Student Nurses at Mercy Hospital
When classes started a week ago Monday I was almost settled except
for the internet -- now it has worked for soooo long, I have forgotten the
hassles! I do like going to the
student’s opening service every morning despite the fact that I can’t sing
and have no rhythm and the theological expressions in the singing are not exactly
mine. I am comforted by the familiarity
and enthusiasm of the students. And by
their third year even the Hindu and Muslim students are singing “I am under the
Rock.” Of course, it is not a
conversion; just a participation in the lives of people to whom they have grown close.
I took the mandatory prison shots and added them to my
screen saver. Even before two weeks, I
think I know them all most of the time.
I also gave my “older” self three weeks instead of two to get to know
them all before I have to buy pizza! The trouble here in Guyana is that everyone
has varying names for different occasions, so Jaishree might be Davie, a Ronda
may be be Kayla King, Ron could be Linden, Hamosady is Sarafina… And Chukwubuike
is from Africa and that is his only name; however, his last name is Okorie, so
Okorie he is. On the first day, I am
convinced they are so much alike that I will never sort them all out… but now I
know and see how different they are. I
do so enjoy being part of their lives.
Problem Based Teacher
Not only is Problem Based Learning very different than
anything they have ever done before… They are all sure that they have never had
a teacher like me! I give them an
“ice-breaker” exercise the first day...
Easy. They write down two of
their secret weapons that are going to make them a great batchmate and nurse …
so there are very interesting responses, such as that one is a professional cake maker and
another can teach everyone how to breathe and relax, another is a good
fisherperson… And the second question is “What are you most afraid as you start this
nursing course. And most put "failing" ..… even after I told them
no one has ever failed my course ..… and none of them have ever failed a
course! Several of them were most afraid
of have to talk out loud in class ("I'll die if I have to do that ..…") and in my comforting way I told one of them,
“Well, I guess you are going to die.”
Our course leader this year has been tutoring with me for
many years. Last year we co-led the
course and this year she has taken over most of the coordinating tasks and
arranging for small group tutors. She
has done a better job than I did as she knows more about who is around and when
they are free. She has also done
something that I hadn’t. Our pages start
in the afternoon with the groups developing their research questions and then,
the next time we meet is on a different morning. Previously we had tutors who volunteered for
one day. So in the group they facilitated
in the morning, the questions were developed by one tutor, and in the
afternoon the questions would be addressed by a different
tutor. Somehow Candy has convinced
volunteers to do a whole page, Say Monday afternoon and then Wednesday
Morning. Amazing!
Here are the tutors and students working in small groups
[Candy, Roberta, Vic and John]
Early on I have them do what has become a “Labba Hunt”. It
originally [1980’s] started out as an Assisted Death "trigger sheet" to get at how
each person felt ..… Now it is Guyanese:
Imagine the classic Guyanese holiday:
A couple in the deep hinterlands – labba hunting. While she is out on the river fishing – no
labba yet – the man is attacked by a jaguar.
When the woman hears his cries for help, she comes back to find him lying there in a pool of blood.
His flesh has been torn away; he is in unbearable pain. Both of them know that he is going
to die. There is no way to save his life.
He begs for her to shoot him, saying “Please hurry up and kill
me.” He can’t even turn the hunting
rifle on himself. His suffering is
intolerable…
The question is “Would you shoot him?” The worksheet teases
out understanding, approval, and doing the same or not. Of course, I try and slide in a few ethics
concepts. This year after they completed
the sheet themselves, I divided them up into debating teams of “Yes, I’d do the
same.” Or “No, I wouldn’t do the same.”
It was almost evenly divided… each team selected a debater and ..... It was
a lively affair, just short of a riot! Three or four times during the class the teacher or students next door pounded on the divider to tell us they were taking an exam. I yelled back "So are we!"
The Second Reason I have Returned
The whole Psychiatry Residency Programme: l-r. Jackie,
Veneda [guest pregnant appearance - due in a couple of weeks]
Stephon ,Colleen and Elizabeth. (They are smiling because
my class with them was over!)
This is the group gathered for ward rounds last Friday.
They are medical students gathered from different medical schools in Guyana. On the right are Colleen, Zenia (a psychiatrist from Cuba) and Elizabeth.
I find it a real honor to be assisting with a desperately need programme in Guyana. As you may remember, a few years ago Guyana was Number One in the world with the highest rate of suicide deaths. The Department of Psychiatry had been one of the leaders in tackling this problem
Of course, I am not alone in knowing very little about psychiatry. I am also honored to work with other Canadians who know more and who have appointments from McMaster University in Ontario: Tony Carr (yes the same old curmudgeon of PBL fame), Shrenik Parekh and Sujay Patel (psychiatrists). As well, there is Peter Kuhnert, a Family Doc, specializing in Psychiatry, who has just set up a non-profit corporation in Guyana to assist with raising funds to improve the state of both Psychiatry and Mental Health here. I will let Peter give you the proper details for where to send your leftover thousands!
All of these docs have come to Guyana many times to teach and almost all have regular Skype teaching sessions throughout the year. I don't really Skype yet, as I first have to master my #$%^*@ smart phone.
The residents themselves are a joy to be with as they are inquisitive, dedicated to patients and learning, in the midst of what I perceive to be chaos and very few resources within the hospital or the community.
Of course, I am not alone in knowing very little about psychiatry. I am also honored to work with other Canadians who know more and who have appointments from McMaster University in Ontario: Tony Carr (yes the same old curmudgeon of PBL fame), Shrenik Parekh and Sujay Patel (psychiatrists). As well, there is Peter Kuhnert, a Family Doc, specializing in Psychiatry, who has just set up a non-profit corporation in Guyana to assist with raising funds to improve the state of both Psychiatry and Mental Health here. I will let Peter give you the proper details for where to send your leftover thousands!
All of these docs have come to Guyana many times to teach and almost all have regular Skype teaching sessions throughout the year. I don't really Skype yet, as I first have to master my #$%^*@ smart phone.
The residents themselves are a joy to be with as they are inquisitive, dedicated to patients and learning, in the midst of what I perceive to be chaos and very few resources within the hospital or the community.
Last and probably least (because they are all
really small) - "my" girls at St. Ann's
St Ann's Girls Home is in the process of modernizing and improving how the home is run. I just began an exercise and basketball clinic supposedly for the little girls and one for the bigger girls. I am no stranger to coaching basketball though I have to remember way way back. And I haven't coached girls since I was a Senior in High School! Well, I had brought some basketballs (with your money) and laid out a schedule of exercises and drills for both groups. I started with two little ones -- who I felt confident I could take on, one on one .....
John
A Small Funny Aside
The University of Guyana is doing some great stuff and in their recent newsletter listed their top 25 accomplishments. I just got a kick out of #4 .…. It is both funny and significant. Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith has done an amazing job leading the Renaissance of UG.
1Secured the reaccreditation of the School of
Medicine.
2Made the George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT) and the Small Lecture Theatre (SLT) fully air-conditioned, and installed new
bathrooms in GWLT.
3Boosted the Wi-Fi access at Turkeyen, Tain, and
Dennis Irvine Hall, put new PA systems in lecture halls, fixed furniture and
put fans in classrooms.
4Stopped wild horses, cows, and most dogs
from roaming campus.
(n.b, The wild
horses were only a problem in English Classes.)
