Andrea Elibero Blog 1

Blog 1

Andrea Elibero

March 12-13, 2012

I spent Monday and Tuesday in the Policlinica. I was very impressed by the level of care offered in the public clinic. The nurses spent a lot of time educating the patients and weren’t in as much as a rush as nurses in the US. On Monday I spent my time doing vaccinations. My instructor took time to teach me proper technique. This was the first time that, other than in lab, someone took the time to go through the procedure step by step. I saw that the nurses routinely aspirate when giving injections, whereas we do not in the US. I am curious as to why we do not aspirate because it is logical that you do not want to hit a vein when giving vaccinations. On Tuesday I spent my time in the woman’s health area. Again, the nurses took their time with the patients, they educated them, and they projected a caring atmosphere. I was able to do a pap smear, which was a great learning experience since nurses in the US do not do this procedure. I learned that the nurses do not use lubricant when inserting the speculum because lubricant degrades the cells. Yet again, I am left wondering why we use lubricant in the US if it is not best practice. Before arriving to Chitre I expected that we would be helping them out and providing a lot of needed services. It turned out that I feel like I got a lot more out of my time at the clinic than I was able to contribute. I learned a great deal during my time in the clinic and would love to be able to return in the future.