Today we spent the morning teaching how to properly immobilization a patient who may have a spinal or head injury. We gave then a huge bag full of neck braces and you would have thought it was Christmas! Especially the paramedics were so happy to have the supplies and so excited to play with them and figure out how to use them. I was the model patient for all the procedures until they were broken into small groups to practice on themselves....so I got locked down onto a backboard with a neck brace quite a few times (almost sent a pic to my Mom just to freak her out...then thought better of it!). In the afternoon we taught triage...a concept that they had heard of but did not seem to know how to do or utilize if a disaster ever happened where it was necessary. We broke into three groups...doctors with Dr. Snyder, nurses with Carol, and paramedics with Bill. I started by running around between the 3 groups helping and modeling but by the end I mostly stuck with the paramedics because they needed the most practice since they would be the first in the field to see and work with a patient. Once again their eagerness to learn and practice was really neat!
Today was another good day...I believe that we have made a small impact and hopefully they will take what we teach them and teach their co-workers!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
An incredible weekend and our first day of training!
Hmmmmm I haven't written in a while...SOOOO much happened this weekend!
Saturday we went out to the countryside, had traditional feasts, and hiked up a mountain to the Buddhist temple and worship sites. It was pretty cool and absolutely beautiful. It was a little tense with the language barrier and not knowing much about each other so I just started joking with them even when I had no idea what they were saying. Laughter works pretty well to break the ice! I think they made fun of me a lot but I just dished it back and we all had a good time. They gave us fermented horse milk....absolutely disgusting....I stuck to tea. The Buddhist temple was at a site where an entire monestary and village once existed but was destroyed by the Communists so there were some pretty interesting ruins. We spent the entire day in a ger (a nomadic house) at the countryside and had a good time getting to know each other and break the ice!
Sunday we went to church and then to the children's orphanage which are linked together. It was actually really nice! I expected some run down dingy place...but it was actually nicer than the hospitals! Maybe because an American owns the orphanage and US dollars go a lot further in Mongolia. The kids are amazing...soooo cute. I want to adopt a Mongolian child now!! A couple of them spoke English and wanted to show me all kinds of things. They were cute and I hope I get to go back and spend more time with them! Then we went to the EMS center again and this time got to ride with an ambulance for a couple hours observing calls etc. It was pretty cool but pretty eye opening....nothing is urgent...they just kind of get there when they do. Traffic is terrible and pretty much everything is solved with a shot or a pill...only a woman having a baby was transferred to the hospital. After that we met up with Togosoo (Talk-saw) and Tahtah for dinner....they are 22 and 26 and the three of us get along great! Togosoo is awesome...she speaks great English and is a chem engineer doing biochem research with medical background so we have a lot to talk about. She is translating for us this week and then she is taking me shopping apparently!
Today was our first day of training...and we taught CPR all afternoon which was awesome because that is the part I am most involved in. The people were pretty interested and really into learning everything they could...which is awesome because even though their healthcare is terrible they are sooooo ready and willing to try anything to improve it. The rest of the week should go quite smoothly I believe!
It's kind of weird but although I am in a totally foreign country and things are REALLY different...I don't feel the culture shock that I expected!
Saturday we went out to the countryside, had traditional feasts, and hiked up a mountain to the Buddhist temple and worship sites. It was pretty cool and absolutely beautiful. It was a little tense with the language barrier and not knowing much about each other so I just started joking with them even when I had no idea what they were saying. Laughter works pretty well to break the ice! I think they made fun of me a lot but I just dished it back and we all had a good time. They gave us fermented horse milk....absolutely disgusting....I stuck to tea. The Buddhist temple was at a site where an entire monestary and village once existed but was destroyed by the Communists so there were some pretty interesting ruins. We spent the entire day in a ger (a nomadic house) at the countryside and had a good time getting to know each other and break the ice!
Sunday we went to church and then to the children's orphanage which are linked together. It was actually really nice! I expected some run down dingy place...but it was actually nicer than the hospitals! Maybe because an American owns the orphanage and US dollars go a lot further in Mongolia. The kids are amazing...soooo cute. I want to adopt a Mongolian child now!! A couple of them spoke English and wanted to show me all kinds of things. They were cute and I hope I get to go back and spend more time with them! Then we went to the EMS center again and this time got to ride with an ambulance for a couple hours observing calls etc. It was pretty cool but pretty eye opening....nothing is urgent...they just kind of get there when they do. Traffic is terrible and pretty much everything is solved with a shot or a pill...only a woman having a baby was transferred to the hospital. After that we met up with Togosoo (Talk-saw) and Tahtah for dinner....they are 22 and 26 and the three of us get along great! Togosoo is awesome...she speaks great English and is a chem engineer doing biochem research with medical background so we have a lot to talk about. She is translating for us this week and then she is taking me shopping apparently!
Today was our first day of training...and we taught CPR all afternoon which was awesome because that is the part I am most involved in. The people were pretty interested and really into learning everything they could...which is awesome because even though their healthcare is terrible they are sooooo ready and willing to try anything to improve it. The rest of the week should go quite smoothly I believe!
It's kind of weird but although I am in a totally foreign country and things are REALLY different...I don't feel the culture shock that I expected!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Two days into the trip and so much to tell!
