Babies, Surgeries and Simulation, Oh My!

Day 4: Second day of Clinical and University Tour🌎

Hey everybody! Another fantastic day completed in beautiful Ecuador!  Today was much like our day yesterday as we went to our clinical placements again but switched around so that each of us could try our hands at a different specialty!💊💉  We are starting to get a hang of things down here and we know that everyone is so so gracious for our donations.  Here are a couple of favorite moments from today:

The second part of our day included visiting a beautiful university called "Universidad de Las Americas" AKA - "UDLA".

This university is pretty much a dream for any nursing student, as there are so many learning opportunities involving simulation. 🔌👾 For those of you who do not know what simulation is, it uses human model replicas that are electronically controlled to act like real life patients. It seems like an ideal way to learn about nursing and life-like experiences we could come across in our futures. We found out a lot of different things about the education system for nurses here at this university, some of which included: it is a four year program, entry level nurses have a starting pay of $7 per hour (WHAT?!), the students do not have to pay for their textbooks, and there are roughly 800 student nurses per year who go to UDLA. It is pretty crazy to see the differences from here in Ecuador to places like Cape Breton, but we are all definitely taking in every moment and learning so much about the healthcare system. 📚 Here are a couple of neat pictures from the University!

 We are looking forward to another day tomorrow to explore the indigenous culture of Otavalo and take in some Ecuadorian keepsakes at the local markets. Make sure you tune in tomorrow evening for another blog post! Thanks for reading!😊

Cheers everyone!

Time To Get Nursey

Day 3 - First day of Clinical, Spanish Lessons and Welcome dinner!🌎

Welcome to our blog! Today was a fun filled day of practicing some of our skills and gaining brand new experiences!! Our group has been divided into 3 smaller groups of 8 students: one group going to the community, the second going to the maternity hospital and the third going to acute care hospital! We all had ample opportunities to "get nursey"💉💊 and take advantage of these amazing clinical experiences!

There were three different locations included in our day today.

Hospital Gineco Obstretrico de Neuva Aurora (Obstretical Hospital)🍼👶

This hospital is a brand new facility developed within the past year. It is government sponsored with numerous different units for specialized areas of obstetrical nursing. These included various neonatology (levels for very sick children to premature babies), an emergency room meant for women who are in active labor, an operating room for women who undergo cesarean sections and a unit for teen mothers who may need a little extra support. This hospital sees about 5000 people in outpatients per month, ranging from 30-35 births per day. Something that we found very interesting and inspiring about this hospital was that there has been no maternal deaths since it opened last year. SO AWESOME!  Another interesting bit of info we learned was that some of the nursing staff who breastfeed their own infants at home would breast feed some of the the babies at the hospital if they didn't have anyone else to do it. All in all, this hospital was gorgeous and we felt very privileged to have learned from the wonderful staff at Neuva Aurora.

Tierra Nueva (Community clinic)

At the Tierra Nueva Community Centre, we focused in on 4 different units: the Geriatric clinic👴, physiotherapy for developmentally delayed children, occupational therapy and dentistry. In the geriatric clinic, we danced our lives away💃. These elders definitely had a ton of energy that they were ready to share with all of us Canadians. We were lucky enough to pass out some sugar free candy to these elders, as a lot of them are diabetics.  Something that we learned is that here in Ecuador, insulin is rarely imported because of it's high expense 💵. There were only a few individuals with walkers, which we also found interesting as the majority of our elders in Cape Breton have mobility issue! Way to go Ecuadorian elders!!
The physiotherapy unit for developmentally delayed children section was an awesome learning experience. We got to work with children and toddlers who weren't developing at the normal rate for their age. The physiotherapists would work with these children by encouraging them on how to crawl, improving on their tactile reflexes and range of motion exercises.
The Occupational Therapy section was also a great unit to be on. We worked a lot with massage and heat therapy for individuals with things like rotator cuff injures💪. We also used hot wax and hot packs to help with their circulation. Last but not least was in the dentistry section. We saw patients receiving braces and fillings and help out with the staff on anything they needed.

