Judith Michel — Part 3
This month the students are gearing up for their first quarterly exam by putting together clinical practice and classroom lecture.
What are you learning right now?
Yesterday we talked and practiced neonatal resuscitation, which I think is a very important skill. Last week we learned about post-partum hemorrhage and it’s causes. I was particularly interested in uterine inversion, where the uterus almost flips itself inside out; it’s a major case of post-partum hemorrhage. I enjoyed learning how to take care of a mom who has it and prevent it.
Have the previous exams been challenging so far? How do you study?
Most of the topics I’ve previously studied at least a little bit and I work hard practicing and listening during lecture, so the exams aren’t too difficult for me. For an exam, I usually study together with another student, Solange. We read over the material, summarize our notes and then together we talk about what we think is important for each chapter or section.
What have you been learning at the hospital during clinical?
Mostly we’re observing and helping with births and mom or baby exams. This last month there have been many preeclampsia cases, so we’re learning what to do for that, how to give medication, and council mothers. One of the most challenging things is learning to repair lacerations- you need a lot of practice to be skilled.
Last week there was a patient with severe preeclampsia. She kept wanting to lay on her back during labor and the birth, which is not good for the baby’s breathing. So based on the knowledge we had learned in class I educated her to lay on her side and birth in that position. This was one example of what I learned a few days before being important in the hospital.
Did you see any interesting cases at mobile clinic this/last week? What did you learn from it?
I’ve recently gone to several mobile clinic sites. I enjoy this because with this clinical site we’re more likely to see many more patients- in many clinics there are more than 50 women that come. There are more interesting cases and much more practice to be had teaching women or doing rapid result tests.
Last week I got to give the education portion of the clinic. The women sit together before their visits and listen to a short talk on pre-natal nutrition. I talked about what foods to eat to get enough iron and different vitamins. The pre-natal patients already knew most of what I was teaching because the mobile clinic midwives have repeated that training each time they go to a village. I was surprised that I only had to add a little to their existing knowledge. This is great because nutrition is so important during pregnancy and repetition is essential in helping people remember.
That day I also got to teach individual women about danger or warning signs for a high-risk birth. Another good part of going to mobile clinic is counseling women on rapid result tests for different vaginal infections. You get to practice performing the tests properly, telling the patient what it’s for based on the symptoms she shows, and then tell her the results- either referring her to the hospital or telling her how to treat it on her own. I enjoy doing that kind of education because it’s person-to-person and has a direct impact that I can see.
For more updates from Judith, explore the below:
