On Tuesday morning, we had our first rural clinic experiences. Half of the group went to the La Plaine Clinic, while the other half including (Dr. Abrons, Aubrey, Christina, Eric, and I) went to the Petite Savanne Clinic. The health clinics are very different from what one might expect in the US. They are run almost entirely by nurses. Patients come in by appointments or as needed for their health checkups. Only 1-2 times per month is a doctor available. When we arrived at the clinic, there were about 20 people sitting in what looked like a waiting room. After introducing ourselves we dispersed to sit and chat with the different people. I had thought, as I think the others had as well, that these people were waiting to be called into their appointment by the nurse. However, upon talking to them, we realized that they had come to see us. They had been told that a group of pharmacy students would be available to provide diabetes education on that day, so that's just what we did. We tested everyone's blood sugar and answered any questions they had. Everyone was so friendly and open. Some had many questions and concerns to discuss with us; others just wanted to share their stories. I think we can all say that we learned as much from the patients as they learned from us.
After the patients left, our group stayed to talk with the nurses for a bit. The nurses were a mother-daughter duo whose knowledge and expertise amazed all of us. They told us all about their roles in the clinic as well as health care in the country. Because there is rarely a doctor on site, they are often in the position to depend on their clinical judgment to treat the patient on the spot, especially in emergencies. They live close by to the clinic, so if a patient has a problem after hours, they often call or stop by the nurse's home. They frequently do home visits and household checks on all of their patients. The younger nurse described her active involvement in community health.
I think the most surprising thing to me was how involved the nurses were in caring for their patients. They cared about these people as a whole instead of just their lab values and vital signs. They seemed to know every patient by name as well as have an idea of their medical history. I think any health care provider could learn from these women that patients are just people who want to be treated as such. This is definitely something that I will carry forward to my clinic days on the island as well as in my career.
I will let Christina talk about our afternoon, which included Sam's story, a cooking class, and Paix Bouche!
Jackie
After a group lunch, Sam told us the story of how Jungle Bay came to be. Though no one person can articulate the story like Sam (or have a voice as soothing as Sam's for that matter), I will try to paraphrase as best I can. Sam is a Dominican native, but spent much of his life in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the United States. He took up real estate and was quite successful at it. He was contacted by the Dominican Minister of Health and a Merrill Lynch representative suggesting he purchase land in his home country. He returned to Dominica, and after seeing some land that was highly overpriced, Sam was able to snag a different property tat a great price! Originally, the land was set to be a campground, but Sam saw the potential to be something more. After years of planning and construction, Jungle Bay was born!! The part that really spoke to me was when Sam talked about hiring the Jungle Bay staff. He talked about his philosophy of treating your staff well and letting them really find their niche in their jobs and they will be good to you! This is reflected even in the Jungle Bay staff's name tags. No one has a job title on their name tags, which I think gives a team sense to all the staff and doesn't make any one person seem more important than another.
Afterwards, we enjoyed a cooking class taught by the lovely head chef, JoAnne. I was eager to watch this, because everything we eat at Jungle Bay is so delicious! We learned how to make pumpkin ginger soup and coconut crusted fried plantains. Of course my favorite part was sampling each of the dishes, but it was nice to see that each dish was made using fresh local ingredients without any preservatives. It really made me rethink the processed food that I've grown so reliant on in the states. I'm hoping to steal some recipes so I can make more dishes when I leave her!
In the evening, our whole group decided to do the dreaded Paix Bouche hike. Paix Bouche roughly translates to "shut up", because you won't be able to talk because the climb is so steep! So naturally I was looking forward to it [sarcasm], but the power of peer pressure swayed me to do it. The hike itself is about a mile and a half uphill, and as the name suggests, I was not talking to anyone, but spent the majority of the hike trying to catch my breath! I used the time alone to really reflect on what Paix Bouche is about: mind over matter. The key to completing Paix Bouche is continually making small landmark goals; just get to this boulder, that pothole, or that tree. This is a great philosophy to take to other places in life. Sure, a project or boards may seem overwhelming, but making small tangible goals makes the "impossible" possible. I was definitely slow, I took a lot of breaks, and it wasn't pretty, but I made it! And that's all that matters :)
- Christina
After a group lunch, Sam told us the story of how Jungle Bay came to be. Though no one person can articulate the story like Sam (or have a voice as soothing as Sam's for that matter), I will try to paraphrase as best I can. Sam is a Dominican native, but spent much of his life in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the United States. He took up real estate and was quite successful at it. He was contacted by the Dominican Minister of Health and a Merrill Lynch representative suggesting he purchase land in his home country. He returned to Dominica, and after seeing some land that was highly overpriced, Sam was able to snag a different property tat a great price! Originally, the land was set to be a campground, but Sam saw the potential to be something more. After years of planning and construction, Jungle Bay was born!! The part that really spoke to me was when Sam talked about hiring the Jungle Bay staff. He talked about his philosophy of treating your staff well and letting them really find their niche in their jobs and they will be good to you! This is reflected even in the Jungle Bay staff's name tags. No one has a job title on their name tags, which I think gives a team sense to all the staff and doesn't make any one person seem more important than another.
Afterwards, we enjoyed a cooking class taught by the lovely head chef, JoAnne. I was eager to watch this, because everything we eat at Jungle Bay is so delicious! We learned how to make pumpkin ginger soup and coconut crusted fried plantains. Of course my favorite part was sampling each of the dishes, but it was nice to see that each dish was made using fresh local ingredients without any preservatives. It really made me rethink the processed food that I've grown so reliant on in the states. I'm hoping to steal some recipes so I can make more dishes when I leave her!
In the evening, our whole group decided to do the dreaded Paix Bouche hike. Paix Bouche roughly translates to "shut up", because you won't be able to talk because the climb is so steep! So naturally I was looking forward to it [sarcasm], but the power of peer pressure swayed me to do it. The hike itself is about a mile and a half uphill, and as the name suggests, I was not talking to anyone, but spent the majority of the hike trying to catch my breath! I used the time alone to really reflect on what Paix Bouche is about: mind over matter. The key to completing Paix Bouche is continually making small landmark goals; just get to this boulder, that pothole, or that tree. This is a great philosophy to take to other places in life. Sure, a project or boards may seem overwhelming, but making small tangible goals makes the "impossible" possible. I was definitely slow, I took a lot of breaks, and it wasn't pretty, but I made it! And that's all that matters :)
- Christina
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