I have been living in a Nepali house for the last week. Everyone is really nice in the family. Mom is the head of the Nursing faculty, and the eldest daughter is a Nurse as well. The other daughter Krity is super nice. She is here in the house for Vacations but she lives in Kathmandu. There is also a super nice girl who helps around the house after school. She is smiling all the time. Dad is a very nice gentleman who is always doing tasks around the house including cooking and sweeping ( I was not expecting to see such industrious men), and Grandpa who only speaks Nepali. This week is the equivalent of Christmas in Nepal, so everyone is celebrating. There is a day for the dog, one for the cow and one for the bother. Unfortunately we are not celebrating in this house because Grandma passes away less than a year ago.
In the hospital, I worked in the ER for a number of days. There I saw a lot of stroke cases and numerous intracranial hemorrhages (mainly due to car accidents), and sepsis cases. In the worse cases it seemed like the patients waited too long before coming to the hospital. There was a person who had been unconscious for three days!!. There was also a pediatric patient who had a motorized accident. I think a long time passed before they brought the child to the hospital because the wounds had bangages. Normally after a car accident in Canada, the ambulance is called and the patient is immobilized to avoid movement of the head. The patients is then quickly taken to the nearest hospital. However, in Nepal the family is the first responder in most cases, and they don't have the knowledge to safely move the patient. I think that given the high rate of traffic accidents, it will be good to implement a health campaign teaching people how to appraocha patient who has been in a car accident and how to respond. For instance, the pediatric patient needed transport to a bigger hospital, but ambulances were not available. So, the parents hired a motor bike/carriage to transfer the patient. When the car arrived, a desperated family member took the kid from the bed moving her head vigorously, not knowing that movement could worsen the patient's condition. I run behind, trying to tell them to be careful but, I am not sure if they understood due to the language barrier.
After working at the ER, I moved to the ICU. The ICU has many more resources than the ER. There are gowns for the patients and the visitors, all the nurses use gloves and hand sanitizer is available. There is also a sink to wash the hands each time you leave the ward ( the ER also had a sink :)). We still have no IV pumps and everything is calculated with drip rate. There is only one blood pressure cuff :(. I think it will be nice to have another one (at least). The nurses and doctors are super nice! I saw lots of intubations and I helped giving manual breaths whenever it was needed. However, the ventilators at the ICU are automatic so it is much easier :). The doctors are super knowledgeable. They are always around, they are happy to answer questions and they help with the patient when it is needed.
Doctors and Nurses generally speak English. Sometimes their English is limited and they cannot understand me (or maybe I am speaking too fast/quiet as usual). So, I try to stick by the nurses I understand better. I have no problems communicating with the doctors for the most part. I help with whatever they need, but sometimes when things are really hectic I feel like and I am in the way. So, when things get crazy, I move away to give the doctors and nurses space to do their thing. Normally at this point all the conversations happen in Nepali and I have no clue of what is happening. I feel like I still have a lot to learn, and the help I provide is very limited. This week I mainly helped with basic vital signs, giving respirations to patients and organizing stuff. I hope to be able to help more in the weeks to come. I also feel like I need to study lots!!!!!!!!!!
