Dressings!

I think it is about time that I told you all what I am actually doing on the ship now that the hospital has been up and running for 7 weeks. I am working in B ward which is where the plastic surgery patients are. At the start of the hospital being open I was a ward nurse, looking after the patients pre and post-operatively. It was a great time to get to know the patients, learn new skills and new ways of doing things. Working with different nurses from around the world makes for interesting times, discussing how we do things at home and what they call it, I didn't realise how many ways you can call Paracetamol!

The good thing about working on the ward is that we start the day with prayer, the handover time were the nurses from the shift before and the nurses taking over have a chance to share information and then give the shift over to God. This is so different from back home, but it makes for a good start to the shift! Then I do all my checks of the patients and the paperwork, during the shift Patient life come in and start a worship time right in the middle of the ward. The patients all start singing and praising God, I love this time of day. Then the rest of the shift continues on until the next handover!





One of my little patients, playing on deck 7!



       After 3 weeks of being on the ward my role changed from a ward nurse to a dressings nurse, for those who do not understand what this means, it does not mean dressing someone! It means I  change bandages and look after the surgery sites/wounds post operatively. I really enjoy this work and having experience from work at home it has really helped. Things are different but it is a rewarding job most of the time. As you see the patients wounds healing and being able to discharge them from the ward, but in some cases they are slow to heal as they get an infection or their bodies have not got enough nutrients to heal their wounds. I am so happy that I can make a difference in someones life even if it is a small part, and as some dressings take over an hour to do you get to know the patient very well, in that time you try and talk to them, through a translator (as my french is not good enough), some have had a hard life but hopefully having this surgery will change this. They are so thankful at the end of the dressing change, even after I have hurt them (as unfortunately it does hurt sometimes to change their dressings).



A patient who has just had a dressing change!



I work with a great team, in the dressing area we have Physician Assistant from the USA (who changes the dressings with me) she is a great encouragement and and so helpful. Then we have the physiotherapist from South Africa, she makes the day so much fun. We have also an OT (occupational therapist) from Australia, who makes all the splints for the patients who need them! We have such an international team doing the dressings, and this is not including the nurses who come with their patient from the ward!



Well that is a small overview of what I am doing on the ship! But this is going to change as the Plastic Surgeon unfortunately has left, so as the patients heal and leave the ward there will be less dressings to do. I will be moving back to the ward to start the next surgery which will be VVF, I will explain this in a later blog!