Volunteer medical assignment quickly becomes learning experience
Monday, March 21, 2016
In the fall of 2015, I was selected for an international volunteer assignment in St. Lucia, an island in the Caribbean. I was approved for the assignment due to my dual credentials as a physical therapist and a wound care specialist.
As part of this assignment, I collaborated with Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO), a volunteer organization in which I have been a member for almost 10 years. For the past 28 years, HVO has been dedicated to improving the availability and quality of healthcare through the education, training and professional development of the health workforce in resource-scarce countries.
My goal on this trip was to teach members of a hospital staff a new technique in wound care, but I soon found myself learning on the fly. Although I didn’t really know what to expect, I found more similarities than differences. The people were friendly. The outpatient clinic physical therapy and basic wound care practices that I witnessed paralleled the standard of care to which I’m accustomed.
Except for the constant reminder that the hospital was housed within a stadium, I could have very well been practicing in any physical therapy clinic right in the United States.
George Odlum Stadium was built and financed by the Chinese government in 2002.
The original St. Jude Hospital in St. Lucia experienced a major fire Sept. 9, 2009. Since then, the hospital has been operating out of the George Odlum Stadium a few miles away from the original hospital site.
The use of the stadium was only meant to be temporary, as the newly renovated hospital was supposed to re-open early in 2012. However, this has not been the case. Almost seven years after the fire, the hospital is still functioning at the track-and-field training site. Although I did not take interior photos of stadium/hospital, I did take the time to snap a few shots of the exterior.
Some of my teaching aides/equipment did not arrive in time to be packed for the trip. Therefore, I improvised and attempted to recreate Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) using only the supplies and equipment that the hospital had available.
Because all volunteers are expected to teach, I had committed to introducing a concept in wound care new to the staff at St. Jude. But some of my teaching aides/equipment did not arrive in time to be packed for the trip. Therefore, upon arrival in St. Lucia, I improvised and attempted to recreate Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) using only the supplies and equipment that the hospital had available (see photo at right).
NPWT is commonly called “use of a wound vac or vacuum” and involves utilizing a reasonable-sized, non-noisy device that creates constant and reliable suction, sponge dressings, tubing and transparent adhesive. While it was my intention to be the educator, I found myself in a situation where I had to become the pupil to create a “wound vac” from scratch.
Fortunately, my experiment was a success, and I was able to create a safe, duplicable method in which to render negative pressure therapy. I thought to myself, “This is one accomplishment of which I’m most proud.” When life hands you a heavy, tabletop suction device, make a wound vac out of it.
Fortunately, my experiment was a success, and I was able to create a safe, duplicable method in which to render negative pressure therapy.
I plan to return to St. Lucia in the future to see how the wound vac use has impacted the healing progression of wounds. I will also remain in contact with several hospital staff members, and I am maintaining my resolve to be an ongoing resource for information. It is so important for global health initiatives to generate sustainability, rather than dependability.
We must form mutual partnerships that foster social responsibility and will have a more lasting effect than donations of medical supplies will.
This trip helped me learn that people/patients are the same wherever you go. Barriers of many varieties exist, but one can always find a way to overcome them.