Internships in Rwanda


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International Medical Aid (IMA)
Nursing/Pre-Nursing Internships Abroad for Aspiring Nurses
International Medical Aid (IMA) proudly pioneers nursing and pre-...
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A Life-Changing Journey: How My Nursing Internship in Kenya Transformed My Perspective and Career
by: Cameroon Sniderman - United StatesProgram: Nursing/Pre-Nursing Internships Abroad for Aspiring NursesThe last month in Kenya changed me. I can't describe the impact Kenya has had on my heart, and I will forever be grateful for the memories I have made that will shape the rest of my life and nursing career. I’m beyond devastated to leave because the staff, interns, and locals in Kenya welcomed me with open arms and fully immersed me into their culture, but I know for certain I will be back to rekindle my forever friendships! There are no words to sum up how incredibly thankful I am to have experienced the full beauty of Kenya and its incredible people. Thank you for bringing me perspective and shifting my mindset to encourage a better version of myself. ASANTE SANA KENYA and IMA for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. P.S. I'm gonna miss the food so much! A portion of my heart is in Mombasa, Kenya and it will travel with me for the rest of my life. Through the experience with International Medical Aid, I learned how to step out of my comfort zone and always strive to do and be my best no matter the environment or people around you. Not only did I learn more within the field of nursing and medicine, but I learned how to prioritize, think quickly, and adapt to any measures given. The biggest gift International Medical Aid gave me was the opportunity to meet lifelong friends. Not only did I bond with my fellow interns from IMA, but I also bonded with nurses and medical officers who work in Kenya. I sat for hours learning about the ins and outs of nursing and life in Kenya. To be able to compare our lives and acknowledge the differences and similarities between each other, taught me to be cognizant of others, what they have been through and how we are different, while connecting on what brings us together. I feel beyond grateful for the people I met in Kenya. From their welcoming attitude, laughing at nursing school teachers, going to dinner, talking about relationship issues, fun gossip and serious issues, we built forever friendships. From worlds apart that are completely different, we always connected on the same things. Our differences made our relationship beautiful. Through my nursing career, I promise to acknowledge the difference between me and others, and celebrate them, instead of allowing that to create distance. I now understand the value of immersing myself in someone else's culture and learning from the people and experiences. It allows you to learn so much more than any textbook can teach you. My experience in the hospital from a medical perspective was beyond eye opening. I loved seeing how patient’s family members took the role of the nursing assistants, that we have in the United States. It showed how they value family and the Kenyan culture of love and hospitality. I learned from my fellow colleagues the importance of resourcefulness, as in using gloves for tourniquets, saving gauze and open sterile gloves if unused, hanging IV’s off of windows, and sharing beds for infants if need be. Healthcare for everyone stems from the same place, no matter where you are, with whatever resources are around, the end goal is always the same. Watching Coast General nurses and doctors eventually get to the same desired goal encourages me to be less wasteful and to realize how much extra resources we have in the United States. I found the hospital experience to be so inspiring. It drives me to root my career in serving under-sourced countries. I hope to use my education and ability to provide care communities that have little to no resources. Shadowing and working alongside the most knowledgeable people, gave me so much valuable information on global health, specifically in Kenya. Their dedication to Kenya while working in unbelievably challenging work environments, is both motivating and inspiring. These working conditions were elaborated on during one of the lectures so I was able to start to understand the depth of their overall healthcare issue. Due to these conditions, I took note of the lack of empathy given to the patients, sometimes I noticed Coast General staff be very apathetic towards patients. For example, working in labor and delivery, I reached out to one of the mothers and touched her shoulder and said good job mama after all the nurses has been screaming at her, and she squeezed my hand and started to cry. I took so much away from that interaction, the simple act of kindness made such an impact on her. Allowing her to be vulnerable during a very difficult time. It motivates me to continue to lead with empathy and kindness toward all my future patients. Being able to see the epidemic of infectious diseases in comparison to the United States, where we have an epidemic of chronic diseases, allowed me to take a step back and realize all the things I can improve in my own community, as far as illness and community outreach. It seems that the reason Kenya has less of an issue with chronic disease is because most people are not living sedentary lifestyles and/or eating a westernized diet. Dr. Shazim lead a lecture of “Disease Burden in Kenya” which taught us why we were seeing the communicable disease we were seeing at Coast General but also about the uprising epidemics of poor mental