Tuesday Triage

So today was the second day working triage at King’s hospital. I was responsible for taking patient histories with the help of our lovely friend Emanuel – he’s a good sport, interpreting everyday for us in the crowded, noisy waiting room.  I worked with Pete and Crystal (and Stephen most of the time) we’re a great team! Triage seemed much more efficient today because we got a system going for taking vitals and recording height, weight, etc. before the patients see one of the physicians.

 It’s a lot of shuffling hand-scribbled charts, sharing pens and stethoscopes, taking turns with the pulse oximeter and blood pressure cuff … converting pounds to kilograms on Steve’s phone calculator … we make do with what we have. :)

The first day of clinic was a little frustrating for me because I didn’t feel very useful. Everything seemed rather disorganized and chaotic, trying to figure out how things work at King’s, which is especially challenging with the language barrier (all of us really wish we knew more Creole). We didn’t seem to be making the Haitian nurse’s job any easier – though she was very gracious to us foreigners, I suspected we were very much in her way.

            

I’m narrowing down the very full day we had today to focus on this one aspect (clinic) because it was an answer to prayer.  This morning was really great because I began to feel I was more of a blessing than a bother to the people we are working with. Everything seemed to flow and I was much more comfortable and confident working with the patients in this setting.

             

There were many young mothers with their newborns or pregnant women coming in for a check up today – this was cool for me because of my interest in maternity nursing & midwifery. Triage has allowed me to practice what I’ve learned in nursing school thus far and I already sense my perspective has changed because of this experience.

                

I apologize for the disjointed nature of this post (first time writing in a blog), but mostly I want to communicate that I’m very thankful to be here – to have this opportunity to learn in a totally different clinical setting than what I’ve seen in the US. And I’m learning a lot! I’m very blessed to learn from these beautiful people.

My questions this week continue to be: What do you want to teach me Jesus? What do you have to show me in Haiti?

Answered Prayer:  The woman with a life-threatening complication of pregnancy was admitted today in good health!! Thank you Jesus.

Anna (Medical team)