I'm a nurse! A couple of weeks ago I started shadowing a doctor at clinic. In Ecuador, after finishing medical school, new doctors are required to spend 1 year at a rural site. My doctor, Andres (or affectionately Andresito, since he's only 25), was the only one at his rural clinic (or subcentro, as we call them), so when several us expressed interest in shaddowing at the hospital, I was assigned to be the nurse at the subcentro in Jatumpungo, because Andres needed help. Excuse me? Jatum-what?
After explaining no less that 12 times that I am in fact NOT a nurse (university is much more specialized here, so they don't understand how the US degree system works), I made my first trip to Jatumpungo and fell in love. I'm working alongside Andres every Wednesday to help see patients and make house visits in the rural community. I do a lot of administrative work with paperwork and all, but I've learned how to do a lot of physical examinations of patients as well. Ecuador has a motto of "hear one, see one, do one", so Andres has taught me about and allowed me to do tasks I wouldn't be allowed to do until after finishing nursing school in the states. I've taken vitals, checked breathing patterns with a stethascope, written prescriptions, etc. My favorites were giving charlas (mini-lectures) to elementary school kids in the area about Tuberculosis and giving Hepatitis B shots to middle schoolers. I was so nervous giving shots, but the histerical kids forced me to keep my calm. It was so exciting to have hands-on experience like that.
At one of the schools, I was referred to as "Doctora Haley" by one of the teachers. Not yet, Se
ñora Suntaxi... but nurse just may be appropriate.
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When I showed the Iowa spring break trip around a couple of hospitals in Quito, I got to/had to wear a white coat. I reveled in being 'doctorcito' for a week, though it mostly scared the crap out of me.
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