Novaclinica (Acute Care Hopsital)

At the Novaclinica hospital, there were four different units we focused on. These included the ER, ICU, OR and NICU. In the ER, individuals would walk in off the street with whatever problems they might had.  A lot of the time, the paramedics would be the ones who would take the patient's vitals and their medical histories. The nurses would then initiate intravenous fluids, take necessary blood work, charts on the patient's condition, etc. In the ICU, we got to see a few terminal cases. Because this is a private hospital, the patients are 100% necessary to pay for their treatment. A lot of the patients were on ventilators and we helped out with re positioning patients and providing necessary suctioning.😷 The operating room was slightly different from home.  The temperature was hotter, a lot of the operating room doors would not close, there was no negative pressure in the rooms, and a lot of the surgical instruments they used were reused for upcoming surgeries.  Red flags were raised here but we also found out that the rate on infection at this hospital is almost nonexistent. Something that was different at Novaclinica was that they always had their windows opened. This is rarely seen in Cape Breton so we were all very intrigued by this! So neat to learn so much about this different culture!!

Spanish lessons 

If there was one thing that we all learned today, it would be that the language barrier is a difficult feat for us.  It really is hard to communicate with patients when you barely speak their language. We were lucky enough to have Spanish lessons this afternoon, which we all found very beneficial and informative. A lot of us were able to work with our teachers so that they could help us out with common phrases we would use in the clinical setting.📝

Welcome Dinner & Donation Sorting

To end our evening off we had a beautiful welcome dinner at a French Bistro. This included some interesting but delicious choices like popcorn soup (Yes, I said popcorn soup🌽) and chicken/fish entrees. It was a beautiful evening where we could all relax and discuss our days.  When we got back to the hostel we decided to work on getting a lot of our donations sorted to find out what hospitals would need what supplies.  We wanted to again send out a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped us out with donations, as these supplies are definitely being used by those who need them!👜

Highlight reel:

- Belinda was given a wet cheeto from a resident at the geriatric clinic and choked it down like a champ.
- During our Spanish lessons, Debbie showed off her skills by knowing that the word camera is the same in Spanish as it is in english, you go girl!💁📷
- When crossing the streets, we must sprint for our lives.
- Smiling goes a long way, especially when there is a language barrier😀

We are looking forward to our second clinical days tomorrow at these wonderful hospitals, and hope you are enjoying us on this adventure!

Cheers!🌎

Quito - The Land Located in the Middle of the World

If you've already seen our post about the endless travel day, read on for the rest of our update on Day 2! If you haven't seen the post about the travel day, check that one out first and then return here! Or do whatever you want. We're in Ecuador and really have no control of your actions in Canada.

Day 2 - Tour of Old Town Quito and Mitad Del Mundo🌎... Happy birthday Jaclyn!🎂

What did we do:

After catching a few zzz's at the hostel, we were all set to check out what our hostel actually looked liked! Definitely a really neat place to call our home for the next few nights!🏡

So then we were up and moving on our way to do a tour of Old Town Quito. From there we went straight to the Basilica del Voto National. This place is GORGEOUS people. We felt like we were on top of the world with these views🌄.

From there we explored more of Old town Quito going to the Plaza de la Independencia. Here there were numerous spots to hit up like the President's building and the Compania de Jesus AKA the Golden church. This church was completely decorated with gold leaf. It showed how the front pew included nearly all of the denominations, with it's stunning symmetry. (We snuck some pictures of course even though we weren't supposed to)🌟

El Panecillo was our next stop on this fun filled day! This is otherwise known as the "Virgin of Quito Statue". We kept seeing this lovely lady throughout our bus travels and we finally got to see her up close!💜

Mitad del Mundo (AKA the Equator) was our next stop! We drove about 45 minutes away by bus. Once there, our tour guides gave us some cultural background on topics including (but not limited to) shrunken heads, burial practices, and centrifugal forces. Some of these were more alarming than others. We'll leave it to you to guess which ones... 👹 Some of us were crowned what were called "Egg masters". This was when we were aligned on the equator line, one foot in the southern hemisphere and one in the northern, and we had to balance an egg perfectly on top of a nail head. If we were successful we were given our certificates, which was something a lot of us were excited about!

