First days on the ward

I have finished two shifts on the ward so far. I have been working evenings and will be the rest of the week. I was nervous about my first shift and it was hard to be a "newbie" again. I don't like change at first! I have been at my job at Ruby for four years now. It was also hard because there are so many first time nurses that we weren't able to be precepted into our roles. It all worked out though. After all, the majority of us are in the same boat, literally! The language barrier is a little frustrating to me too. The national language is French here and the major tribal language is Fon. I took Latin in high school and I only know a tiny bit of Spanish from being in Honduras. It is funny how I want to say what little Spanish I know when I'm in a pinch. We have many helpful translators here who are called our day volunteers. There are always some on duty. They also help us by cooking the patient meals and serving them and by keeping the ward clean. They are invaluable!
The patients I have taken care of right now have just had minor problems so far. The general surgeon is here repairing hernias, goiters, and lipomas. We also have many children with bowed legs for the ortho. surgeon. The Africa Mercy and the ward are both a tightly run ship, quite literally. Things on the ward are much like any floor would be back at home. I have a 5 patient assignment with admissions and discharges and the charting is less than at home but still inclusive. We have clinical pathways that certain surgeries fall into that gives us protocol to follow. The meds are at one central place and we have narcotics in a locked box that two nurses co-sign. The formulary is quite a bit less though. Most of the time patients only need Tylenol, Ibuprofen, or Coedine after surgery to lessen the pain. We have morphine, but I haven't needed to give it yet. I am enjoying not having to pass umteen morning or evening meds. and of course not having those annoying wireless phones that ring every 10 seconds! Some of the older patients show up with untreated hypertension and we do treat that with beta blockers or calcium channel blockers. We send them home with two weeks worth of pills and tell them to go to a pharmacy to get more when those run out. Upon discharge every patient also gets a month supply of multivitamins and iron tablets to aid in the wound healing process. The patients are very appreciative for all we do for them.
It is not uncommon to have a praise and worship session break out when the translators bring in the drums and shakers. It is fun to see all the patients respond. The Jesus film and other bible stories are shown on videos on the t.v.'s. I also love the fact that we start each shift in prayer before we hand off to the next nurse. Each day I am feeling more comfortable here. I am looking forward to getting off the ship this weekend though to explore more of the town. So far I have only been off to go to church and one outing.