health and chronic issues like “cardiovascular and metabolic disease including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, and chronic kidney disease” (Shazim, slide 4). Mental health being a scary issue Kenya faces with only fewer than 500 mental health specialists to serve over 50 million people (2021, Marangu, E). One of the most mind blowing aspects of my internship in Kenya is the lack of health literacy of the common citizen. For example, if anyone in the United States saw someone giving CPR they would know that the victim is in a very unstable condition and all measures are being practiced to resuscitate that person back to life. Yet, in Kenya when CPR was given to a very young infant, I watched the mother have almost no reaction. I was so confused and I Sniderman had to step back and realize she didn't even know what the doctors were doing, she just assumed the healthcare providers were helping her young son. Soon later they turned to her and pronounced him dead and then she had a surprised and devastated reaction, as she had no clue that CPR was a procedure used when someone is close to death. This was shocking, in fact it really made me reflect on the importance of patient teaching. The reason I was able to identify the issue of health literacy with this woman was due to one of the lectures during my first week. In the lecture “ The Current State of Health Care in Kenya” given by one of the amazing IMA staff members, they had mentioned one of the biggest systemic issues in Kenya on why people are not getting the healthcare they need was due to health literacy (slide 40). In nursing school they harped on how you must teach everything to your patient and watching the lack of patient education and general health literacy made me incredibly aware of incorporating that heavily into my career. Not only was the hospital a valuable place to grow my education, but I found the lectures and treks added a lot to my overall experience with all of the community outreach opportunities. I was able to fully understand the differences between our countries. One of the many highlights of my stay in Kenya was outreach to the schools. One in particular, where we helped to educate children on hygiene and women's health, was a highlight. They were so warm, welcoming and excited to learn everything we were explaining to them. I have never felt so much love and gratitude from people in my life. They were eager to learn and they valued the time we spent with them as much as I did. I truly have never smiled so much in my life. I learned so much about healthcare throughout my time in Mombasa, but more than that I learned the value of a smile, a hug, a compliment, patience, and understanding. Asante Sana Mombasa and International Medical Aid. I’m going to continue to work hard so I can come back to Mombasa and rekindle my friendships as well as give deserving healthcare to the beautiful people of Kenya.
Life-Changing Lessons in Mombasa: My Transformative Nursing Internship with International Medical Aid
by: Caroline Hashimoto - United StatesProgram: Nursing/Pre-Nursing Internships Abroad for Aspiring NursesInternational Medical Aid has completely changed my life. I wish I could put into words just how impactful this experience has had on my life because I want everyone to know what an incredible journey this past month has been. I've never felt more welcomed, safe, and accommodated in a foreign country so far away from home. The staff were absolutely incredible, and I can't thank the kitchen and housekeeping staff enough for their services (I have a new love and appreciation for African cuisine!). The program was very organized and there was always something to do and explore. The mentors did a phenomenal job with getting to know each and every intern on a personal level, and encouraging us to participate in all the planned activities. At the hospital, I learned more than I have in my entire time at school, and I have never been more solidified in my passion for nursing. I also appreciated how involved IMA is in the communities around Kenya, and I realized how big of an impact we had when participating in clinics, donating to orphanages, and supporting local attractions. I could go on forever about how phenomenal this program is and I will look back on this experience for the rest of my life! What have I learned from my internship with International Medical Aid in Mombasa, Kenya? That’s a question I love being asked, because there is no end to my answer. I have learned more in this short month than I ever have in my entire nursing education. But before I acknowledge the question, I would like to give some context of my life before embarking on this once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was early January and I had no idea that I would be spending a month of my summer in Mombasa, Kenya. I was stuck in my comfortable routine of going to clinical at the same time every day, at the same hospital, treating the same kind of patients. I always knew that I had such a strong passion for nursing, but I often found myself asking, was this it? Am I able to become the best nurse I can be if I solely stick to what is familiar? By February, I was itching to get out. I had an overwhelming desire to push myself so far outside my boundaries and experience something, anything, different from my life in Omaha. I did some long and hard searching, and when I heard about International Medical Aid, I immediately started gearing up for the journey of a lifetime. Now back to the question, what have I learned from my internship with International Medical Aid in Mombasa, Kenya? The very first thing I learned was how