We were all feeling pretty worn out by then, so we stopped in a local supermarket and then headed back to our home away from home for the rest of the night. To end our day, we spent some time relaxing and ordering pizza for supper. Hopefully we get to bed early enough to catch up on some missed sleep from the past couple of nights 💤. Our first day of clinical is tomorrow and we are all looking super forward to it! 💉💊 We definitely had a day we will never ever forget when thinking back on our trip to Quito!

Daily highlight reel:

- Some of us conquering our fears by climbing up the terrifying steep stairs at the Basilica - ATTA girl Wendy - This was a life changing moment for her!!!

- Trying to balance the egg at the Equator
- Weighing 2.2 pounds less at the Equator (HOLLA).

- The scenery and views all day were breathtaking no matter where we were.
- Getting a police escort back to our hostel because we were momentarily lost 👮
- Hot showers are actually priceless.

- How to shrink heads (very practical for dealing with enemies).
- Remo taking advantage of the long bus rides yet again, swaddled with the CB flag.

- Being in a place where you are the outsider is very different and challenging. It can feel alienating at times. Very important to remember when we return home and encounter people from cultures other than ours in nursing practice.

How to Travel for 29 Hours Straight and STILL be Amazed

And we're off!! 🌎

The travel day started at 9:30pm, Monday when everyone met at CBU to hop on the bus to head to the Halifax airport. We came prepared with travel snacks of course 😋

What we didn't expect was to stop at the Tim Hortons 🍵 in Bras d'Or for 40 minutes because we had unfortunately forgot our banner at CBU. Luckily an "angel" arrived with the banner and we were back on track. The trip from Sydney to Halifax was taken at what appeared to be lightening speed and we arrived in what absolutely had to be record time. Once we arrived at the Halifax airport at 2:30am, we spent a whole lot of time waiting until we received the best news ever! All of our extra baggage (13 suitcases to be exact) full of donations, were generously allotted to us free of cost (over $500 worth of savings). 💼  HUGE thanks to United Airlines for recognizing our impending humanitarian work! Also, shout out to Mary's boyfriend for showing up at 3am to see her! Now that's what we call commitment 💑! When we landed in Newark we had a bit of a layover where we all enjoyed some caper cat naps (Remo Tell can literally sleep anywheres) :

Next stop was to Houston, Texas. We grabbed some real food and we were all set and ready to finally get to Ecuador!! Even though we weren't sure if Emily MacKinnon was going to make it😴, she did indeed! We made it to Ecuador at 12:30 am on Wednesday and arrived at our hostel "La Casa Sol" at 2:39am (3:39am CB time). Needless to say it was a very very long travel day and we are so happy to have finally arrived in this beautiful city💚.

We look forward to updating you tomorrow on our first official travel day in Quito, Ecuador!

Just a Few Capers Trying to Make an Impact on the World

Hi everyone! We are officially 1 WEEK away from our trip and we couldn't be MORE EXCITED! Being from Cape Breton, we know everyone knows "Yer fadder", and how we'll always be known as "so and so's brother/sister", but we wanted to give you a bit of our own rendition of who we are and why we're going on this life changing adventure!

 

🌍📷💉🏥🛄💛

Los Estudiantes

(The Students) - We're working really hard on our Spanish skills

Mary MacKinnon

Age:  21

Hometown: Westmount, NS

Why are you going: I love to travel and see the world. Being able to do that, while providing care to those is so exciting! I can’t wait to see nursing from a different perspective and learn about the local population. I am also excited to travel with friends that I have made over the past four years, as they are all wonderful people who will make amazing nurses someday!

