I never knew time could pass so fast....

It is almost unbelievable that I am back in Ohio. During these past two months that i spent in Arizona I learned a lot. It was definitely an experience I will never forget.

My time on the Gila River Indian Reservation is almost indescribable. It was truly unlike anything I have ever experienced before. In fact, if my skin wasn't peeling from getting sunburnt I'm not sure I'd believe that I was even there. Sometimes I still expect to see mountains in the distance. The first month in Arizona, I was lucky enough to spend my clinical experience in the ER. The second month was spent in the Women's Clinic which was also a wonderful experience. While there I met a variety of patients who were all so receptive to having a nursing student from Ohio. Despite warnings we received, no one seemed to care that we were "white men". I was able to see many of the disease processes we learned in class and was able to apply nursing skills we weren't necessarily taught in class. I advocated for patients and helped them apply for access (which is a type of insurance). I helped them arrange transportation to and from their appointments. I provided patient education regarding such things as MRSA and the harmful effects of drugs on fetuses.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I attended various health fairs and witnessed a community involvement that every nurse should be proud of.

While on the reservation I also learned many things about the Pima Indians. I was immersed in their culture. I witnessed such things as basket dancing and tasted fry bread. I learned how they make their jewelry and how each piece contains a story. I was fortunate to attend a Cleveland Indians game while in Arizona, see the grand Canyon, and visit Sedona. Honestly it would be impossible to list all the wonderful things I saw and learned.

Leaving was so bittersweet. Even now, although I am glad to be home, I am sad i had to leave. If I was given the choice to go back and do it all again, I would choose the same path. I hope I will always remember this experience and use it to be the best nurse I can. If a student is debating about choosing Gila River for their capstone, i fully recommend it.

Public Health Nursing in Gila River

The month of July was such an interesting month for me. I began my rotation in Public Health Nursing and enjoyed it a lot. Up until now we had not seen many of the districts except that of districts 1, 3, 5, and 6. Well for each week that we were in public health, we were assigned a different district and proceeded to work each week in a new one. All of the districts have different housing ranging from old to new. The newer houses are what the reservation is pushing towards and moving away from the old style houses. There are some residents who are a little torn between getting a new house because for some of them, the houses have been in their families since they were built. Being relocated to different lands has also poses a bigger problem so keeping them on land that has also been in the family for generations has to be taken into consideration when building these houses. Public health nursing has given me a very different insight on the patients that we have seen. We had gotten to go to many different patients’ homes and view them one on one. We performed tasks such as basic assessments, vitals, monitoring blood sugars, medications, and even some teaching. I was welcomed into majority of the patients’ houses and they enjoyed talking to me and finding out a little about why I was there. I was able to see the way some of the natives have lived and could tell that a lot of them were keen on trying to improve their health. They would keep up on their medications and go visit the hospital on a follow up that may be planned for them by the public health nurses. I also got to learn a lot about the Pima’s past through talking with some of the residents as well as reading that were provided by one of the nurses. It was truly a great experience and I feel better prepared in both knowledge and skills.

I continued to keep up on my fry bread experiences and tried their green chili. It does not compare, in my opinion to red chili, however. I had more red chili on multiple occasions and have enjoyed it greatly. It is probably one of my new favorite foods and hoping to obtain a recipe. It was a great experience and for our last weekend here we plan on going tubing down Salt River. We are hoping for a great time with new friends and then sadly after that we must leave on the long journey back to Ohio. This experience has taught me a lot and I am truly thankful for having been able to participate in such an experience. The staff and the community that we worked with were all great and accepting and they definitely allowed for this experience to have been amazing and allowed us to get the most out of it. I am already beginning to miss this place and I have not even left yet. I feel this is something that has helped shape my nursing goals and will be able to be applied throughout the rest of my nursing career.

