Outpatient Experience

Hello to everyone!

Today we all had great experiences in different outpatient clinics after touring the school called Chogoria Complex. The students are all so well behaved and welcomed us into their classrooms with songs and poems. It amazes us how polite they are and the questions they asked us, some of which we did not know the answer to! The nursery children (4 years old) can spell three letter words, write the alphabet and put small sentences together. And the 8th grade children are learning about the anatomy and physiology of the kidneys, they were all so very bright! 

Brooke and Leah spent the morning in the Well Child Clinic where the mothers bring in their children for immunizations and it serves as a walk-in clinic. It was very interesting to watch the nurses give the shots because they are very different than what we give in the U.S. The student nurses are amazed at that we did not have a Tuberculosis vaccination, and it is always interesting to hear their reactions to what nursing care is like in the U.S. Then after lunch we headed out with two public healths nurses to Mwimbi Primary School and educated Grades 4-8 about sexuality, HIV/AIDS and STIs. That was quite the experience because everything was in Kiswahili, but thankfully we had a student nurse who was able to translate for us. The students were all well behaved as always and had very good questions to ask and it was a great experience to be a part of.

Ashlie, Brittany and Carissa did a variety of things today.  We witnessed an autopsy, which was a unique experience.  The highlight was that Brittany and Carissa got to hold a human brain!!!   We also visited the HIV/AIDS clinic and learned a lot about the disease and management.  One clinical officer taught us about sexuality in Kenya and how this affects the transmission of HIV and other infections.  The afternoon was spent in the operating room (surgery theatre).  We saw a wound debridement, urethral cyst removal, and a rectal surgery.  We learned a little about the anesthetics used and how they clean the room between patients.  Surgery is VERY different in Kenya and we are learning a lot.  

Then tonight for dinner we went out to eat at a new restaurant called Lenana and it was very good to get some authentic Kenyan food! We head out to help with the medical camp in the morning and we are excited to see a different part of Kenya! Thanks for reading, we all send our love!