Pam Davis, MD is a Family Medicine physician and educator at Northridge Hospital and Medical Center. She is new to the Guatemala Mission, but has served Southern California's Latino community for years. While seeing patients is what brought us all here, I was intrigued by the promise of contributing to the education of the health care nurses and students affiliated with the Basilica. As the Residency Director for the Family Medicine Residency at Northridge, I love the idea of teaching the next generation of physicians and nurses. Today I had the opportunity to provide a presentation on OB emergencies to a class of Guatemalan nurses and nursing students. My seventeen year old mentoring student worked with me to prepare a power point presentation full of facts, pictures and points for discussion in English and Spanish. Thank you Ruby Talavera. Great job!
One of the mission team's nurses, Candy, helped me translate, and though she is young, her experience in labor and delivery was invaluable. Fortunately, I was old enough to know of the days when nurses used fetoscopes and listened through contractions for decelerations. Candy was surprised to learn that these nurses practice all types of medicine with little technology.
The presentation was well received but the questions were the most memorable. Many of the nurses wanted to tell their own stories of patients with involuted uteri, postpartum hemorrhage, and postpartum fever--too afraid to go to the hospital. We were struck by their knowledge, experience and bravery. It was an honor speaking to this group and one of many moving experiences here in Esquipulas.
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