Personal Fact: I love puns, you could say I love them a latte…🍵😜

Brea Falconer

Age: 21

Hometown: Coxheath, NS

Why are you going: I am going on this trip to experience health care in a different culture and increase my knowledge to be able to better care for my future patients.

Personal Fact: I may or may not come home with a baby from the orphanage… Sorry mom! 🍼

Matthew Andrea

Age:  26

Hometown: Glace Bay, NS

Why are you going: I am going on this trip because I’m not sure if I’d survive home without my mom 👪

Kelsey McNeill

Age:  22

Hometown: Sydney, NS

Why are you going: I am going on this trip to increase my worldview and experience healthcare in another culture.

Personal Fact: This will be my first time traveling outside of North America 🗻

Brialee Tighe

Age:  23

Hometown: Sydney River, NS

Why are you going: I’m going on this trip because it allows me to travel and practice nursing at the same time.

Personal Fact: I have been a waitress for 4 years at Boston Pizza and it has helped me in nursing with time management, communication, dealing with conflicts, etc.🍕

Jenna Harris

Age: 21

Hometown: Sydney River, NS

Why are you going: I’m going on this trip for the incredible experience to see how medical areas are run in a less developed country.

Personal Fact: I wish I could pack my mom in my suitcase 👜

Emily MacKinnon

Age: 22

Hometown: Sydney, NS

Why are you going: I am excited to be going on this trip to broaden my knowledge of nursing and of a different culture.

Personal Fact: I love taking pictures 📷

Jaclyn Turnbull

Age:  21

Hometown: Reserve Mine, NS

Why are you going: To challenge my comfort zones; experience a new culture, adventure, history, and nature. Looking forward to playing with kids, helping the elderly, sleeping in a hostel, and unfamiliar experiences with medical systems and medical practices to take with me for the rest of my nursing career.

Personal Fact: I will be celebrating my champagne birthday in Ecuador! 🎂

Sarah Devoe

Age: 21

Hometown: Alder Point, NS

Why are you going: I am going on this trip to experience other cultures and to celebrate being (almost) finished my degree.

Personal Fact: I have played hockey since I was 5 years old 🏃

Megan MacNeil

Age:  21

Hometown: Sydney, NS

Why are you going: I’m going on this trip because being able to implement our practices in a different country will be a fulfilling experience!

Personal Fact: I took a selfie with Bradley Cooper in New York! 🗽

Clare MacIsaac

Age:  21

Hometown: River Ryan, NS

Why are you going: This is a once in a lifetime trip and I am very excited to spend it with my best friends! 👭

Logan Jessome

Age:  22

Hometown: George's River, NS

Why are you going: I am going to Ecuador to experience health care in another country, help others, expand my knowledge and have a little fun along the way!

Personal Fact: I have previously been on a medical/dental mission to Honduras and I look forward to more in the future 💊

Emily Wilson

Age:  21

Hometown: New Waterford, NS

Why are you going: I’m looking forward to experiencing the healthcare system of a different culture, and sharing what knowledge we have gained throughout our degree to make a positive impact there. I’m also excited to share this experience with some of my best friends before we graduate!

Personal Fact: I love trying new food! 🍴

Morgan McGillivray

Age: 21

Hometown: New Waterford, NS

Why are you going: I’m going on this trip to experience another culture, increase my nursing knowledge, and see healthcare from a new perspective.

Personal Fact: I am especially excited for our trip to an orphanage and to the NICU! You’ll have to drag me out of there! 👶

Rebecca McNeil

Age: 21

Hometown: Glace Bay, NS

Why are you going: I can't wait to experience another culture and learn about the health care system in Ecuador 🌎

Chelsea Hart

Age:  22

Hometown: Little Bras d’Or, NS

Why are you going: I am going on this trip to learn about the healthcare of another country and learn about a different culture.

