On duty

So we are continuing our placements on the male ward and female ward at Mulanje Mission Hospital. This week was out first full week on duty. Like the other nurses we are working 7am - 5pm with an hour for lunch and a half an hour tea break. We are both feeling much more settled in our wards, getting to know the staff really well, who have taken us under their wing, and getting used to the different way of working.

There are often quiet times on the ward. In the UK, much of this time would be taken up with personal care of the patient, but as mentioned, each patient here has a guardian who is responsible for washing and feeding etc. However, things soon become very busy when somebody is admitted. On the male ward, men often only come to hospital when they are already very ill. It is a last resort for them. It means that during admission there are lots of things going on, usually a clinician is assessing them, while the nurses are carrying out malaria tests, inserting cannulas, administering IV fluids and  taking blood glucose measurements. Everyone is busy doing something and there is usually many family members in the room at the same time, so it can be difficult to work. Also, its not unusual to run out of the basic supplies such as gauze, some IV fluids, pain killers or you'll discover the piece of equipment you have spent 5 minutes looking for has run out of battery. Despite all these hurdles, the nurses together with the doctors and clinicians deliver excellent care here.

We have organised our workshops to take place at the local youth centre and we are currently waiting to hear back which students from the nursing college will be helping out. We are hoping the workshops get under way very soon.