Working at the clinic

My official title as a Peace Corps volunteer (a.k.a, the one I'm gonna put on my resume cause it sounds more impressive than it actually is) is "Community Health Education Promoter". All of the health volunteers work in either health centers or hospitals and several volunteers also work in their village schools, doing health classes or health and exercise clubs. One of the 1st things I said during my first pre-site placement interview was that I did not want to work in schools. I'm not a teacher and I really have no interest in becoming one and, while I love working with babies and toddlers, once kids hit primary school age, I start to lose more and more patience :)

My site placement in the village of Vreed-en-Hoop, which is along the coast in Region 3, has me working at the West Demerara Regional Hospital, which is the only hospital in the region. It has a surgery theatre, a maternity ward, a dentist, and x-ray facilities. After my original placement in records didn't work out (long story), I sort of placed myself in the maternal and child health clinic. In my clinic, we work with pregnant women and children under 5. The clinic is open Monday through Thursday from 8 am until around 2pm, or whenever the last patient leaves.

Monday and Wednesdays are infant and toddler day or, "cute baby day". Children under 5 come in for a checkup once every 2 or 3 months. They get their weight, length or height and then any vaccines that they may need. Most of the time my Mondays and Wednesdays are spent weighing and measuring the babies, which I love doing cause they are adorable and it's always fun to watch their reaction to the 'weird white lady nurse', as I'm affectionately called. There is a slight occupational hazard that at least 3 babies will pee on me in the course of a morning, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. That's called being Peace Hard Corps :)

Tuesdays is antenatal clinic or, "pregnant lady day". During this clinic I usually sit in with the Medex and help her with the examinations. I've learned to take the fundal height, blood pressure, and listen and measure the fetal heartbeat. I really enjoy this clinic, especially since I'm considering doing a maternal and child health concentration in PA school when I get back. On Tuesdays is when I do the majority of my health talks, mostly about nutrition. Thursdays is also antenatal clinic but for high risk mothers. Any pregnant woman that is considered high risk has to travel to our hospital for all of her antenatal checkups while she is pregnant. A woman can be deemed high risk for many different reason, such as having diabetes or PIHBP ( pregnancy induced high blood pressure), or if she has had complications in previous pregnancies, or if she is older than 35 or a teenager (In Guyana teenage pregnancy is considered 16 and under. Even if the girl is married she still has to attend high risk clinic and speak to a social worker). Thursday is also the only day that we have a doctor at the clinic to do the examinations, an OB/GYN from Cuba. Monday through Wednesday we just have a nurse, a Medex, and a midwife.

 I am really enjoying my work at the clinic, mostly because it is very hands on and I feel like everyday I am getting more and more technical experience to bring home with me. I get to work directly with the patients and give health talks to women who live in my village. It's nice to walk down the street, going to the bank or the market, and have women recognize me and say "Good morning nursie". A few of my pregnant patients have given birth since I've started working and I love the fact that I have been able to be with them during their pregnancy and will now be there when they bring their baby to clinic.

After the new year I'm hoping to start a few more projects, one focusing on maternal nutrition and the other helping with community outreach for the HPV vaccine, which the government of Guyana is going to start distributing in my region. Even though I only work Monday through Thursday from 8am until about noon, I feel like I am keeping busy, especially since time is flying by. We celebrated our 9 month anniversary in country this past Tuesday, which blows my mind. Also, I will be home in the states in just 31 days, a trip which I am so excited about it's borderline ridculous :)