Today marked our third day in Durban and the official beginning to the work we had set out to accomplish As part of our trip to Durban, we had promised two of our professors at the IHP that we would help distribute surveys regarding peripheral neuropathy to clients in South Africa living with HIV/AIDS. We were picked up at our apartment by Busi Ncama, who is a colleague, a professor of nursing at KZN and a co-investigator in the research project. We have talked so much of our friends Busi Bhengu and Busi Ncama. We have attached a picture of Busi Ncama next to her car (complete with vanity plates!) She drove us to St. Mary's Hospital where we took a short tour before beginning our work. This hospital housed a variety of health clinics such as a TB clinic, an HIV clinic and a hospice clinic. We settled in with the help of Busi and one Zulu interpreter, Innocent who helped us communicate with the patients and obtain the data necessary. While assisting with data collection, Inge saw an interesting sign and wanted to share it with you.
After completing some surveys, we headed over to McCord Hospital for a tour of the facility and to speak with Tamryan, a researcher working on prevention of mother-child transmission. She was a lovely person and a wealth of knowledge regarding the history of HIV in South Africa, problems with treatment and medication shortages and the other quality of life issues that people living with HIV/AIDS deal with. After a wonderful and informative chat, we toured the hospital. This setting was quite different from yesterdays visit to Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. McCord was smaller and not as technologically advanced. We toured five wards, the female medical unity, the male medical unit, labor and delivery/nursery, surgical/ortho, and the emergency department. The wards were large rooms with 6 beds each, separated by curtains. There was an isolation room with two beds set up for patients with TB. Although McCord Hospital wasn't as large and glamorous as Luthuli, the quality of care was exceptional and the patients were well cared for. McCord Hospital has a special tie to this group, as Inge had spent a great deal of time there while conducting research a few years ago. We were able to meet with some of her old friends on our tour, including a nursing administrator and an MD.
We walked back to our apartment and stopped at Woolworth in the mall to get supplies for dinner. I have vague memories of being a kid and having a Woolworths in the center of my city, but I though they had all gone out of business. Well believe me, Woolworth's is thriving in South Africa!
That's it for tonight! Tomorrow we have another informative day ahead of us. Its back to St. Marys for more data collection then we are having a special guest back at our apartment for dinner. Tune in tomorrow to hear all about it!
Jill
Sorry for the delay in posting! This sounds like an exciting trip full of culture and an insider, well nurses view of health care and research in SA. I am interested in the students perspective on using problem based learning which is different from how we present information in our ABSN curriculum. Great work! What wonderful research assistants! Take care, Lynda TV
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting Lynda. We so look forward to your comments about our adventures. Today we had an active time with data collection. "The Girls" as they are known here did an outstanding job and were very professional in their encounters with research participants. Our photo bugs took some great pictures that will give you more of an idea of the culture. But I'll let them tell you about that in their daily posting. Thanks again. It's grand to hear from home and know that you're sharing this with us. Inge
ReplyDeleteHi everyone. Thank you for sending out your link, so I could see what was happening with your group. Sounds like you are having fun, learning a lot, and experiencing Africa! It's pretty exciting. We look forward to more reports!
ReplyDeleteA. Johnson
Candice, Jill, Meredith and Inge - Your blog and pictures transport me to SA with you - thanks so much for sharing your blend of professional, sightseeing, and local culture experiences, which are fascinating! I'll look forward to hearing and seeing more.
ReplyDeleteBest,
President Bellack
Hi everyone, it's Candice. Thanks for your comments and for keeping up with the blog! This is my third attempt to respond to Lynda's comment so let's hope it works!
ReplyDeleteWe have actually talked a lot about the problem based learning as it really intrigued us. The classes we sat in on were essentailly taught by the students. One professor even described herself as a 'facilitator.' The focus is on developing critical thinking skills and was very successful at that. There seem to be pros and cons to this approach. The content of the course is centered around what the students see in their clinicals and therefore emphasizes what health care providers see most often in their community. The students were very proficient in these topics and the teacher was there to fill in the gaps.
On the other hand, there is no way the student would see everything during their clinical time, especially if it is an accelerated program. It would be difficult with a larger class size to coordinate the curriculum and ensure that all content was covered. Furthermore, coming into nursing school with work experience but no background in the health care field I definitely benefited from the content based lectures.
There are benefits to both approaches and we agree that elements of both models would be effective in training student nurses.