to adapt to unfamiliar places. This was a continuous lesson over the past month, as I entered new places and situations that required me to adapt my attitude, beliefs, and way of thinking. When I stepped foot into Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital for my first shift in the emergency room, my stomach dropped. Seeing the people line the hallway to the entrance and sheetless beds overflowing with multiple patients, I knew that this was far from my familiar hospital in Omaha. I was overcome by a mixture of sadness, fear, excitement, and anxiety, and questions piled in my head. Immediately upon entering, I teamed with a nurse and two Kenyan nursing students and began to help with what I could. I remember standing at the nurses station getting report from a doctor, when I turned around and saw a child getting CPR by a single nurse. I searched all around me in a panic to see if anyone else was going to help, if materials were being fetched or if parents were being consoled. But it was just the singular nurse, quietly trying to rescue this child’s life while other patients, doctors, nurses, and families went about their days. I was horrified, and rushed over to help. Tears pooled in my eyes and my hands quivered as I held my flashlight over the child’s face. I looked around again to see if anyone was coming, and heard the nurse mumble that we needed adrenaline. No one heard. I yelled, “we need adrenaline over here!”. No one came. I was distressed at this point, confused and frustrated by the lack of urgency and wondering why on earth this situation was not considered a medical emergency. After about 10 minutes, the nurse called over the doctor to pronounce the time of death. I was frozen. Everyone had already moved onto the next patient or next task, and I stood there unable to move. The nurse I teamed up with grabbed me and brought me into a back room, where I hysterically let out tears of anger, confusion, frustration, and sadness. After comforting me and giving me time to grief, I remember her saying, “Caroline, this is the harsh reality of working in this kind of environment, so how are you going to adapt? You can either learn from this experience or it will eat you alive”. I’ve never needed to hear those words so badly in my life. In that crisis, I was expecting a team of healthcare workers to come to the rescue, with a crash cart filled to the brim with every medication and tool you need to save someone’s life. I assumed that the norm in which patients are treated back in Omaha is the same as in Kenya. From that point on, I adapted both my mindset, beliefs, and thinking to my present environment. I recognized how different our healthcare systems were, and used that knowledge to create new solutions to the problems I faced. I learned how to not disregard, ignore, or depress the rollercoaster of feelings I felt along the way, but rather feel them to the full extent so that I can move on to the next patient without carrying the weight of others. This experience has shocked me into the reality that there is no place that will be exactly the same as Omaha. Throughout my nursing career, I will encounter a variety of different work environments, situations, and patients that all require and depend on my ability to adapt. In nursing school, we are repeatedly taught the importance of cultural competency. We have numerous simulations and case studies that test us on our ability to care for patients of different races, religions, and backgrounds. But, despite how much stress my school puts on this aspect of nursing care, I have never actually had any experience treating a real patient that is not caucasian and catholic. Interning in Kenya was my opportunity to expand my knowledge and learn how to adjust my care for the well being of every patient. I not only learned how to perform skills on darker skin, such as finding veins or identifying discoloration, but I learned about the Kenyan culture and the beliefs, values, and practices that are seen in the health care setting. I was in the labor and delivery ward, when I really learned about the different Kenyan tribes and how their individual practices are respected within the hospital. It was shocking to me when I saw young women giving birth to their third or fourth child. Such women were often found to be in polygamous marriages, where their husbands stayed at home with the other wives. The Muslim religion was also very common, and I learned about why some of the women requested private prayer time throughout the day. The most surprising thing that I noticed was that childbirth in general is not typically experienced and celebrated as a joyous or exciting event in one's life, unlike in the United States. It was very difficult at first to set aside my own beliefs that I had about childbirth and I had so many questions about why and how it could be so different from back home. I was tested to self reflect on a much deeper level so that I could provide the best level of care and respect to each woman. This experience has allowed me to broaden not only my perspective of other cultures and religions, but also my competency and ability to care for such patients. I’ve learned that cultural competency is an ongoing practice of health care with no limit of improvement and something I will continue to work on in my nursing career. At the beginning of every day at the hospital, all the IMA interns would scatter to the wards they were assigned to and shadow the head doctor, surgeon, or clinical officer. In my cohort, I was only one of three nursing students, so it was up to me to scout the nearest nurse that was willing to let me tag along for the