Week 1

June 29th, 2019 by Rachel Loder

Greetings from Sandy Bay, Roatan! My first week here has been incredible. I arrived Monday afternoon, and started the 8am-4pm rotation at the clinic on Tuesday with the Pediatric nurse, Everlin. In the morning, the appointments are first come first serve, so people come from all around the island sometimes as early as 5am to ensure they’re on the list of patients to be seen. The afternoon is mostly filled with scheduled appointments and a few “urgent care”-esque visits peppered in. Pun intended, because I watched with admiration at the resourcefulness of the pediatrician and nurse Everlin as they attempted to remove a seed from a three-year-old’s nose by wafting pepper under her nose, hoping to force a sneeze & thus expel the seed. The pepper didn’t do the job (a combination of a patient mother, proper positioning and a small instrument did), but it was yet another shining example of the creativity I’ve observed the clinic staff use to get the job done. While the clinic receives gracious donations of supplies and funds to purchase supplies, the resources aren’t as abundant as they are in most U.S. hospitals & clinics, and I truly admire the ways in which the staff adapts to these challenges while still providing excellent care for all patients. I have so much to learn from them in the coming weeks!

 

There are currently around 7 other volunteers/students at the clinic right now, and the administrative staff assigns us to an area of the clinic for a week at a time. As a nursing student, my primary role is to observe and learn alongside the nurses at Clínica Esperanza, and assist with random tasks within my scope of practice. An example of this included holding down a child while the nurse and pediatrician drained a large abscess! Dreamy 🙂 I’ve assisted the nurse with triaging patients, sterilizing equipment, cleaning toys, finishing nebulizer treatments, etc. and am eager to see where I am assigned next week! The community health nurse is out of the office for a few weeks, but I can’t wait to pick her brain and learn more about the prevention and education efforts in which her team is involved.

 

Disclaimer: Though I’m considered a “volunteer” by the clinic, my main focus is to observe and learn (while making myself useful whenever possible/appropriate). The clinic is fully staffed with excellent Honduran healthcare professionals including family med docs, a pediatrician, an OBGYN, a dentist, a dental hygienist, a doctor focused on diabetes, 4 nurses, etc, who alllll know how to do what they do better than any unlicensed “volunteer” so I’m not here to move mountains but rather learn from their work within a new context. I appreciate the enthusiasm & encouragement from those who have reached out with praise but really I’m just here to learn from these experts who are much more worthy of the kudos!

 

All in all, this has been quite the change of pace from the Transplant ICU, but has stretched my mind in different ways, proving to be a wonderful learning experience thus far. While most people here speak both English and Spanish (Roatan has an interesting history-check it out!) Spanish is predominately used at the clinic, and I feel so “at home” hearing this beautiful mixture of Spanish and English being used simultaneously. I have to really fine tune my ears to a different frequency to understand the Caribbean English spoken amongst staff, and it’s been a fascinating challenge. The inevitably blaring music (because this is still Central America, baby!) in any taxi is quite the Russian roulette of either reggaeton or simply reaage, which is precisely my favorite combination! Will 6 weeks be enough?

 

The island itself is stunning, and the extracurricular activities are hard to beat! I was fortunate to cross paths with my dad as he returned to Roatan from his INMED rotation at Hospital Loma de Luz (head over to https://inmedblogs.us/bryceloder/ for the good writing, humor & fascinating stories), and we enjoyed snorkeling and walking around West End/Half Moon Bay. On Thursday, I found a stand up paddleboard shop and had a great time paddling around the surrounding bays with the owner, Anita. (I could barely move on Friday, but that’s a minor detail…..) Also worth mentioning is her husband’s pet monkey, Solomon, who rides their dog around like a jockey. (pics to come)

 

This weekend’s activities include: sloths, snorkeling, attending a hermit crab race where betting proceeds benefit an AIDS clinic, a nighttime snorkel, lots of reading, and time on the beach. “Not in Kansas anymore!” *cue eye rolls, I know.

 

Currently reading: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (so far, so so good!)