First hospital visits

Friday 6/21/2013

Every Friday, we spend the day at a nearby hospital to acquaint ourselves with hands-on field work, for a taste of what next month will be like.

My first visit to Tengeru Hospital was quite discouraging.  We didn’t have a good workspace; actually, we didn’t have one at all.  We were working outside with no tables, opening equipment in the wet grass, which is horrible for both electrical equipment and our own safety.  Also, I didn’t think there was much I could fix. That is, I didn’t think I had the skillset to intelligently troubleshoot any of the equipment, let alone repair them.  At the end of the day, I felt pretty dejected.  It made me apprehensive about the second month looming ahead.

Friday 6/28/2013

Today we visited Tengeru again, and things began to look up.  This time I joined a team, including my friends Christine and Allison, that was working—inside—on a neonatal table.  They had worked on the table last week and seemed to understand the machine fairly well, enough to work on it and make substantial progress.  My understanding was a little behind, since I had missed their work the last week, but it was encouraging to see my friends readily troubleshooting and discussing possible solutions.  Their eagerness and confidence made me excited to start fresh at Mt. Meru Hospital next week!