week. I not only had the privilege to get to know all the wonderful nurses who worked vigorously to care for each patient, but I also became friends with many of the Kenyan nursing students. A new group of them would circulate throughout the ward I was assigned to, and we would quickly become friends after bonding over the hardships that come with nursing school. I felt so drawn to these students, not only because we were the same age or that we were all still in school, but because their perspectives on health care and being in the hospital were so different from mine when I first began clinical. I remember being hungry for opportunities to practice my skills, would give anything to see the most interesting cases, and focused much of my time on finishing my paperwork rather than speaking with the actual patients. On the other hand, the Kenyan nursing students were some of the most composed, smart, kind, and respectful people I’ve ever met. They preferred to respect privacy and tend to other patients than to sit and watch family break down during a medical crisis. They often were cleaning, taking vitals, fetching supplies, or comforting a patient rather than fighting over who got to insert the next catheter. I truly looked up to these students. I not only learned about the kind of nursing student I want to be in my last year of school, but I learned about the kind of nurse and person I want to be overall. While there was not much they could do to assist medically, they showed me just how far compassion and respect can go in such a high demand and high stress environment. They showed me that simply taking the time to change the sheets and make the bed of a patient who had been there for weeks can actually make their entire day. They showed me how just sitting down and listening to a patient can make them feel safer, more relaxed, and a little less lonely. They showed me that by being kind and loving to everyone they encounter can make the hospital a more hopeful environment. I will always value how influential these students and nurses at Coast General were to me and how they helped shape the kind of nurse I want to be in the future. International Medical Aid has changed my life forever. Five months ago I felt like something was missing in my life and forced myself to do something completely different and outside of my comfort zone. Now, I look back and think why I hadn’t done something like this sooner. I will take all that I’ve learned and apply it in every aspect of my life, because Kenya has changed me in more ways than I ever thought. The friends I’ve met along the way, all the IMA staff, and the patients I’ve cared for will stay in my heart forever and remind me of exactly why I want to be a nurse in the first place. This is who I am meant to be; someone who loves, cares, and serves others that are in need. Thanks to this incredible experience and International Medical Aid, my passion for nursing has never been stronger, and I have felt called to declare my specialty in pediatric oncology!
A Life-Changing Journey: How My Nursing Internship in Kenya Transformed My Perspective and Career
by: Cameroon Sniderman - United StatesProgram: Nursing/Pre-Nursing Internships Abroad for Aspiring NursesThe last month in Kenya changed me. I can't describe the impact Kenya has had on my heart, and I will forever be grateful for the memories I have made that will shape the rest of my life and nursing career. I’m beyond devastated to leave because the staff, interns, and locals in Kenya welcomed me with open arms and fully immersed me into their culture, but I know for certain I will be back to rekindle my forever friendships! There are no words to sum up how incredibly thankful I am to have experienced the full beauty of Kenya and its incredible people. Thank you for bringing me perspective and shifting my mindset to encourage a better version of myself. ASANTE SANA KENYA and IMA for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. P.S. I'm gonna miss the food so much! A portion of my heart is in Mombasa, Kenya and it will travel with me for the rest of my life. Through the experience with International Medical Aid, I learned how to step out of my comfort zone and always strive to do and be my best no matter the environment or people around you. Not only did I learn more within the field of nursing and medicine, but I learned how to prioritize, think quickly, and adapt to any measures given. The biggest gift International Medical Aid gave me was the opportunity to meet lifelong friends. Not only did I bond with my fellow interns from IMA, but I also bonded with nurses and medical officers who work in Kenya. I sat for hours learning about the ins and outs of nursing and life in Kenya. To be able to compare our lives and acknowledge the differences and similarities between each other, taught me to be cognizant of others, what they have been through and how we are different, while connecting on what brings us together. I feel beyond grateful for the people I met in Kenya. From their welcoming attitude, laughing at nursing school teachers, going to dinner, talking about relationship issues, fun gossip and serious issues, we built forever friendships. From worlds apart that are completely different, we always connected on the same things. Our differences made our relationship beautiful. Through my nursing career, I promise to acknowledge the difference between me and others, and celebrate them, instead of allowing that to create distance. I now understand the value of immersing myself in someone else's culture and learning from the people and experiences. It allows you to learn so much more than any textbook