These first two days of our trip have been spent touring the city and the local hospitals to get a feel for the way health care is handled here in Mongolia and to see what kind of supplies they have to work with. Mongolia contains about 2.6 million people and 1.5 million of them live in Ulaanbaatar! The traffic is terrible which causes the ambulance services to take sometimes hours before tranferring a patient to a hospital where they can receive help. Many things are very different here in Mongolia and it definately makes one realize how fortunate we are in America to have the easy access to medical assistance that we do. They do the best with what they have and are trying to make their system better in every way but resources are limited. Although I knew the healthcare system would not be as technologically advanced as in America, it was still somewhat shocking to see and experience. Even though we are only here for a few days, I hope that what we have to offer them will help immensly as they attempt to better their emergency systems (they do not even have an emergency department at the hospital!).
Today as we toured one of the bigger and nicer hospitals, we also toured their Traditional Medicine Department. The doctor there was young and very westernized (surprisingly!). He was intelligent and spoke incredibly good English. He showed us many procedures including acupuncture. He performed a quick demonstration on my arm...my first acupuncture treatment! It was supposed to help my stomach because apparently most people have stomach issues but he took them out before they could do any good I guess. Really interesting! He also read our tongues...to tell us our energy and stress level etc. He used what they call "western medicine" when taking vitals and diagnosis and then performed traditional/herbal medicine if the patient was not in critical conditions...all very different from what we know in the US.
Other than that we have been touring the city. The people are a mix of Russian, Asian, and Western styles. A few older Mongolians dress in traditional clothes and most of the younger Mongolians are wearing western styles. The people have all been very welcoming and kind. Most of them have a great desire to improve their English and love talking with us to do so. We have met a couple young Mongolian girls that have either gone to medical school or are in medical school and they have really enjoyed talking with me since I am the young American girl and we can relate on many subjects. A few doctors are taking us to the countryside tomorrow where we will get to maybe ride some camels or horses!
Today as we toured one of the bigger and nicer hospitals, we also toured their Traditional Medicine Department. The doctor there was young and very westernized (surprisingly!). He was intelligent and spoke incredibly good English. He showed us many procedures including acupuncture. He performed a quick demonstration on my arm...my first acupuncture treatment! It was supposed to help my stomach because apparently most people have stomach issues but he took them out before they could do any good I guess. Really interesting! He also read our tongues...to tell us our energy and stress level etc. He used what they call "western medicine" when taking vitals and diagnosis and then performed traditional/herbal medicine if the patient was not in critical conditions...all very different from what we know in the US.
Other than that we have been touring the city. The people are a mix of Russian, Asian, and Western styles. A few older Mongolians dress in traditional clothes and most of the younger Mongolians are wearing western styles. The people have all been very welcoming and kind. Most of them have a great desire to improve their English and love talking with us to do so. We have met a couple young Mongolian girls that have either gone to medical school or are in medical school and they have really enjoyed talking with me since I am the young American girl and we can relate on many subjects. A few doctors are taking us to the countryside tomorrow where we will get to maybe ride some camels or horses!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Made it to MONGOLIA!
After about 27 hours of traveling we have made it to our hotel in Mongolia! The trip was easy...just long and I am tired! We were picked up from the airport by our hospital contacts in an ambulance that was merely a van with the words AMBULANCE written on the side. Because it is almost midnight here, I do not have much to report about Ulaanbaatar...except the traffic is crazy and the roads are pretty bad! Our hotel is really nice! I am rooming with our director in a small suite. The bathroom has running water, working toilet, and a nice shower...so I am really excited about that!
I sat next to a Swedish surgeon on the flight from South Korea to Mongolia...he was VERY nice. He has been living in Mongolia for 10 years and helps bring in surgeons to do free surgeries and he also does a lot of social work from what I could gather. He was very happy to hear about our group and what we are doing in Ulaabaatar because he says "these people are in need of so much help." He gave us his card and told us that if we need anything to just give him a call...day one and already made a helpful contact!
Tomorrow should be an easier day as we meet a bunch of people at the hospital and see what supplies we have to work with. The weirdest part so far is that I will be going to bed as everyone I know is going to work for the day!
I sat next to a Swedish surgeon on the flight from South Korea to Mongolia...he was VERY nice. He has been living in Mongolia for 10 years and helps bring in surgeons to do free surgeries and he also does a lot of social work from what I could gather. He was very happy to hear about our group and what we are doing in Ulaabaatar because he says "these people are in need of so much help." He gave us his card and told us that if we need anything to just give him a call...day one and already made a helpful contact!
Tomorrow should be an easier day as we meet a bunch of people at the hospital and see what supplies we have to work with. The weirdest part so far is that I will be going to bed as everyone I know is going to work for the day!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Getting ready to travel!
This is the night before my trip to Mongolia!! I should be sleeping but I am doing WAY too much last minute packing. I am really excited for this trip! But the nerves are also starting to set in...first time out of the country and I chose Mongolia!
So this is going to be my blog over the next couple weeks for everyone curious to hear about my adventures! I will try to post often and maybe even add some pics. We are going to be busy teaching emergency medical care in the capital city (Ulaanbaatar) but we will also takes trips around the country - all of which will be amazingly eye opening. I can't wait!
I believe that Mongolia is 15 hours ahead of Pacific Standard time so I will be writing about the day before most of you will even experience it! Tomorrow is a complete travel day but I promise to try and keep you posted as to my daily adventures!
So this is going to be my blog over the next couple weeks for everyone curious to hear about my adventures! I will try to post often and maybe even add some pics. We are going to be busy teaching emergency medical care in the capital city (Ulaanbaatar) but we will also takes trips around the country - all of which will be amazingly eye opening. I can't wait!
I believe that Mongolia is 15 hours ahead of Pacific Standard time so I will be writing about the day before most of you will even experience it! Tomorrow is a complete travel day but I promise to try and keep you posted as to my daily adventures!
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