Frybread

A Community Worth More Than Generalizations

I attended my second health fair on the Gila River Indian reservation yesterday. Many individuals look at this population and see an overweight community, who eat fried foods with lots of rice and beans and have the highest prevalence of diabetes in the nation. They see a community of alcoholics who only work in casinos. They believe that this community is lazy, especially regarding their health care. After spending just a month here I see something much different. I see a community that is predisposed to issues with weight, including diabetes. They were a community of hunter-gatherers that ate all summer and fasted in the winter. A heritage that altered their metabolism and didn’t transpose well into today’s world. I see a community working hard to overcome their health issues. Alcohol is banned on the reservation. Health fairs are held almost every month. Heath fairs run by community members attempting to make a difference. The health fair yesterday was unbelievable. The entire time a baseball tournament was going on. A friendly game organized by community members that promoted being active. There was a BBQ that consisted of hamburgers, hotdogs, vegetable pasta, and fresh fruit (pineapple, grapes, and honey melon). To drink there was water, unsweetened tea, and fruit punch. Booths promoting health awareness were set up around the parameter. There were inflatable toys for kids to run through. Teenagers were playing basketball and volleyball. There was even a dance competition. Almost everybody was active. Community members were genuinely interested in the information handed out at the booths. This all day event disproved almost all of the stereotypes that are commonly associated with Native Americans. I’m not denying the issues previously mentioned. I just think it’s important to give credit to this population. After spending just a month here it is obvious to me that this community is working to better itself each and every day. I cannot wait to see what else I can learn about this community the rest of my time here.
*Written July 10th, 2011. Posted late due to issues accessing the blog. *
Image provided by
http://www.seeklogo.com/gila-river-indian-community-logo-60739.html

First Month in Gila River

Finishing our first month on the Gila River reservation was something inspiring. We arrived on a Wednesday to get used to the area and prepare for our orientation that Friday. Orientation just consisted of a tour of the main hospital in district 3 (there are 7 districts within the reservation), a small preview of the surrounding district where we would be living throughout our two months, as well as a view of the clinic in Komatke (district 6). We were able to choose our assignments and begin the next week. Emily and I chose to do school health nursing and were both placed in separate schools to work with the nurse. Summer school classes were going on so we seen the students as they came in to be checked up on, given medications, or use inhalers. I received a new perspective on schools nurses throughout this time. Prior to this site, I believed the nurse did not do as much and just mainly sat around doing little paperwork and see the children. It is actually that with a lot more involved. They do planning for the school year and how best to address the students. They attend competencies (which we had the pleasure of attending for three full days) and talk about the previous school year and changes. They go through training to better prepare for their students. That’s one thing that really sticks out; the students are THEIR students. They care for the students and act as providers for them. They go out of their way to get things done for them and even talk to students on a daily basis to see how they are doing and even boost their morale at times. It was great to see the smiles on their faces when they would be given a compliment. While I was there, I assessed a few students when they came in feeling under the weather, gave some medications, and even participated in some of the planning. There was a parent enrollment night for the parents to enroll their students and fill out all the forms for the upcoming school year. I was given the task of finding a major problem that occurs in the schools and create a poster board on it. The topic that was chosen was lice and I learned a lot of information regarding it that I had not even known. It was a great experience working with my school nurse and engaging with the other ones at times as well.

The Pima natives have seemed to have been very accepting of us so far. When we encounter them and they find out that we are students, they like to hear where we are from and seem to like the fact that we are down here. One new experience with the culture is that of tasting their fry bread. Fry bread is a type of dough that gets fried and can be served in multiple different ways. As of now, I have tried it with honey and powdered sugar on it, which was amazing and similar to a funnel cake, and I have tried it with red chili and cheese. Red chili and cheese and fry bread is amazing. The natives that serve it are nice and will have small conversations with us as they prepare it and then when you try it, you just almost fall in love with the dish. I definitely plan on trying more varieties of it as well as sticking with the red chili.

Outside of nursing, this past month has been to exploring the areas around the reservation. We have only seen a few districts but I plan on being in public health this upcoming month so I am hoping to see more of them and have a greater interaction with the community. But we have explored the nearby towns of Chandler, Phoenix, and Maricopa. They are all nice areas and are all within 15 to 30 minutes of the reservation. We have spent a lot of time in Barnes and Noble in Chandler this month to use the internet.

Due to our location, we have also been able to visit the Grand Canyon. Along the way we stopped in Sedona, which is an amazing place and a pretty decent tourist attraction. We did an overnight stay at the Grand Canyon and had an amazing time. The day after our return, we went back to work, and straight from work we left to attend a Cleveland Indians vs. Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game. It was a great game and Cleveland won also. This upcoming month, I will be in Public Health Nursing and hope to learn a lot more about the Pima tribe and continue to enjoy this amazing experience.