can teach you. My experience in the hospital from a medical perspective was beyond eye opening. I loved seeing how patient’s family members took the role of the nursing assistants, that we have in the United States. It showed how they value family and the Kenyan culture of love and hospitality. I learned from my fellow colleagues the importance of resourcefulness, as in using gloves for tourniquets, saving gauze and open sterile gloves if unused, hanging IV’s off of windows, and sharing beds for infants if need be. Healthcare for everyone stems from the same place, no matter where you are, with whatever resources are around, the end goal is always the same. Watching Coast General nurses and doctors eventually get to the same desired goal encourages me to be less wasteful and to realize how much extra resources we have in the United States. I found the hospital experience to be so inspiring. It drives me to root my career in serving under-sourced countries. I hope to use my education and ability to provide care communities that have little to no resources. Shadowing and working alongside the most knowledgeable people, gave me so much valuable information on global health, specifically in Kenya. Their dedication to Kenya while working in unbelievably challenging work environments, is both motivating and inspiring. These working conditions were elaborated on during one of the lectures so I was able to start to understand the depth of their overall healthcare issue. Due to these conditions, I took note of the lack of empathy given to the patients, sometimes I noticed Coast General staff be very apathetic towards patients. For example, working in labor and delivery, I reached out to one of the mothers and touched her shoulder and said good job mama after all the nurses has been screaming at her, and she squeezed my hand and started to cry. I took so much away from that interaction, the simple act of kindness made such an impact on her. Allowing her to be vulnerable during a very difficult time. It motivates me to continue to lead with empathy and kindness toward all my future patients. Being able to see the epidemic of infectious diseases in comparison to the United States, where we have an epidemic of chronic diseases, allowed me to take a step back and realize all the things I can improve in my own community, as far as illness and community outreach. It seems that the reason Kenya has less of an issue with chronic disease is because most people are not living sedentary lifestyles and/or eating a westernized diet. Dr. Shazim lead a lecture of “Disease Burden in Kenya” which taught us why we were seeing the communicable disease we were seeing at Coast General but also about the uprising epidemics of poor mental health and chronic issues like “cardiovascular and metabolic disease including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, and chronic kidney disease” (Shazim, slide 4). Mental health being a scary issue Kenya faces with only fewer than 500 mental health specialists to serve over 50 million people (2021, Marangu, E). One of the most mind blowing aspects of my internship in Kenya is the lack of health literacy of the common citizen. For example, if anyone in the United States saw someone giving CPR they would know that the victim is in a very unstable condition and all measures are being practiced to resuscitate that person back to life. Yet, in Kenya when CPR was given to a very young infant, I watched the mother have almost no reaction. I was so confused and I Sniderman had to step back and realize she didn't even know what the doctors were doing, she just assumed the healthcare providers were helping her young son. Soon later they turned to her and pronounced him dead and then she had a surprised and devastated reaction, as she had no clue that CPR was a procedure used when someone is close to death. This was shocking, in fact it really made me reflect on the importance of patient teaching. The reason I was able to identify the issue of health literacy with this woman was due to one of the lectures during my first week. In the lecture “ The Current State of Health Care in Kenya” given by one of the amazing IMA staff members, they had mentioned one of the biggest systemic issues in Kenya on why people are not getting the healthcare they need was due to health literacy (slide 40). In nursing school they harped on how you must teach everything to your patient and watching the lack of patient education and general health literacy made me incredibly aware of incorporating that heavily into my career. Not only was the hospital a valuable place to grow my education, but I found the lectures and treks added a lot to my overall experience with all of the community outreach opportunities. I was able to fully understand the differences between our countries. One of the many highlights of my stay in Kenya was outreach to the schools. One in particular, where we helped to educate children on hygiene and women's health, was a highlight. They were so warm, welcoming and excited to learn everything we were explaining to them. I have never felt so much love and gratitude from people in my life. They were eager to learn and they valued the time we spent with them as much as I did. I truly have never smiled so much in my life. I learned so much about healthcare throughout my time in Mombasa, but more than that I learned the value of a smile, a hug, a compliment, patience, and understanding. Asante Sana Mombasa and International Medical Aid. I’m going to continue to work hard so I can come back to Mombasa and rekindle my friendships as well as give deserving healthcare to the beautiful people of Kenya.
