It is almost the end of my second week here, and I am happy to say that I finally feel settled in. Work at the clinic has been an eye-opening experience, and it has been a joy to speak with the mothers and children who visit our clinic. Usually our clinic is pretty busy, with about 30 patients coming in to see us each morning, but this week that number has dropped to about 15. With fewer patients to see today, I had the opportunity to make a difference in one mother’s experience when she walked through our door this morning. She wasn’t our patient, but she was confused and needed help. Her daughter had been seen at another clinic in the hospital for dehydration and vomiting and mom was carrying an array of medicines prescribed to her by her doctor. But after speaking with her for a few minutes, I could see that she didn’t understand her doctor’s instructions. She didn’t know what each of the medicines were used for or how much or how often to give them to her child. The pharmacist had written the dosages on each of the bottles, but the mother was illiterate and couldn’t read the instructions. Like many other patients who visit the hospital, the mother was too quiet to speak up and let her doctor know that she didn’t understand and that she couldn’t read. So in order to help her as best I could, I pulled the mother aside into one of our exam rooms and attempted to explain to her how to use the medicines she was given. I showed her how to prepare the electrolyte solution that her doctor prescribed for the child’s dehydration. To help her remember which medicines corresponded to specific dosages, I color-coded the bottles with markers and different shapes. The technique sounds silly, but when a mother is illiterate and color-coding the bottles is the only alternative you have to helping her recall the instructions you explain, it’s practical.
I think the most difficult part about helping this woman (and patients like her) was making sure my advice was well received. I needed to make sure that she trusted me as a person before she would listen to what I was saying. And I needed to be conscious that I wasn’t disrespecting her by seeming superior or condescending in my effort to help. In the end, I felt great about being able to personally help someone like her receive better healthcare. I felt like I had actually made a difference. And that is what I love about working with the Global Healing clinic. Patients are constantly popping their heads in with questions, and I am the one who gets to help them. Sometimes that means walking down the hall with a patient to track down her medical file when the hospital says it’s lost, or speaking up for a mother at the pharmacy when she is too timid to do so herself, or (as in this case) helping a mother understand the medicines and dosages she has been given.
After clinic closes, I make my way down the street to the daycare in Coxen Hole that cares for children whose mothers are busy working and earning a living. At the daycare, I lead arts and crafts projects for the kids to help them explore their creative sides. When I first began working at the daycare, I was impressed with the collection of donated crayons, markers, paint, construction paper, easels, stickers, and glue – all the supplies the kids need in order to develop their creativity and have fun. The kids are all so cute and very fun to play with and have warmed up to me very quickly. In fact, yesterday was only my second time going to the center, and as soon as I walked in the door, the kids were so excited to see me again and screamed “yay” all in unison.
In between these two volunteer jobs, I tutor Moises in English and spend quality time with the volunteers that work at Peggy’s clinic. I’m constantly trying to find new opportunities to make a difference – right now I’m looking to get involved in the local HIV clinic that counsels HIV-positive patients on the island. On the weekends there is also time for relaxation. I go snorkeling in the reef right off of Peggy’s dock and spend time at the beautiful beach in West Bay.
After my experience today helping the illiterate mother in clinic, I began to think that lots of mothers – not just her – must end up in similar situations, unclear about their medications and confused about their doctor’s instructions. In fact, I’ve heard from several other volunteers that this situation is all too common for patients on the island. Not that this is the doctors’ fault – often doctors must work quickly to see all of their patients, and patients often are too shy to tell their doctor they do not understand. It seems the hospital needs a better way to serve its illiterate patients, making sure they understand how to take their medicines. Perhaps the pharmacist could use a straight-forward color-coding system to indicate different dosages to illiterate patients or provide a slip of paper with pictures of breakfast, lunch, and dinner that are circled in order to indicate the time of day and frequency with which the medicines should be taken – anything at all to help lessen the number of confused patients who go home with medications they don’t know how to use. In my remaining few weeks, I hope to create a practical solution for the hospital and help implement it so that more patients receive effective healthcare.
