, an intense six week program focusing on hospital based nursing. To date, we have had 8 nurses complete the six week program. There are 2 nurses currently in the program, 2 nurses from another town who flew in to complete a one week intensive training, and 47 nurses who were able to receive two full days of training on the resuscitation of newborns. It’s easy to read this and think “wow”, but to me these nurses aren’t just a number. They are beautiful people who have had to push themselves to the limits to be included in a program that can make an impact on the health care system of their country. They have had to fight for every bit of education that they have ever received. They have given up sleep, worked long shifts, and sometimes put the lives of their families on hold to power through this program. On multiple occasions I have had to fight for funding, supplies or space, and I have done so happily because when it comes down to it I was born into a country where education is my right and I will do everything in my power to give them a chance. I was able to go to a nursing school that taught me to critically think, to make solid assessments and to work independently. I have been handed opportunity after opportunity on a silver platter, and I am determined to do everything in my power to give them the hand up they deserve.
When I first started working here in the Congo, I heard from many people that nurses here were cruel, or that they didn’t care about their patients. I heard horror stories of what had happened in the hospitals, and I witnessed many of these things myself during visits. I heard that nurses bribed their patients, and would only care for the patients who paid them extra.....So one day I asked my new friends, is this true? Does this happen here? With their eyes downcast they told me that yes, it does. I asked if they could explain why, and this was the response, “to feed their families”. I was told that here, almost all of them spend their first two years by working for free. Showing up every day for nothing, in the hopes that one day they will gain a paid position. I find myself often wondering, if this was my life, would I do the same? It’s easy to say “oh no, I would never do that”....but then I think about it more....would I? If my family needed to eat and bills needed to be paid, would I do it too? Would you?
In my work, If I don’t know a medication or a procedure, I walk myself over to the drug book or the computer and look it up. I am given resource after resource to make myself the best possible nurse, but these ladies have no options. They simply give the medication and hope that it doesn’t harm anyone. They talk about how they often do things “blindly” without understanding why because they are simply never afforded that right. Let's take a minute to look at the differences in our two worlds. In my world, If a patient arrests on my shift I call a code blue and while I wait for the 20 people to come running I hop on a stool and begin compressions with the assurance that medically trained help will be there within 30 seconds. In their world If a patient arrests, they must call a doctor and wait for them to arrive. Once they arrive, they must move the patient and then carry them on a stretcher to another part of the hospital (sometimes 3 or 4 flights of stairs in either direction) before they begin resuscitation. Because nurses are not trained in CPR, they simply wait and watch the life in front of them slip away. Let's look back at my world for a second, In my country even 12 year old babysitters are taught how to initiate CPR or deliver rescue breaths. How is this fair? The answer is, it's not.... but it is their reality every single day. They simply carry out tasks to the best of their ability, and pray that no one dies on their watch. They have spent countless hours pouring everything they have into patients when they have every odd constantly stacked against them. Even if they know what the best treatment is, they hope that the patient can afford it and that the patient’s family can find it out on the streets. Yes, you read that line correctly, families are responsible for gather all medications and medical supplies for use on their loved one. Dorine, one of the nurses said to me once, “compassion should always be followed with action. It is the hardest thing to know what you should do, but be unable to do it.” I cannot imagine that feeling of day after day defeated by the system in which you work. Unsure of yourself, but unable to stop, because who else will take care of these patients? Who else will deliver the medications and change their bandages? Carine, Hermine, Lydie, Chantal, Gina Rose, Blandine, Gallee, Dorine, Caryle, Christella, and many more have changed my life. They have shown me what hard work looks like. They have inspired me to be a better nurse, and to never take what I have for granted.
Helpless is a word that I have often used for how their job must make them feel....my goal for this entire program can be defined in one word; Empowerment. I want to empower these nurses. I strive to put the tools and knowledge in their hands that can help them change lives. I want to arm them with information, ideas, and the drive to change healthcare in the Congo.
Don’t get me wrong, working in a third world culture has had its fair share of challenges and frustrations. There have been days where all the participants were over an hour late, there have been days that I put hours into planning and they didn’t show up, and days where directing a classroom of 32 adults has made me wish I had a teaching degree and a “mom” voice. I have had days of feeling utterly defeated, and days where I wish I was at home, an entire continent away from this crazy big white ship. There have been days that I have cried about the overwhelming need here and days that I sit down and think, am I doing anything for these people? Am I making any difference? There have been days that I pray to God that simple things that I take for granted like gloves or soap can make their way into the local hospitals. Through it all, at the end of most days I can see clearly, and can understand why I’m here. That my effort is not failing, but making changes bit by bit. I don’t believe that I can change healthcare for this country in 10 months, but I am confident that I can impact one person who can impact it for one more person who can then impact one more person. Throughout this program, even on the hardest days this idea has kept coming back to me. That education can and will transform nations, and that through this program we could save the lives of people we will never meet or come in contact with. Years from now a life could be changed all because of the effort we put in here investing in some of the most amazing women I have ever met.
As crazy as this journey has been, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I know that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing what I’ve been up to...
Peace and Love to you