Life-Changing Lessons in Mombasa: My Transformative Nursing Internship with International Medical Aid
by: Caroline Hashimoto - United StatesProgram: Nursing/Pre-Nursing Internships Abroad for Aspiring NursesInternational Medical Aid has completely changed my life. I wish I could put into words just how impactful this experience has had on my life because I want everyone to know what an incredible journey this past month has been. I've never felt more welcomed, safe, and accommodated in a foreign country so far away from home. The staff were absolutely incredible, and I can't thank the kitchen and housekeeping staff enough for their services (I have a new love and appreciation for African cuisine!). The program was very organized and there was always something to do and explore. The mentors did a phenomenal job with getting to know each and every intern on a personal level, and encouraging us to participate in all the planned activities. At the hospital, I learned more than I have in my entire time at school, and I have never been more solidified in my passion for nursing. I also appreciated how involved IMA is in the communities around Kenya, and I realized how big of an impact we had when participating in clinics, donating to orphanages, and supporting local attractions. I could go on forever about how phenomenal this program is and I will look back on this experience for the rest of my life! What have I learned from my internship with International Medical Aid in Mombasa, Kenya? That’s a question I love being asked, because there is no end to my answer. I have learned more in this short month than I ever have in my entire nursing education. But before I acknowledge the question, I would like to give some context of my life before embarking on this once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was early January and I had no idea that I would be spending a month of my summer in Mombasa, Kenya. I was stuck in my comfortable routine of going to clinical at the same time every day, at the same hospital, treating the same kind of patients. I always knew that I had such a strong passion for nursing, but I often found myself asking, was this it? Am I able to become the best nurse I can be if I solely stick to what is familiar? By February, I was itching to get out. I had an overwhelming desire to push myself so far outside my boundaries and experience something, anything, different from my life in Omaha. I did some long and hard searching, and when I heard about International Medical Aid, I immediately started gearing up for the journey of a lifetime. Now back to the question, what have I learned from my internship with International Medical Aid in Mombasa, Kenya? The very first thing I learned was how to adapt to unfamiliar places. This was a continuous lesson over the past month, as I entered new places and situations that required me to adapt my attitude, beliefs, and way of thinking. When I stepped foot into Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital for my first shift in the emergency room, my stomach dropped. Seeing the people line the hallway to the entrance and sheetless beds overflowing with multiple patients, I knew that this was far from my familiar hospital in Omaha. I was overcome by a mixture of sadness, fear, excitement, and anxiety, and questions piled in my head. Immediately upon entering, I teamed with a nurse and two Kenyan nursing students and began to help with what I could. I remember standing at the nurses station getting report from a doctor, when I turned around and saw a child getting CPR by a single nurse. I searched all around me in a panic to see if anyone else was going to help, if materials were being fetched or if parents were being consoled. But it was just the singular nurse, quietly trying to rescue this child’s life while other patients, doctors, nurses, and families went about their days. I was horrified, and rushed over to help. Tears pooled in my eyes and my hands quivered as I held my flashlight over the child’s face. I looked around again to see if anyone was coming, and heard the nurse mumble that we needed adrenaline. No one heard. I yelled, “we need adrenaline over here!”. No one came. I was distressed at this point, confused and frustrated by the lack of urgency and wondering why on earth this situation was not considered a medical emergency. After about 10 minutes, the nurse called over the doctor to pronounce the time of death. I was frozen. Everyone had already moved onto the next patient or next task, and I stood there unable to move. The nurse I teamed up with grabbed me and brought me into a back room, where I hysterically let out tears of anger, confusion, frustration, and sadness. After comforting me and giving me time to grief, I remember her saying, “Caroline, this is the harsh reality of working in this kind of environment, so how are you going to adapt? You can either learn from this experience or it will eat you alive”. I’ve never needed to hear those words so badly in my life. In that crisis, I was expecting a team of healthcare workers to come to the rescue, with a crash cart filled to the brim with every medication and tool you need to save someone’s life. I assumed that the norm in which patients are treated back in Omaha is the same as in Kenya. From that point on, I adapted both my mindset, beliefs, and thinking to my present environment. I recognized how different our healthcare systems were, and used that knowledge to create new solutions to the problems I faced. I learned how to not disregard, ignore, or depress the rollercoaster of feelings I felt along the way, but rather feel them to the full extent so that I can move on to the next patient without carrying the weight of others. This