A few weeks ago I mentioned that a few of the ladies on the team got together for dinner. It was a wonderful dinner getting to meet my fellow travelers. Prior to our dinner, we had been communicating via E-mail for a bit.
Amy, who is the mission trip expert of our threesome, had asked us to share questions and she'd try to help all she could. I asked how useful I would be on a trip such as this with no medical background. Here is her response:
NO MEDICAL BACKGROUND – NO BIG DEAL!
There are TONS OF THINGS to do regardless of whether you have any medical background or not. In fact, from the email Ellen sent yesterday, it sounds as if this will be LESS MEDICAL than the other FAME trips I’ve been on, so do NOT fret the medical thing. I’ll write more later on how the medical clinics worked on my other FAME trips, although it sounds from Ellen’s email that this will not be exactly like the typical “medical” trip. Here are some common “jobs” of folks with no medical background on prior trips I have been on:
Crowd Control – When clinics are held, there are hundreds of people from the village and surrounding villages who come. For many, it is the only time they will ever see a medical professional in their lifetime. Crowd control consists of checking people in … giving them a number so that they and we will know when it is their turn (people often try to cut in line and push their way in …). So there are always some people who supervise and control the crowd as they come in to the clinic.
Check-In – Once a patient’s number is called, he/she goes to a Registration Desk where you and a translator fill out the Patient History Form. These forms include the patient’s name, age, any medical complaints, any medical history, etc. You tell the translator what information you need and the translator asks the patient and then tells you the answers. Once that is complete, the patient moves to the next station and you see the next patient in line.
Vital Signs -- The next station is what I would call “Vital Signs”. The patient’s blood pressure, pulse and temperature are checked and recorded. If scales are available, the patient is weighed and this is recorded. MANY people with no medical experience have been taught to take blood pressures and perform very well at this station. The worker (with the assistance of a translator) looks at the Patient History Form and at the medical complaints and goes into a little more detail on why the patient has come to be seen. Sometimes they come just to come … nothing is really wrong. Sometimes, they have every complaint in the book and you just focus on the top one or two that you can treat and move on. The goal here is to let the nurse or doctor know in general the reason for the patient’s visit.
Physical Examination – The patient is then seen by the nurse or doctor who is running the clinic.
Pharmacy – After the patient is finished with the nurse or doctor, he/she is given a prescription. Vitamins are dispensed to virtually everyone, usually a 30-day supply. De-worming medicine is given when the nurse or doctor suspects the person has intestinal worms (very, very common in third world countries, especially Haiti and very likely the area we will be in Nairobi ). This is merely a chewable tablet, similar to what a Pepto-Bismol chewable tablet looks like. Kind of chalky … The prescription usually includes acetaminophen or ibuprofen and sometimes an antibiotic if there is an infection. There may be “Tums” prescribed or other relatively safe medications. Occasionally, a blood pressure medicine is prescribed or topical ointments for scabies or other skin conditions. The person/people working the pharmacy station must accurately and quickly fill each prescription and then tell the patient how to take the medicine, how often, etc. A translator is obviously used here as well. I have always worked the pharmacy station because of my knowledge of medications and the strengths they come in, how they are given, the indications and contraindications, etc. I am especially gifted in this area for some unknown reason. From the email Ellen sent out, however, it does not sound as if we will be having the type of clinic(s) that will have a pharmacy station.
On prior 8-day trips, we would hold clinics on 5 days – no clinic on the day we arrive or the day we leave and no clinic on Sunday. We would travel to different places each day and set up makeshift clinics in schools (concrete block building maybe with one or two rooms and VERY LITTLE ventilation … a little smelly when you consider that temps in Haiti hovered in the low 100s and practically no one there uses deodorant and most people don’t bathe regularly). Sometimes we would hold the clinic in a church building … really anywhere we could set up and have a perimeter of some sort in order to control the flow of people.
OKAY, so with all that said, our experience will probably be totally different! But, this should give you an idea of the types of things we would do in a clinic situation and how non-medical people are utilized.
So it sounds like since the group going this time is smaller - things will be a little different. How different, I'm not sure. It's a bit unsettling to not know the details, but I've learned over the years that God is even in the details. His has has been all over this trip and I have no reason to think otherwise. Please continue to pray for the trip, for travels and the team. Pray that God leads us to where He wants us to be and to show Him in all things.
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