Personal Fact: I’ve never traveled outside of North America 🚅

Michelle Dumais

Age:  40

Hometown: River Ryan, NS

Why are you going: I love to travel and immerse myself in different cultures. I am looking forward to my nursing experience in South America!

Personal Fact: A simple smile is a universal language and can change the course of someone’s day! So SMILE… They are free 😄

Mikayla Courtney

Age:  21

Hometown: Glace Bay, NS

Why are you going: This trip is an opportunity of a lifetime to help make a difference in another country.

Personal Fact: I have a passion for obstetrics and hope to work with newborns in Ecuador! 🍼

Nadine Boutilier

Age:  42

Hometown: Glace Bay, NS

Why are you going: I’m going on this trip because I think it will be an awesome and life changing experience.

Personal Fact: My glass is always “half full” and never half empty! 🍶

Venus Sorizo

Age:  21

Hometown: Originally from the Philippines but now North Sydney, NS

Why are you going: I grew up dreaming of traveling the world to see beautiful places, meet beautiful people and expand my knowledge on cultural diversity. I also like helping people, as I believe it is our nature. Going to Ecuador will be an amazing experience as it incorporates my love of traveling to my future career, which is becoming a nurse and to help people who have medical needs.

Personal Fact: I have 5 tattoos 🔯

Jessica MacKenzie

Age: 35

Hometown: Christmas Island, NS

Why are you going: I’m going on this trip because I love to travel and experience new things.

Personal Fact: I am a crazy cat lady! 🐱

Wendy Russell

Age:  36

Hometown: North Sydney, NS

Why are you going: I’m going on this trip because I’ve always wanted to volunteer in other countries, as it is a great way to help and also learn about other cultures.

Personal Fact: I’m an artist and I have two dogs 🐶🐶

Stacy Wall

Age:  30

Hometown: Little Bras d’Or, NS

Why are you going: I’m going on this trip to gain perspective on health care in a different country and to have a life changing experience with my fellow classmates.

Personal Fact: I am a mother of a four year old with a previous degree in 
psychology 📜

 Remo Tell

"Los Educadores"

(The Educators) - It's pretty similar to English right?

 

Belinda Andrea

Age:  (very young)

Hometown: Glace Bay, NS

Why are you going: I’m going on this trip to be witness to my students “be forever changed” by what is simply incredible.

Personal Fact: I will be the earliest out of bed to get the hot water! 🌊

Kim Lake

Age: Ageless 😀

Hometown: Sydney, NS

Why are you going: I’m going on this trip so I can watch Belinda and Debbie zip line in the Andes mountains.🌄

Personal Fact: Denise and I did it last year!

Debbie Cantwell

Age:  😀

Hometown: Sydney Mines, NS

Why are you going: Going on this trip to add to a wonderful career I have had thus far in nursing and to share this amazing experience with a great group of colleagues and nurses to be. Can't wait! 💉

Denise Campbell

Age:  😀

Hometown: Born & raised in Toronto- moved to Cape Breton in 2011

Why are you going: I am so lucky and blessed to be traveling to Quito for a second life-changing adventure!

Personal Fact: I was a Toronto police officer for 20 years 👮

Now that you know a little bit about all of us, we can't wait to update you all after our first day of travel! 

 

Adventure is calling! 🌎

 

Cheers!

A Year In The Making

Hey everybody! We are just over a month away from our trip to Ecuador and we couldn't be more excited! Can't believe we are finally getting close, as this adventure has been a year in the making. We want to thank everybody who helped us reach our goals to go on this once in a lifetime trip! We are looking forward to updating all of you on our travels as we learn and experience a different aspect of culture and healthcare. Thanks so much for reading, looking forward to many more posts in the near future!