experience has shocked me into the reality that there is no place that will be exactly the same as Omaha. Throughout my nursing career, I will encounter a variety of different work environments, situations, and patients that all require and depend on my ability to adapt. In nursing school, we are repeatedly taught the importance of cultural competency. We have numerous simulations and case studies that test us on our ability to care for patients of different races, religions, and backgrounds. But, despite how much stress my school puts on this aspect of nursing care, I have never actually had any experience treating a real patient that is not caucasian and catholic. Interning in Kenya was my opportunity to expand my knowledge and learn how to adjust my care for the well being of every patient. I not only learned how to perform skills on darker skin, such as finding veins or identifying discoloration, but I learned about the Kenyan culture and the beliefs, values, and practices that are seen in the health care setting. I was in the labor and delivery ward, when I really learned about the different Kenyan tribes and how their individual practices are respected within the hospital. It was shocking to me when I saw young women giving birth to their third or fourth child. Such women were often found to be in polygamous marriages, where their husbands stayed at home with the other wives. The Muslim religion was also very common, and I learned about why some of the women requested private prayer time throughout the day. The most surprising thing that I noticed was that childbirth in general is not typically experienced and celebrated as a joyous or exciting event in one's life, unlike in the United States. It was very difficult at first to set aside my own beliefs that I had about childbirth and I had so many questions about why and how it could be so different from back home. I was tested to self reflect on a much deeper level so that I could provide the best level of care and respect to each woman. This experience has allowed me to broaden not only my perspective of other cultures and religions, but also my competency and ability to care for such patients. I’ve learned that cultural competency is an ongoing practice of health care with no limit of improvement and something I will continue to work on in my nursing career. At the beginning of every day at the hospital, all the IMA interns would scatter to the wards they were assigned to and shadow the head doctor, surgeon, or clinical officer. In my cohort, I was only one of three nursing students, so it was up to me to scout the nearest nurse that was willing to let me tag along for the week. I not only had the privilege to get to know all the wonderful nurses who worked vigorously to care for each patient, but I also became friends with many of the Kenyan nursing students. A new group of them would circulate throughout the ward I was assigned to, and we would quickly become friends after bonding over the hardships that come with nursing school. I felt so drawn to these students, not only because we were the same age or that we were all still in school, but because their perspectives on health care and being in the hospital were so different from mine when I first began clinical. I remember being hungry for opportunities to practice my skills, would give anything to see the most interesting cases, and focused much of my time on finishing my paperwork rather than speaking with the actual patients. On the other hand, the Kenyan nursing students were some of the most composed, smart, kind, and respectful people I’ve ever met. They preferred to respect privacy and tend to other patients than to sit and watch family break down during a medical crisis. They often were cleaning, taking vitals, fetching supplies, or comforting a patient rather than fighting over who got to insert the next catheter. I truly looked up to these students. I not only learned about the kind of nursing student I want to be in my last year of school, but I learned about the kind of nurse and person I want to be overall. While there was not much they could do to assist medically, they showed me just how far compassion and respect can go in such a high demand and high stress environment. They showed me that simply taking the time to change the sheets and make the bed of a patient who had been there for weeks can actually make their entire day. They showed me how just sitting down and listening to a patient can make them feel safer, more relaxed, and a little less lonely. They showed me that by being kind and loving to everyone they encounter can make the hospital a more hopeful environment. I will always value how influential these students and nurses at Coast General were to me and how they helped shape the kind of nurse I want to be in the future. International Medical Aid has changed my life forever. Five months ago I felt like something was missing in my life and forced myself to do something completely different and outside of my comfort zone. Now, I look back and think why I hadn’t done something like this sooner. I will take all that I’ve learned and apply it in every aspect of my life, because Kenya has changed me in more ways than I ever thought. The friends I’ve met along the way, all the IMA staff, and the patients I’ve cared for will stay in my heart forever and remind me of exactly why I want to be a nurse in the first place. This is who I am meant to be; someone who loves, cares, and serves others that are in need. Thanks to this incredible experience and International Medical Aid, my passion for nursing has never been stronger, and I have felt called to declare my specialty in pediatric oncology!
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