Many of our medical/hospital supplies are donated or ordered. We are nearing the end of the outreach with only one week of surgery left! Our last container of supplies was delayed by several weeks because it got sent to the wrong country in Africa. Oops! :) The container finally arrived earlier this week! It was a happy day :) Needless to say its been quite interesting coming up with alternatives. I've been wanting to record some of them...
So, you know the end is in sight when you are:
So, you know the end is in sight when you are:
-Unwrapping and wearing sterile surgical gloves because there are no regular exam gloves.
-Drying your hands on a communal cotton town because there are no paper towels (or if you're me, you just let your hands air dry :) )
-Drawing up meds in multiple syringes because there are no more 10 ml syringes
-Mixing vitamin-fortified milk and "protein drink" bought from the local supermarket for tube feeding because we are out of Ensure.
-Placing 18-gauge needles in pre-op patients because we are out of 20-gauge needles (fairly big needle).
To the hospital staff's credit, we are very cautious with our supplies and very resourceful. Nothing goes to waste! We save, sterilize, and reuse anything that is in one piece (within reason of course) :) I expect I will probably go through some culture shock when I return back to work in the states after 2 years, and begin to throw away again any and everything the patient has touched or breathed on. :)
-Placing 18-gauge needles in pre-op patients because we are out of 20-gauge needles (fairly big needle).
To the hospital staff's credit, we are very cautious with our supplies and very resourceful. Nothing goes to waste! We save, sterilize, and reuse anything that is in one piece (within reason of course) :) I expect I will probably go through some culture shock when I return back to work in the states after 2 years, and begin to throw away again any and everything the patient has touched or breathed on. :)
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